Georgia Tech #ProJackets Golf Report

THE FLATS – Matt Kuchar shows his talent for match play once again with a third-place finish at the Dell Technologies Match Play … Chesson Hadley, Roberto Castro and Vincent Whaley solid in the Dominican … J.T. Griffin earns top-10 finish in the Korn Ferry Tour … More below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.

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KUCHAR ADDS TO HIS WGC-MATCH PLAY MARK WITH THIRD-PLACE FINISH

Matt Kuchar didn’t look the part of a 42-year-old PGA Tour veteran late Sunday afternoon at Austin Country Club. Following his 2-and-1 victory over Victor Perez in the day’s consolation match, Kuchar leaned into his WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play resume.

“What time’s my next match? When do I get Billy Horschel. I got six points, how many has he got? Come on, Billy, any time, any place, I’m ready, you know it,” Kuchar joked.

There was no second chance waiting for Kuchar. He lost his semifinal match to Scottie Scheffler and Horschel won the championship match, 2 and 1. Instead, Kuchar had to settle for third place, again.

Kuchar’s record at the WGC-Match Play is better than many PGA Tour careers. He’s won once (2013), finished runner-up once (2019) and now has two third-place finishes (2011 and ’21) for a total of eight top-10 finishes in 11 starts and over $4.9 million in earnings in the event.

More from Golf Channel

Golfweek: Matt Kuchar is smiling again heading into Valero Texas Open

WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play: Full bracket | Scoring

The Georgia Tech All-American swept all three of his matches in group play, defeating Justin Thomas, Louis Oosthuizen and Kevin Kisner, the latter avenging a loss in the 2019 Dell Technologies Match Play finals. Then he knocked off Jordan Spieth in the round of 16, somewhat avenging his loss to Spieth in the 2017 Open Championship, and Brian Harman in the quarterfinals.

Kuchar’s performance last weekend bumped him more than 70 spots in the FedEx Cup points race to No. 102, and also had implications for his chances of making the U.S. Ryder Cup team, jumping him six spots to No. 23 in the U.S. rankings. He continues tuning up for The Masters this week at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.

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HADLEY, CASTRO AND WHALEY PLAY WELL IN THE DOMINICAN

Chesson Hadley and Roberto Castro made the most of their starts in last weekend’s Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, posting their highest finishes in some time, and relative newcomer Vincent Whaley also enjoyed a solid weekend.

Hadley tied for 13^th place with a 6-under-par score of 282 to snap a string of five missed cuts, while Castro tied for 18^th, just one stroke behind Hadley. It was Hadley’s best finish of the 2020-21 season, and his third top-20 finish, leaving him at No. 134 on the FedEx Cup points list. Castro, with limited status, has made only four starts this season, but has posted a T39 (Puerto Rico Open) and a T18 in his last two.

Meanwhile, Whaley earned a tie for 28^th place at 285 (-3) and sits at No. 135 in points.

Hadley and Whaley are in the field for the Valero Texas open this week along with Cameron Tringale (No. 43) and Kuchar. It is the last chance for all but Kuchar to earn an invitation to the Masters.

Leaderboard

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GRIFFIN EARNS FIRST TOP-10 FINISH SINCE LAST MARCH

J.T. Griffin earned his highest finish in more than a year last weekend, a tie for 10^th place at the Club Car Championship in Savannah, Ga. The Wilson, N.C., native overcame an opening 75 to finish 67-65-68 for a 13-under-par total of 275. It was Griffin’s third top-10 finish of the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2020-21 wrap-around season, but he had missed the cut in the last three events and in 11 of the intervening 18 events since the COVID-19 shutdown ended.

Paul Haley II also had a good weekend with a tie for 16^th place (276, -12), which edged him up four positions in the Korn Ferry Tour points standings. Seth Reeves tied for 55^th place and dropped one spot to 21^st. Anders Albertson, Ollie Schniederjans and Nicholas Thompson missed the cut.

Reeves remains Georgia Tech’s top-ranked player in Korn Ferry Tour points (No. 21), with Haley at No. 38, Schniederjans at No. 39, Albertson at No. 57 and Griffin at No. 75. The top 25 in points at the end of the regular season will earn PGA Tour cards for the 2021-22 season.

All but Thompson are in the field for this weekend’s Emerald Coast Classic in Destin, Fla. Luke Schniederjans lost a playoff in Monday qualifying after firing a 66.

Leaderboard

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ELSEWHERE

Kevin Larsen, a four-year Georgia Tech teammate of Roberto Castro’s, competed in a MacKenzie Tour (PGA Tour Canada) qualifying event last weekend in San Jacinto, Calif., finishing solo 29^th with a 5-over-par score of 293.

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#PROJACKETS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

5-0-0 on the week, Matt Kuchar is riding high. pic.twitter.com/f2k9Uqxa7R

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 28, 2021

Matt Kuchar needed a birdie on 17 to win it.

Got the birdie on 17 to win it. pic.twitter.com/2jLGzswcGa

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 27, 2021

Matt Kuchar is smiling again, and for good reason. https://t.co/FmZlqac4in

— Golfweek (@golfweek) March 30, 2021

“Who wants to come and look for my ball?”

Matt Kuchar making some new friends out there.#DellMatchPlay pic.twitter.com/bPwAtnJ5MK

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) March 27, 2021

This week is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Pumped to be back at the @valerotxopen. Game is feeling sharp, family is coming in today, looking forward to a great week! pic.twitter.com/Vnj6aXlM4q

— Chesson Hadley (@chessonhadley) March 30, 2021

Let’s go @canes! pic.twitter.com/L8HbMRWVmm

— Chesson Hadley (@chessonhadley) March 30, 2021

UPCOMING EVENTS

• PGA Tour:  Valero Texas Open • April 1-4, 2021 • TPC San Antonio • San Antonio, Texas • Purse: $7,700,000
• Korn Ferry Tour:  Emerald Coast Classic at Sandestin • April 1-4, 2021 • Ravens Golf Club • Destin, Fla. • Purse: $600,000
• PGA Tour Champions:  Chubb Classic • April 16-18, 2021 • Tiburon Golf Club • Naples, Fla. • Purse: $1,600,000
• All Pro Tour:  Mac Haik and Lincoln Victory Open • April 7-10, 2021 • Victoria Country Club • Victoria, Texas • Purse: $130,000
• G Pro Tour:  Augusta Open • March 31-April 2, 2021 • Belle Meade Golf Club • Thomson, Ga.
• SwingThought Tour:  ST 17 Georgia National • March 31-April 2, 2021 • Georgia National Golf Club • Atlanta, Ga.