AUSTIN, Texas — Americans Matt Kuchar and Kevin Kisner have advanced to Sunday afternoon’s Championship match of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. Kuchar beat Lucas Bjerregaard while Kisner knocked off Francesco Molinari in the Semifinals at Austin Country Club. Kuchar, who attended Georgia Tech, is a 2013 Match Play champ. Kisner, who attended Georgia, is making his second straight Championship match appearance. Their match is scheduled to start at 3:25 p.m. ET. “I hate them ‘Dawgs,” Kuchar joked about Kisner. “He’s a fantastic player. We’ve got a bunch of great players on Tour. He’s certainly one of them. Doing great around this place. Back-to-back championship matches for him is awfully impressive. “I don’t expect to see any bogeys. I expect to see a lot of putts made. It’s going to be a tough match.” Bjerregaard and Molinari will meet in the Consolation match at 3:05 p.m. ET. Check below for recaps of the Semifinal matches. MATCH PLAY: Scores  | Bracket Expert Picks PGATOUR.COM staff writers Ben Everill and Mike McAllister are on-site in Austin and will predict the winner of every match each day. Semifinals MATT KUCHAR (23) def. LUCAS BJERREGAARD (50), 1 up Kuchar is back in the Championship match for the first time since winning this event in 2013, as he held off the upstart from Denmark. The win was the 28th in Kuchar’s Match Play career, the third most behind Tiger Woods and Ian Poulter in tournament history. Kuchar will be seeking his third win of the PGA TOUR season against Kevin Kisner in the Championship match. Bjerregaard, who defeated Tiger Woods in Saturday’s quarterfinals, missed a birdie putt from 34 feet on the final hole that would’ve extended the match. Kuchar opened with a birdie from 9 feet to grab the lead, but after both players bogeyed the second, Kuchar suffered another bogey at the fourth when he missed a par putt from 5 feet. Kuchar regained the lead at the par-5 sixth when Bjerregaard found the rough with his second shot. But Kuchar again gave back the lead with a bogey at the seventh. Bjerregard followed his bogey at the ninth with a birdie from 8 feet at the 10th to tie the match again. A two-putt birdie at the par-5 12th put Kuchar 1-up, but Bjerregaard answered with a birdie putt from 23-1/2 feet at the 15th. Kuchar regained the lead with another two-putt birdie at the 16th and rolled in a birdie putt at the 17th from 12 feet to force Bjerregaard to answer – which he did from 10 feet to extend the match to 18. Said Kuchar: “”I feel that this was NCAA Tournament survive and advance. It was not great golf. Certainly the last couple of holes for me to hit the shot in 16, birdie 17 finally felt like I needed to make a move, I’ve got to do something.” Said Bjerregaard: “I didn’t get to put the pressure on him today like I did in my two matches yesterday. I didn’t make the putts I had to. I didn’t hit the shots when I had the chance. So, yeah, disappointed now.” Match stats: Holes won – Kuchar 5, Bjerregaard 4. Holes led – Kuchar 11, Bjerregaard 0. KEVIN KISNER (48) def. FRANCESCO MOLINARI (7), 1 up Kisner reached the Championship final for the second consecutive year, winning the final hole with par after Molinari three-putted from 27 feet. Not since Hunter Mahan in 2013 has a player advanced to the final in two straight years. Kisner lost to Bubba Watson in last year’s final after beating Alex Noren in 19 holes in the semifinals. The match was tied going to the par-4 18th. Molinari’s tee shot left him in the fairway bunker while Kisner found the fairway. Both players were on the green in two, but Molinari’s downhill putt ran 7 feet, 8 inches past the hole. Kisner’s birdie putt from 14 feet left him with a tap-in par, and Molinari’s par save just missed on the left side. The loss was Molinari’s first of the week. Kisner has won his last five matches after opening with a loss to Ian Poulter in the group stage. The lead changed six times in the first seven holes, with each player producing three birdies in that stretch. Kisner won the opening hole with a birdie but gave it right back when his approach at the second from 133 yards found the native area. Molinari won the third with a birdie from 14-1/2 feet but gave it right back when he failed to get up-and-down from the greenside bunker at the fourth. A Kisner birdie putt from 27-1/2 feet at the fifth gave him the lead. Both players birdied the sixth, then Molinari won the par-3 seventh after his tee shot finished inside 3 feet. Kisner took the lead at the par-5 12th as Molinari found the water with his third shot from off the green. That led to a stretch of three bogeys in four holes for Molinari, but he bounced bback with consecutive birdies, while Kisner found trouble at the par-5 16th. Molinari’s tee shot at the par-3 17th finished inside 5 feet, as he tied the match entering the last hole. Said Kisner: “The front nine I was freezing, and we actually made more birdies on the front nine than we did the back. It’s an interesting game and match play brings out interesting things. I never dreamed he would three-putt the last hole to let me win the match. Hats off to him. He’s a great player. He’s been playing great all year.” Said Molinari: “Just didn’t quite play my best. We played quite well on the front nine and then just dropped too many easy shots on the back nine, unfortunately. It is what it is. Still a positive week. … I bogeyed 12, 14, 18 from decent spots in the middle of the fairway. So it’s not something really you’re allowed to do.” Match stats: Holes won – Kisner 6, Molinari 5. Holes led – Kisner 9, Molionari 1.
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