Former Longhorn Scottie Scheffler Falls in WGC-Dell Match Play Championship
Former Texas Longhorns golfer Scottie Scheffler fell to Billy Horschel in the championship match of the WGC Dell-Match Play Championship on Sunday at Austin Country Club.
For Scheffler, it was a successful week in his first appearance in the PGA Tour’s only annual match play event. As the field’s No. 30 seed, he got out of group play and then won three matches before falling to Horschel, who was the No. 32 seed overall.
Horschel won the match, 2 and 1. It was his sixth PGA Tour win. Scheffler was seeking his first PGA Tour victory. Without the win, Scheffler is projected to move up 33 spots in the FedEx Cup Standings from No. 59 to No. 26.
Scheffler grabbed an early lead with a birdie on No. 2, and held it until Horschel chipped in a 42-foot shot for birdie to level the match. Horschel rode that momentum the rest of the front nine, as he dropped another birdie to win No. 7 and move into the lead, while Scheffler bogeyed No. 9 to allow Horschel to move to a 2-up lead.
On the back nine, Horschel and Scheffler tied the eight holes to allow Horschel to remain in control and win the match.
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In his morning semifinal match, Scheffler defeated Matt Kuchar, 1 up to advance. It was a measure of revenge from a Longhorns perspective, as Kuchar eliminated former Texas golfer Jordan Spieth in the Round of 16 on Saturday.
In the match with Kuchar, Scheffler took an early lead after Kuchar bogeyed the second hole, a par-4. Kuchar got the shot back with a birdie on No. 4, which evened the match until the ninth hole There, Scheffler birdied the 466-yard par 4 to take a 1-up lead going into the back nine.
Scheffler pushed his lead to 2-up with a birdie at the par-3 11th hole, but Scheffler had to concede the 12th hole, and Kuchar followed with a birdie at the 13th hole to level the match with five holes to play. Scheffler regained the lead on the par-3 17th hole, draining a 15-foot putt for birdie, and then making a par on the final hole. With Kuchar also making par on the 18th, Scheffler won the match and advanced.
The PGA Tour is at the TPC San Antonio next week for the Valero Texas Open, which is the final tune-up before The Masters at Augusta National.
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Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Longhorns in the Pros for Longhorn Country on FanNation.com and SINow. He also writes for CowboyMaven and DallasBasketball.com, covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com and is the Editor of the College Football America Yearbook. Have a story idea about a former Longhorn now in the professional ranks? Contact Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.