Kevin Kisner, who twice came back from 3 down to win the last four holes to defeat Adam Scott and reach the quarterfinals at the Dell Technologies Match Play, added to his match play legacy.
It was the culmination of a wild day at Austin Country Club, which saw many comebacks and blowouts. Abraham Ancer was able to defeat Collin Morikawa, a two-time major champion, in just 12 holes.
The quarterfinals took place Saturday afternoon.
Scottie Scheffler (ex-Texas Longhorn) got a little revenge in a rematch from the final one year ago, when he defeated defending champion Billy Horschel 1 to 1. Scheffler could be ranked No. Scheffler can go to No. 1 in the world, if he wins this tournament. Jon Rahm was defeated in 19 holes by Brooks Koepka during another dynamic match.
Richard Bland, at 49 years old, had to beat Dustin Johnson in the fourth round to break the top 50 and qualify for the Masters. Johnson led at the turn and beat Bland, 3 to 2.
This is the last chance for the Englishman. He will be attending the Texas Open in San Antonio next week after finishing in the top 10 in Austin. The winner will be invited to the Masters.
However, Kisner stole the show.
He finished second in Match Play 2018 and won the title a year later. Since 2016, Austin has seen no one win more matches. It didn’t seem like he would increase that number Saturday morning for the longest time.
Scott won the front nine three times straight and was 3 up through five of his holes. Scott birdied 14th hole to make it 3 up, four holes after Kisner had reduced the deficit.
From there, Kisner kept it going. For birdie, he hit wedge to 5ft on the 15th. He hit a bunker shot of 50 feet that he had to carry to another bunker, which was tucked behind the ridge on the par-5 16.
Kisner stated that I told my caddie just before hitting it that I thought we could use the wind to fly it in the hole. It came out perfectly and slowed down due to the wind. He said that it trickled in like an putt, although I couldn’t see it going in. These are the things you can only dream about.
Scott missed a 10-foot putt to par on the 17th, which would have tied the match. Kisner made an unlikely comeback on the 18th with a 7-foot birdie.
Rahm almost pulled off a similar comeback, even if it was not unique. Rahm was down 2 with 3 to play when he clocked a pitch perfect to 4 feet for birdie.
Rahm thought he hit a great shot on the par-3 17th. However, it spun off the green and headed towards the hazard. Rahm stopped inches from the canyon below, just inches from the rocks. Koepka felt the wind gusting and decided to take an extra club. His shot was strong and clear through the wind. It went over the green without any problems. However, it carved off the steps of a hill into mulch, which left him with little chance of making par.
Both birdies were within the 10-foot zone on the 18th. Koepka’s hole was too short and Rahm’s shot for the win barely missed. The second hole at No. Koepka landed a 15-footer on the 10th extra hole at No.
Other matches saw Corey Conners from Canada go up early and never gave Takumi Kaya of Japan much chance in a 5-and-3 win. Seamus Power took a 5-up lead over the front nine and dispatched Tyrrell Hatton with a 4-and-3 win. Will Zalatoris birdied 18th to tie the match and defeated Kevin Na in 22 holes.
The quarterfinal matches featured Koepka against Johnson, Scheffler against Power, Ancer against Conners, and Kisner against Zalatoris.
