KEVIN KISNER (29)def. COREY CONNERS (36), 2 up
Whether it’s a dramatic comeback, a dominant win, or a back-and-forth, Kevin Kisner employs a variety of methods to advance in matchplay.
After beating Adam Scott the final four holes to win the match 1-1 in Saturday’s round of 16, Kisner edged Will Zlatoris from the start to ride to a 4-3 win in the quarters, earning him the match set the stage to face ball-wielding maestro Corey Conners in a semi-final on Sunday morning.
In a hard-fought matchup, neither player led by more than 1-up until Kisner conceded a birdie to win the final hole and earn a 2-up victory before taking on local hero Scottie Scheffler in Sunday afternoon’s final . Every player already has experience in a matchplay final; Kisner finished second to Bubba Watson in 2018 before beating Matt Kuchar in 2019, while Scheffler finished second to Billy Horschel in 2021 and is hungry to make amends.
Kisner got the early edge with a winning birdie on the par-4 second Sunday morning, emptying a 20-foot birdie after Conners failed to drop his 45-foot birdie attempt. The proud Canadian quickly recovered with a birdie in 3rd place and dumped a 10-foot throw before Kisner’s 7-foot try for the tie slipped past. The next three holes were leveled by par par birdie before Kisner regained a 1-up advantage via a 14-foot par save on the seventh par 3 as Conners flew his greenside bunker shot across the green and just missed his par-saving chip attempt.
After three more holes tied with pars, Conners closed the match in dramatic fashion with a 39-foot birdie on the par-3 11, electrifying Austin CC believers. Kisner found water with his second shot on the par 12th 5 and provided an opening for Conners, who made two putts for par to defeat Kisner’s bogey.
Kisner finished the match again with a two-putt par on the par-4 14 when Conners missed the green on the left with his second shot and then failed to reach the green with his chip shot, resulting in a 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 make it fall.
After the match was tied at No. 17, Kisner nestled a lag putt to the tap-in range while Conners’ yardie attempt from the rim sped past the hole, resulting in an 8-foot miss and bogey. Kisner again gained the advantage, this time on the short par 4 finish hole, and he capitalized on the advantage with a perfectly calculated pitch that took advantage of a slope down the middle of the green, rolling the ball back to within 5 feet of the cup . As Conner’s 10-foot birdie attempt slipped by, the hole and match were awarded to the University of Georgia grad, who aims to keep the momentum of the Bulldogs’ recent football title and thrilling fans Sunday afternoon in Athens, Georgia.