AUSTIN, Texas – 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.
“Every year we come here I really enjoy myself, I enjoy the format,” Kuchar said. “Certainly, it was anti-climatic playing in the afternoon match, but once you get out, once you get going, the juices get going and you don't want to lose.”