Match recaps from Sunday: WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

Day 5 of competition at the WGC-Dell Match Play commenced bright and early Sunday morning at Austin CC, with Scottie Scheffler facing Dustin Johnson in one Semifinal match, and Corey Conners matching up against Kevin Kisner in the other.

Scheffler and Kisner advanced to the Final match on Sunday afternoon in Texas. Scheffler defeated Kisner, 4 and 3, to earn his third PGA TOUR title in five starts. With the victory, Scheffler moves to No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Here's how the drama unfolded throughout the day at Austin CC.

MATCH RECAPS

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LIVE SCORES, BRACKET

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FINAL

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER (5) def. KEVIN KISNER (29), 4 and 3

Scottie Scheffler completed his redemption tour at Austin CC on Sunday afternoon, jumping out to a 1-up lead on the second hole and never trailing in a decisive victory over the match play bulldog Kisner, who was seeking his second title in the event.

Scheffler needed to work overtime just to advance from group play; the University of Texas alum matched Matt Fitzpatrick's 2-1 mark in Group 5 action, necessitating a sudden-death playoff. The duo matched shot-for-shot on the first five extra holes, before Scheffler's birdie on the sixth playoff hole earned him a spot in the Round of 16. He seized the momentum and didn't look back, defeating Billy Horschel and Seamus Power on Saturday, then taking down Dustin Johnson on Sunday morning to set up a heavyweight bout against Kisner.

Scheffler drained a 20-footer on the par-3 fourth hole of the Final match to assume a 2-up lead, then extended the lead to 3 up with an up-and-down birdie at the par-5 sixth hole, as Kisner's 13-foot birdie try would not drop. The duo tied seven consecutive holes on Nos. 7-13; a critical moment occurred at the par-5 12th, with Kisner in close for birdie, Scheffler flubbed a greenside eagle chip shot before holing out for an unlikely birdie from the bunker, which was good enough to tie the hole.

Scheffler, 25, extended the lead to 4 up with a 16-foot birdie on the par-4 14th, and after Kisner's 24-foot birdie try at the 15th would not drop, Scheffler needed to just two-putt for par from 20 feet to secure his third TOUR win in five starts. He did just that, in the process avenging a loss to Billy Horschel in the 2021 championship match at Austin CC.

With the victory, Scheffler moves to No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking.

SEMIFINALS

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER (5) def. DUSTIN JOHNSON (8), 3 and 1

Local fans were out in full force to support former University of Texas Longhorn Scottie Scheffler in his Semifinal match against Dustin Johnson. A strong start with a wedge to 7 feet opened the scoring before a tight approach on the par-4 third pushed the young Texan’s lead to 2 up. A bogey at the fourth by Johnson pushed the hole to 3 down, a deficit he had yet to face this week despite trailing on the front nine in all but one of this edition’s matches.

Needing a spark, DJ ripped a 350-yard drive over the green at No. 5, leaving him with a tricky shot from the greenside bunker which he could only get up-and-down for a matching par. The former FedExCup champ and 2017 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play winner got a fortuitous break on the next hole, able to take a free drop from an electrical box after his tee shot settled amongst some trees on the left-hand side of the fairway. Scheffler would maintain his 3-up lead, flashing a short game that saved him all day with a chip to inside 3 feet to match DJ with birdie. (Entering the Final match, Scheffler ranks eighth this week in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green.)

A ho-hum stretch saw a pair of bogeys from each around Nos. 7, 8 and 9 before an incredible approach from Scheffler on the par-4 10th to less than a foot extended the lead to 4 up. A bounce-back birdie on the 12th for Johnson followed by a bogey from Scheffler on 13 after his tee shot found the water lit the fuse for a comeback on the back nine. It was nearly automatic for DJ on the par-4 14th and 15th, splitting both fairways and sticking it to 6 feet at each for back-to-back birdies to cut the deficit all the way to 1 down.

A striped Scheffler approach ran just past the hole on No. 16 and a two-putt birdie doubled his edge after DJ’s birdie to tie lipped out. Facing a must-make on No. 17 from 16 feet, DJ powered his attempt towards the hole but with too much pace for another lip-out. With Scheffler’s birdie try conceded, the match was won, 3 and 1, and DJ is set to face either Corey Conners or Kevin Kisner in the Final match.

Already leading the FedExCup, Scheffler has a chance to become No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking if he were to cap off an incredible run of three wins in five starts, a year after falling just short in the 2021 championship match at Austin CC.

KEVIN KISNER (29) def. COREY CONNERS (36), 2-up

Whether it’s a dramatic comeback, dominant victory, or back-and-forth battle, Kevin Kisner deploys a variety of methods in order to advance in match play.

After Kisner won the last four holes against Adam Scott in Saturday’s Round of 16 to win the match 1-up, he jumped ahead of Will Zalatoris from the get-go and cruised to a 4-and-3 win in the Quarterfinals, setting the stage to face ball-striking maestro Corey Conners in a Sunday morning Semifinal.

In a closely contested matchup, neither player led by more than 1-up until Kisner’s conceded birdie to win the closing hole and procure a 2-up victory, moving on to face local hero Scottie Scheffler in Sunday afternoon’s Final match. Each player has prior experience in a Match Play Final; Kisner finished runner-up to Bubba Watson in 2018 before defeating Matt Kuchar in 2019, while Scheffler finished runner-up to Billy Horschel in 2021 and is hungry to make amends.

Kisner took the early edge Sunday morning with a winning birdie at the par-4 second, draining a 20-foot birdie after Conners couldn’t get his 45-foot birdie try to drop. The proud Canadian quickly bounced back with a birdie at No. 3, draining a 10-footer before Kisner’s 7-foot attempt to tie slid by. The next three holes were tied via par-par-birdie, before Kisner regained a 1-up edge via a 14-foot par-save at the par-3 seventh, as Conners flew the green with his greenside bunker shot and narrowly missed on his par-saving chip attempt.

After three more holes tied with pars, Conners tied the match in dramatic fashion with a 39-foot birdie at the par-3 11th, electrifying the Austin CC faithful. Kisner found water with his second shot at the par-5 12th, providing an opening for Conners, who two-putted for par to best Kisner’s bogey.

Kisner tied the match back up with a two-putt par at the par-4 14th, as Conners missed the green left with his second shot and then couldn’t reach the green with his chip shot, leading to bogey. After the 15th was tied with pars, Kisner had a 7-foot birdie look to take the lead on the par-5 16th, but he couldn’t get it to fall.

With the match tied on No. 17, Kisner nestled a lag putt up to tap-in range, while Conners’ birdie try from the fringe raced by the hole, leading to an 8-foot miss and bogey. Kisner once again assumed an advantage, this time to the short par-4 finishing hole, and he took advantage with a perfectly judged pitch that utilized a slope in the middle of the green, the ball rolling back to within 5 feet of the cup. When Conners’ 10-foot birdie try slid by, the hole and match were conceded to the University of Georgia alum, who aims to maintain the momentum from the Bulldogs’ recent football title and thrill the fans back in Athens, Georgia on Sunday afternoon.