Phil Mickelson is in the midst of his best stretch in five years, distance doesn’t mean everything in golf and the stars — in the sport — are back here.
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AUSTIN, Texas – For a moment there it looked as if Stephen Ames was going to have company in the unwanted record books at the World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play. Bubba Watson’s dominance early in the final at Austin Country Club over fellow University of Georgia alum Kevin Kisner – where he won the opening five holes – had everyone scrambling for the record books for largest wins. To be fair, most remember Tiger Woods giving Ames a 9 and 8 belting in the opening round of the 2006 tournament … but could Watson reach the almost mythical 10 and 8? The short answer is no – instead he settled for a 7 and 6 result – but it could have quite easily been more. Watson had legitimate chances to win the first 10 straight holes – and did win seven of them. It was a Bubba blitz of epic proportions – a combination of good golf and a tired opponent. It stands as a new record for a winning margin in an 18-hole final – with Woods’ 8-and-6 win over Stewart Cink in 2008 coming when the final was played over 36 holes. “I really don’t think it was pressure,â€� Watson said of Kisner’s performance. “I think it was just energy. I don’t think I scared him on the first tee. I think it was just his energy was gone after a couple of holes. And he was fighting, but just didn’t have the fight that he really wanted and needed.â€� Kisner had gone 19 holes in his semifinal against Alex Noren, a grinding match he probably should have lost, but showed great guts to win. Watson needed just 16 holes to oust Justin Thomas and had a comfortable lead for most of that match, expending much less physical and mental energy. “I don’t know what was going on. It was just pitiful. I couldn’t hit anywhere close to where I was trying,â€� Kisner lamented. “Long week. A little tired, probably. Lose some legs, and just didn’t have it. And finally made a few good swings coming in, but those were too little, too late.â€� In the final, Watson opened with five straight wins – the first player to do so all week. It all began with a birdie for him on the opening hole, setting the tone for the match. He even had a short putt to make it six in a row but proved human by missing on the low side. Another win on the seventh hole had him firing again and the now 11-time PGA TOUR winner had looks from 18 and 14 feet on the eighth and ninth, respectively, to win those holes only to let them slip. Another birdie on 10 followed before Kisner slightly delayed the inevitable with a long-range birdie and win on the 11th. Another Watson birdie on the 12th hole secured his second career WGC title and second TOUR win this season. “It’s absolutely amazing,â€� Watson said after moving to fourth in the FedExCup. “You don’t think about lists or anything, you just think about trophies and trying to win. And having two majors, and now having two World Golf Championships … the closest things to majors … what an honor and a privilege, overwhelming sensation to know that I have another trophy at the house.â€� CALL OF THE DAY SUPERLATIVES Best Match: The semifinal between Kevin Kisner and Alex Noren needed an extra hole to decide it. After the two traded some stunning golf early in the match it became a grind late. At one stage, Noren made five straight birdies but won just one hole. On the back nine, Kisner won the 12th, and then won it again in overtime to claim the win. Noren had multiple short putts to win holes, including on 18 in regulation, but couldn’t get it done. Read all match recaps here. Most Dominant Performance: Clearly it was the 7-and-6 rout Watson handed Kisner in the championship final. Most Holes Won: The eight holes won by Watson in the final was the pick of the four Sunday matches. Least Holes Won: Kisner at least got on the board with his long birdie bomb on the 11th hole in the final … the only hole he won. Best Learning Experience: FedExCup leader Justin Thomas had the chance to get to world No. 1 if he could beat Watson in their semifinal on Sunday morning but instead struggled to bring his best. Thomas admitted it got to him – an experience he can certainly learn from. “I haven’t had such a hard time not thinking about something so much. And that really sucked. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, to be perfectly honest,â€� Thomas said. QUOTABLES Well, yeah, there’s only two of us. Jell-O.If we do our job well, we think we’re good enough to beat the other guys. In the end it might be a good thing going to Augusta without that. I get to go do what I was going to do and let DJ have all that pressure. It was one of the hardest losses probably ever for me.