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.
*****
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.
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.
*****
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 13th place with a 6-under-par score of 282 to snap a string of five missed cuts, while Castro tied for 18th, 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 28th 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.
*****
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 10th 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 16th place (276, -12), which edged him up four positions in the Korn Ferry Tour points standings. Seth Reeves tied for 55th place and dropped one spot to 21st. 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.
*****
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 29th with a 5-over-par score of 293.
*****
