Billy Horschel holds his trophy after winning the Dell Technologies Match Play tournament Sunday in Austin, Texas. David J. Phillip/Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas — Billy Horschel had just enough left in the tank to win the Dell Technologies Match Play on Sunday with plenty of help from Scottie Scheffler in a sloppy end to the longest week in golf.
Horschel made only one birdie in the championship match, chipping in from 40 feet on the fifth hole, and left the big mistakes to the 24-year-old Scheffler in winning 2 and 1.
Horschel, who had never reached the weekend in four previous appearances at this World Golf Championship, won six out of the seven matches over 122 holes he played at Austin Country Club.
“It was one of those days where I didn’t play very good,” Horschel said, still able to smile because of the outcome. “I was just grinding it out.”
It ended a great run for Scheffler, a University of Texas graduate who had to beat three former Match Play champions and two players from the top 10 in the world to reach the championship match.
He pulled a tee shot on the par-5 sixth that required him to take a penalty drop away from the boundary fence. He pulled his approach on the par-5 12th into the water. He hooked another drive off the two-story hospitality tent left of the 15th fairway. Through it all, he managed to stay in the match.
Scheffler made par and halved the hole after the penalty drop on No. 5. Even after hitting into the water on the 12th, he had a 10-foot par putt to win the hole after Horschel hit a wedge into the bunker. Scheffler missed to stay 2 down.
Horschel hit another wedge into a back bunker on par-5 16th. This time, Horschel got up-and-down to save par and halve the hole, and he won the match when Scheffler missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th.
Matt Kuchar won the consolation match over Victor Perez. Kuchar, trying to tie Tiger Woods’ record with a fourth appearance in the championship match, didn’t make a putt longer than 3 feet, 6 inches in his semifinal loss to Scheffler.
• Joel Dahmen won the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship for his first PGA Tour victory, avoiding a playoff in the Dominican Republic when the wind pushed playing partner Rafael Campos’ final birdie try to the left.
Dahmen closed with a 2-under 70 on the windswept seaside course. He finished at 12-under 276. He didn’t get into the Masters with the victory because the tournament was played opposite the WGC Match Play event, but did earn a PGA Championship berth and a spot in next year’s Sentry Tournament of Champions.
LPGA: Inbee Park opened her season with a wire-to-wire victory in the Kia Classic in Carlsbad, California.
Park closed with a 2-under 70 for a five-stroke victory over Lexi Thompson and Amy Olson. Park finished at 14-under 274.
The Hall of Famer finally put it all together at Aviara Golf Club, winning her 21st LPGA Tour title after finishing second on the scenic course in 2010, 2016 and 2019. She tied LPGA founder Marilynn Smith for 25th place on the career victory list and moved within four of matching Se Ri Pak for the most by a South Korean player.
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