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Si Woo Kim narrowly missed a second hole-in-one on consecutive days and saw his four-shot lead trimmed to one over Monday qualifier Corey Conners after Saturday’s third round of the Valero Texas Open. Kim, the 2017 THE PLAYERS Championship winner, aced the 16th hole at the TPC San Antonio on Friday, and he missed it by inches on the way to a third round 3-under 69. He was at 15 under, and Connors, trying to become the first Monday qualifier to win on the PGA TOUR since 2010, was a stroke back after shooting a 6-under 66. Charley Hoffman, the 2016 Valero Texas Open winner, moved up the leaderboard with a birdie-birdie-eagle finish and the week’s best round of 64. He was two back of Kim at 13-under. Scott Brown turned in a second straight 67, and Jhonattan Vegas also shot 67. Both were at 11 under with Kyoung-Hoon Lee (69) and four strokes back. Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth started the day tied for second, four shots back. Both finished eight shots out of the lead after ballooning to rounds of 1-over 73. Kim flirted with the 16th hole on the second bounce on Saturday. This time, the ball rolled past the hole to inside four feet for what looked like an easy birdie. He missed, Conners made his from inches shorter and they shared the lead again. But Conners returned the favor on the next hole, missing a birdie from inside seven feet. Kim got out of a greenside bunker at the par-5 18th and sank a four-foot par to get the one-stroke advantage. Conners is trying to become the first Monday qualifier to win on the PGA TOUR since Arjun Atwal nine years ago. Before that, no one had done it in 24 years. He birdied the opening three holes, including a near-ace at the third, and almost had a fourth to start the day when his 58-foot putt rested a couple of inches from the cup on No. 4. He birdied again at the fifth, which gave him a share of the lead with Kim, and joined Kim in birdieing the seventh. Conners, 27, was a finalist in the 2014 U.S. Amateur, but he has not won on the PGA TOUR or any of its affiliate tours. This season he has finished second in the Sanderson Farms Championship and, after Monday qualifying, was third at the Sony Open. Hoffman’s hot finish came with a birdie at the 14th. He wrapped it up with a 22-foot birdie putt at 16 and a 15-footer at 17 before he reached the green in two at the downwind 607-yard finishing hole. Fowler bogeyed his first two holes, part of five on the day. Even with an eagle on the 18th, Fowler dropped 14 spots to 16th and 7-under. Spieth was in the last group of the day with leaders Kim and Conners, but he quickly joined Fowler in going the other way. He didn’t hit a fairway until the 11th hole and by that time had two double bogeys. After his front-nine 42, Spieth’s first birdie came on the 12th. He added four more on the backside.
It’s almost Christmas Party season and the TOUR will have their annual pre-holiday get-together on lovely Sea Island to wrap up the first half of the schedule. The par-70 Seaside Course (7,005 yards) was the original host but Plantation was added to the rotation for the 2015 edition won by Kevin Kisner. Seaside’s large TifEagle Bermuda greens will provide the challenge this week, if the wind stays down, as the pros are rarely bothered by two inches of rough. RELATED: Power Rankings | Daily fantasy advice | Sleeper picks The par-72 Plantation Course (7,060 yards) was just completely renovated and redesigned by tournament host Davis Love III and his brother Mark. I wouldn’t expect it to play as easy as it has in the past, which is normal in year one after changes, but that yardage shouldn’t bother many, if any. The final regular season event of calendar 2019 will have 156 players casually knocking it around the Seaside (host) and Plantation (Thursday/Friday only) courses for one final chance to become exempt for the rest of this season and the next two. Toss in $1.188 million, (500 FedExCup points) to the winner and it’s not a bad White Elephant gift! The 10th edition at such a popular place to live for the pros would suggest course form is important this week. While I’m not arguing, I’ll point out there have been no repeat or multiple winners during this run. Gamers will remember that’s hardly a surprise in events when tons of birdies and scores in the 60s are required annually to compete. While the residents of Sea Island should have the most reps, don’t forget that when these guys go “home” during the season for a few weeks they aren’t out grinding or playing. They’re usually