web1_ttl040119AllStarClassic6.jpg

GAR’s Johnson stars in fast-paced Battle of the Valley Classic boys game

web1_AP19090790881689.jpg

Auburn tops Kentucky 77-71 in OT for first Final Four trip

AUSTIN, Texas &#8212; Kevin Kisner made it to the Dell Technologies Match Play final for the second straight year, and this time he got it right.A week that began with a loss ended with the biggest victory of Kisner&#8217;s career when he holed a 20-foot birdie putt to close out Matt Kuchar, 3 and 2, in the chilly championship match at Austin Country Club.&#8220;It was a long week. I prevailed. And I&#8217;m a world golf champion,&#8221; Kisner said off the 16th green.He became the first player to win Match Play after losing in the championship match the previous year. That one wasn&#8217;t close, as Bubba Watson raced out to a big lead and ended the match in 12 holes.Kisner never trailed against Kuchar, though it was tight at the turn until Kuchar made too many mistakes. He missed a 12-foot putt on the 10th that would have tied the match, and on his next swing put his tee shot into the water on the par-3 11th.Kisner, equipped with a 2-up lead, took it from there. He halved holes by making putts from 6 feet and 4 feet, and then seized control on the 15th when Kuchar&#8217;s chip was too strong and led to another lost hole.He won for the third time in his career, this victory worth $1,745,000.&#8220;It&#8217;s tough to maintain the high level of play the entire tournament,&#8221; Kuchar said. &#8220;You hope to do it and I feel like I&#8217;ve kind of built a game that I could rely on playing some good, steady golf. But I gave too many holes away. I knew against Kisner I couldn&#8217;t do it, and he just plodded along &#8230; and let me make mistakes. And that was good playing by Kevin.&#8221;Kisner had to play 120 holes over seven matches in five days, a week that began with a loss to Ian Poulter in group play. Kisner became the first player to win the Match Play with a loss during the round-robin portion, which began in 2015.The second straight All-American final resulted in a sixth consecutive U.S. victory in the World Golf Championships.Sutherland, Parel head to Monday finish at Fallen OakBILOXI, Miss. &#8212; Scott Parel made a 12-foot par putt to match Kevin Sutherland on the fifth hole of a playoff before play was suspended because of darkness Sunday night in the PGA Tour Champions&#8217; Rapiscan Systems Classic.They will finish Monday morning at Fallen Oak.Sutherland, the second-round leader, missed a 2-foot par putt on the second extra hole &#8212; the third straight hole he missed putts for the victory. He failed to make a birdie in all 23 holes, closing with a 3-over 75 to match Parel at 7 under.Parel made an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th in regulation for a 69.Sutherland had his best chance for birdie on 18 in regulation, but his 6-footer went left. He missed a 15-footer on 18 to open the playoff.After playing the four par-5 holes in 5 under with an eagle and three birdies in an opening 65, the 54-year-old Sutherland was 3 over on the long holes in the second and third rounds.Sutherland won the 2017 Charles Schwab Cup Championship for his lone Champions title. He&#8217;s the only player to shoot 59 in senior tour history, accomplishing the feat the 2014 Dick&#8217;s Sporting Goods Open. His only PGA Tour victory came in the 2002 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.The 53-year-old Parel also birdied the par-5 13th and par-4 16th in regulation. He won twice last year, taking the Boeing Classic and Invesco QQQ Championship for his lone tour titles.Billy Andrade shot a 71 to finish a stroke out of the playoff, three-putting the 18th for his second bogey in the last three holes. He birdied Nos. 12, 14 and 15 to take the lead at 9 under before faltering.Marco Dawson was fourth at 5 under after a 74. Bernard Langer (69), 2018 winner Steve Stricker (69) and Wes Short Jr. (69) were 4 under.Graeme McDowell wins at Corales Puntacana ResortPUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic &#8212; Graeme McDowell won the Corales Puntacana Resort &amp; Club Championship on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title since November 2015, closing with a 3-under 69 for a one-stroke victory over Chris Stroud and Mackenzie Hughes.&#8220;This is big. This is big. &#8230; It&#8217;s been a rough few years,&#8221; said McDowell, the 39-year-old major champion from Northern Ireland.He didn&#8217;t get an automatic Masters spot with the victory because the event was played opposite the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play.&#8220;It&#8217;s difficult to win on the PGA Tour,&#8221; McDowell said. &#8220;Don&#8217;t like calling this a second-tier event, but obviously the best players in the world are in Austin, Texas, this week. Still got a great field down here.&#8221;McDowell took the lead from Stroud with a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th and closed with a bogey &#8212; lagging a 30-foot par putt to inches &#8212; on the par-4 18th. Stroud bogeyed the final two holes in a 69. Hughes also closed with a bogey for a 66.&#8220;To be honest, Graeme earned it,&#8221; Stroud said. &#8220;He hit some great shots and 17 is a perfect example. He hit a lot of good shots today and didn&#8217;t get rewarded. He got rewarded there.&#8221;McDowell set up the two-stroke swing on 17 with a 6-iron shot.&#8220;I was standing on 16 green, I said to myself, &#8216;You&#8217;ve got to do something that&#8217;s tournament winning,&#8217;&#8221; McDowell said. &#8220;The shot to 17 was tournament-winning level. &#8230; I&#8217;ve been struggling with my long-iron play all week, medium- and long-iron play. It&#8217;s a shot I&#8217;ve been working on on the range the last few days and it was a perfect 6-iron, it was a perfect number for me, and when it came off the bat I knew it was pretty good.&#8221;<style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_122552026-882f11adb895472bb4adefcce6e53ec0.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kevin Kisner pumps his fist after making a putt on the 16th hole to defeat Matt Kuchar in the finals at the Dell Technologies Match Play Championship golf tournament Sunday in Austin, Texas. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_122552026-882f11adb895472bb4adefcce6e53ec0.jpg</photo0><caption0>Kevin Kisner pumps his fist after making a putt on the 16th hole to defeat Matt Kuchar in the finals at the Dell Technologies Match Play Championship golf tournament Sunday in Austin, Texas. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>The Associated Press</bylineMeta></div>

PRO GOLFKisner gets it right at Match Play