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Kevin Kisner wins WGC Match Play, but is he a Ryder Cup lock?

By Brandon Raper

AUSTIN, TEXAS - MARCH 31: Kevin Kisner of the United States celebrates with the Walter Hagen Cup after defeating Matt Kuchar of the United States 3&2 during the final round of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club on March 31, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Darren Carroll/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - MARCH 31: Kevin Kisner of the United States celebrates with the Walter Hagen Cup after defeating Matt Kuchar of the United States 3&2 during the final round of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club on March 31, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Darren Carroll/Getty Images) /
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Kevin Kisner made a major impact at the WGC-Dell Match Play on Sunday, returning to the finals for the second straight year, and finally breaking through with the victory. With his match play prowess, is he a legitimate consideration for the 2020 Ryder Cup team already?

Kevin Kisner had a fantastic week at the WGC-Dell Match Play. Even though he lost a tough 18-hole match against English match-play maven Ian Poulter in Wednesday’s opening round, he came back and beat World No. 14 Tony Finau on Thursday. Wrapping up group play with his shortest match of the three days, a 17-hole knockout of Keith Mitchell, Kisner came back for three playoff holes with Poulter, and won.

Kisner never looked back, defeating Haotong Li (6&5), Louis Oosthuizen (2&1), a white-hot Francesco Molinari (1 up) and finally Matt Kuchar (3&2) to claim his third PGA TOUR win, by far the biggest of his career to date.

Kisner’s victory rounds were classic. He said he’d celebrate with pizza and beer (because, come on, who wouldn’t?), and reminded everyone that even though he just won nearly $2 million over the 120-hole marathon, it wouldn’t change him, or how he plays.

"“I’m the cheapest guy in the world,” said Kisner, whose career got started on a $16,000 loan from his father. “I hoard that money like crazy, because I don’t know when it’s going to run out, and I don’t want it to run out and I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to make 10-footers.”"

While most of the golf world was paying attention to Tiger Woods (understandably), Kisner was taking care of business at Austin Country Club for the second straight year. His performance didn’t go unnoticed, though, by Lee Westwood, who sent out this needling tweet on Saturday:

For those of us on the American side of the pond who are still reeling a bit from the 17.5-10.5 thrashing that Team Europe laid on Team USA in Paris this past fall, that one stings a bit. But Westwood isn’t wrong. Kisner has proven his match play mettle with tons of grit and determination over the past two years, and it makes you wonder: could the outcome of the last Ryder Cup have been different with a steady hand like Kisner on the American roster? And in the wake of this week, should he already be in consideration for next year’s Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits?

Kisner was notably left off the 2018 squad by captain Jim Furyk in favor of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tony Finau and Bryson DeChambeau. That was the subject of a lot of debate, because all four of those players bring similar qualities to the table. While Kisner isn’t the most powerful player in the world and certainly wasn’t a superstar addition, his accuracy and short-game should have helped in Paris, just as they did in Austin.

Unfortunately, Kevin Kisner wasn’t on top form when Furyk’s picks needed to be made. He did finish runner-up at The Open Championship in July, but he was inconsistent at best the rest of the way, finishing outside the top 50 in two of the three FedEx Cup Playoff events he qualified for. Phil and Tiger were legends in their own right, and Finau and DeChambeau were clearly on the rise.

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Even though that felt like the right decision at the time – and Team USA was still riding the high of the victory at Hazeltine back in 2016 – the value of a match-play dynamo isn’t likely lost on anybody anymore. Stars are great, but winners are better.

Kisner gave his chances of making this year’s Presidents Cup team a big boost on Sunday, jumping from 30th in the points race to 15th. Only the top eight players will automatically qualify, but captain Tiger Woods gets four picks of his own at a later date. Right now, Kisner is two spots ahead of Captain Woods on the list, and Tiger has said that he expects to be a playing captain. He’ll probably want to keep his eye on the guy he potentially could have played in the finals this week.

While the Presidents Cup seems like a sure thing for Kisner barring a serious slump this year, what about next year’s Ryder Cup? Kisner is currently second on the American list, behind only Dustin Johnson, but there have also only been two qualifying WGC events so far in 2019. It feels far too early to make Kisner a lock to get a pick, a la Mickelson last year, but Steve Stricker knows Whistling Straits, and he should know that he needs a consistent hand like Kevin Kisner to round out the roster.

There’s a long way to go, especially with 2020 events earning significantly more points toward the Ryder Cup than this season’s tournaments, but Stricker – and any captain going forward – would be a fool to dismiss Kisner out of hand in favor of star power.

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If nothing else, giving Kevin Kisner, and more players like him, a run can’t be a bad thing. After all, Team USA has won precisely three Ryder Cups in the last quarter century. All the star power in the world is great, until you’re watching your opponent lift the cup…year after year after year.

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