resting or spending time with family. The recent winners below will point out some interesting trends for use this week. Recent Winners 2018: Charles Howell III (-19, 263) Sea Island resident broke a four-year streak of first-time winners at The RSM Classic. … Defeated Patrick Rodgers in a two-hole playoff. … Led after 18, 36 and 54 holes. … 36-hole lead of three is largest in tournament history and was bogey-free. … Becomes fifth 54-hole leader of the last six to close the deal. … Led the field in GIR and posted sixth in Putting: Birdie-or-Better percentage. Notables: Rodgers closed 61-62 to set the TOUR record for the final two rounds. … Rodgers led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and birdies with 26. … Top 45 players were 10-under or lower. … Webb Simpson led the field Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, closed 63-65 for solo third. Luke List matched Simpson’s weekend but was T4. … Nick Watney (64) posted the lowest round of the week at Plantation. 2017: Austin Cook (-21, 261) Missed Kisner’s winning total by a shot as he won by four. … Put on a clinic as he was T4 fairways, T2 GIR and T1 scrambling. … Tied the 36-hole record (-14) while setting the 54-hole record (-18). … Led the field with 23 birdies against only two bogeys (no others). … First TOUR win in 14th start. … First time at the event. … Fifth first-time winner in eight at The RSM Classic. Notables: 2014 champ Chris Kirk (T4) played in the final group and set the Plantation course record (63) in Round 1. … J.J. Spaun (2nd) and Cook shared the low round of the week at Seaside with 62. … Brian Gay (3rd) opened 65-64 and was one of 11 players to post all four rounds in the 60s. … Kevin Streelman (T17) posted one bogey over 72 holes. 2016: Mackenzie Hughes (-17, 265) Opened with 61 on Seaside and never looked back. … Led after every round, except the last, as he won a five-man playoff on Monday. … First TOUR victory in his ninth start. … First attempt at The RSM Classic. … Led the field Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and birdies (23), second in Putting: Birdie-or-Better percentage and third in scrambling. … Made a triple (!) in Round 3 and still won. Notables: Billy Horschel (P2) and Henrik Norlander (P2) are in the field again this year. … Jim Furyk (T6) and Patrick Rodgers (T10) are also competing this week. … Cut was 5 under. … Resident Jonathan Byrd (T21) and Stewart Cink (T10) signed for 62 at Seaside. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. The RSM Classic does NOT use laser measurements on the Plantation course.  * – previous top 10 finish here Greens in Regulation  5 *Jason Dufner  7 *Charles Howell III  8 Josh Teater 12 Talor Gooch 12 Shawn Stefani 14 Martin Laird 15 *Kevin Streelman 17 Cameron Tringale 18 Brice Garnett 20 *Matt Kuchar 23 Jhonattan Vegas 24 *Jim Furyk 25 Hank Lebioda 26 Russell Knox Putting: Birdie-or-Better Percentage  6 Denny McCarthy  7 Aaron Wise 11 Si Woo Kim 14 Dominic Bozzelli 20 Troy Merritt 21 Sepp Straka 23 *Vaughn Taylor Sub-Par Rounds  2 Adam Schenk  3 *Vaughn Taylor  4 Rory Sabbatini  5 *Charles Howell III  8 *Billy Horschel  8 Nick Taylor 12 Joel Dahmen 12 *Kevin Kisner 12 J.T. Poston 19 *Webb Simpson 19 *Matt Kuchar 19 Brian Stuard 22 *Harris English 26 Brice Garnett 26 Matt Jones 26 Denny McCarthy Bermuda Bosses Kevin Kisner: The inaugural champ when Plantation was added, Kisner is 53 under the last four years with a MC. His top 10s include the last two years plus T4 the final time Seaside was the exclusive track. Charles Howell III: His win last season was his fourth top-10 payoff in nine starts. I’d say he’s comfortable on this layout. Webb Simpson: If a fantastic short game is one of the keys, he’ll be involved. Lost a playoff in 2011 and was third last year. Zach Johnson: I used to believe this was his come-down event from a long season but the last two years he’s popped into the top 10 and is 28 under. This might be his new John Deere Classic as he gets older! Dig Deeper Patrick Rodgers: As noted above, he’s found his happy spot here with P2 and T10 in two of his last three attempts. Russell Henley: One of the many Georgia Bulldogs to find top-10 successes on the Golden Isles, Henley has cashed three times in the big bucks in five tries. Brian Harman: Picked up his second top-10 check with T4 two years ago but has posted 66 or better in four of his last six rounds. Chris Kirk: Course record holder at Plantation has T4, T4 and WIN in three of his last six. Wait, What? Matt Kuchar: Never worse than T29 but only one top 10 (T7, 2014) as he’ll make his eighth start. Billy Horschel: Lost in a playoff to Hughes in 2016 yet didn’t play the last two seasons.
