Kisner beats Kuchar to capture WGC Match Play crown

WASHINGTON: Kevin Kisner, who shared a runner-up spot in last year’s British Open, defeated Matt Kuchar 3&2 in Sunday’s WGC Match Play Championship final to win his third career PGA title.

On a cold and windy last day of the 64-player showdown at Austin (Texas) Country Club, Kisner dominated 2013 winner Kuchar in the all-American final to capture the $1.745 million (1.55 million euros) top prize. "It was grueling and the winds were tough," Kisner said. "It was a hard week but I prevailed and I’m world golf champion."

Kisner, last year’s WGC Match Play runner-up to Bubba Watson, was 48th seed but became the lowest-seeded winner since Australian Geoff Ogilvy in 2006 after taking a key lesson from his 2018 defeat.

"I learned not to get too amped up for that final," Kisner said. In the morning semi-finals, Kisner edged Italy’s Francesco Molinari 1-up and Kuchar dispatched Danish 50th seed Lucas Bjerregaard 1-up.

Kisner, who edged Kuchar 1-up in last year’s round of 16, won his earlier PGA titles in 2015 at Sea Island, Georgia and in 2017 at Colonial. At 40, Kuchar would have been the oldest champion in tournament history and the first player to win three titles in a PGA season since Steve Stricker in 2009.