Georgia Tech #ProJackets Golf Report

THE FLATS – Matt Kuchar ties Tiger Woods for most all-time victories at the Dell Technologies Match Play Championship … Ollie Schniederjans gets back to competition … David Duval on the golf ball rollback and more … More details below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.

*****

MATT KUCHAR TIES TIGER WOODS’ MATCH PLAY RECORD

When Matt Kuchar’s career started at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion and “Hook ‘Em Horns” favorite heading into the weekend at Austin Country Club, wasn’t in high school yet and the event was played in Arizona with a different title sponsor.

Even more defining is that Kuchar’s first victim, Anthony Kim, was playing just his second Match Play and has since mysteriously walked away from the game.

Along the way, the 44-year-old has left a trail of opponents that range from Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson to Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. He won the event in 2013, three years before the World Golf Championship relocated to Austin, and lost in the finals in 2019 to Kevin Kisner.

But the best testament to Kuchar’s longevity and match play prowess arrived Friday when he rolled over Si Woo Kim, 7 and 6, for his 36th victory in the event to tie the all-time record held by somebody named Tiger Woods.

“Getting a chance to tie any record of Tiger’s is an amazing thing,” said Kuchar, who advanced to the knockout round with his Friday victory. “That’s something I still find it hard to comprehend that I’m saying, that I tied one of his records. I’m hugely proud, pleased. There’s 300 more records [Woods holds], I’m sure, to go, but it’s a fun one to be able to say you’ve kind of got something you tied Tiger with.”

Editor’s note: Kuchar fell in the round of 16 (1-up) to Jason Day and has a 36-12-5 all-time record in the event.

More from Yahoo!Sports

PGA Tour: Matt Kuchar joins Tiger Woods in WGC-Dell Match Play history

Matt Kuchar defeats Si Woo Kim 7-and-6 to clinch his spot in the knockouts and equal Tiger Woods’ @DellMatchPlay wins record (36). 👏

📺: Golf Channel and @peacock pic.twitter.com/Le5HS06xsr

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) March 24, 2023

A historic W for Matt Kuchar 🙌

He ties @TigerWoods‘ record for most matches won @DellMatchPlay (36) and advances to the Round of 16. pic.twitter.com/Hdp1JBnmf9

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 24, 2023

*****

SCHNIEDERJANS RESUMES PRO CAREER IN SAVANNAH

He didn’t make the cut, but it was a victory of sorts for Ollie Schniederjans when he teed it up for the first time in 18 months at the Club Car Championship in Savannah, Ga.

The former world No. 1 amateur and Korn Ferry Tour champion has spent the last year recovering from surgery to both hips and made it back to competition last weekend, where he shot rounds of 75-70 to (+1) to missed playing on the weekend by three strokes.

Former Tech stars Chris Petefish and Seth Reeves, both of whom have Korn Ferry status, and Ben Smith, a Monday qualifier, also missed the cut. Only Reeves will compete this week as the tour moves to Santiago, Chile for the Astara Chile Classic.

Korn Ferry Tour leaderboard

This week on the @KornFerryTour…

The return of former world No. 1 amateur @ollie_gt, who has completed just one event in the past 18 months as he’s dealt with injuries, hip surgeries.

Great to see Ollie ready to get his career back in motion: https://t.co/k2tw12A67g pic.twitter.com/w2fBe71i9M

— Brentley Romine (@BrentleyGC) March 20, 2023

*****

ELSEWHERE

Paul Haley II tied for 35^th place at the the PGA Tour’s alternate event last weekend, posting a 6-under-par 282 at the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic; Chesson Hadley and Richy Werenski both missed the cut … David Duval tied for 53^rd at The Galleri Classic (217, +1) in Rancho Mirage, Calif. On PGA Tour Championsh … Will Dickson missed the cut at the Augusta (Ga.) Open (144, even) on the G Pro Tour … Shun Yat Hak missed the cut (T-94) at the World City Championship (144, +4) on the Asian Tour.

*****

DUVAL SOUNDS OFF ON TIGER, BALL ROLL-BACK

Last week, due to some technical difficulties, the great David Duval answered a total of one question on The Loop podcast. Fortunately for us, he was kind enough to come back on this week, and his thoughts on a variety of topics dominating golf right now were well worth the wait.

Duval, the 2001 Open Champion who spent 15 weeks as World No. 1, had become one of the prominent voices in golf broadcasting over the last decade, but decided to make a run on the PGA Tour Champions when he turned 50 in November of 2021. He’s currently three events into his second season on the senior tour, having just matched his best career finish with a T-31 at the Hoag Classic.

Double D getting back into the literal swing of things has led to far less TV time, which means we get to hear his takes on hot-button issues far less frequently. Naturally, we had to get his take on the USGA and R&A’s rollback announcement, which seemed to align with what two-time PGA champion Justin Thomas said ahead of the Valspar Championship last week.

https://t.co/DZtQ5ZGcad : David Duval on carrying Tiger and the one thing he and Brandel Chamblee actually agree on https://t.co/GJnKSrO7vz pic.twitter.com/pfvf2a52Kg

— GolfBlog.com (@GolfBlogDotCom) March 21, 2023

UPCOMING EVENTS

• PGA Tour:  Valero Texas Open • March 30-April 2, 2023 • TPC San Antonio (OakCourse) • San Antonio, Texas • Purse: $8.9M • FedEx Cup points: 500
• Korn Ferry Tour:  Astara Chile Classic • March 30-April 2, 2023 • Prince of Wales Country Club • Santiago, Chile • Purse: $1M
• PGA Tour Champions:  Invited Celebrity Classic • April 21-23, 2023 • Las Colinas Country Club • Irving, Texas • Purse: $2M
• PGA Tour Canada:  Qualifying Tournament USA West 1 • April 4-7, 2023 • Wigwam Golf Club (Gold Course) • Litchfield Park, Ariz.
• Asian Tour: International Series Vietman • April 13-16, 2023 • KN Golf Links • Vietnam • Purse: $2M
• LIV Golf Series: Orlando • March 31-April 2, 2023 • Orange County National • Orlando, Fla. • Purse: $25M
• G Pro Tour:  Forest Oaks Classic • March 28-30, 2023 • Forest Oaks Country Club • Greensboro, N.C. • Purse: $66,525

#PROJACKETS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Korn Ferry Tour (@kornferrytour)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Andy Ogletree (@andyogletree)

I’m excited to represent the ⁦@GalleriTest⁩ on and off the golf course. This#MultiCancerEarlyDetection test has the potential to impact lives and it’s important that people know about it! pic.twitter.com/8SBjZmcQHb

— David Duval (@david59duval) March 25, 2023

.@CharlieRymerPGA is back on the course! In this video he shows you how to prevent you from blasting your drive into the marsh on the 7th hole at Pearl’s West Course. ⛳️#MyrtleBeachGolf pic.twitter.com/kg6UuiLwel

— Myrtle Beach Golf (@MyrtleBeachGolf) March 23, 2023