Matt Kuchar, at 44 years old, won his group and tied Tiger Woods for the most match wins in the history of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play with 36 total victories. Kuchar needed two wins to reach the record and will have a chance to set it outright against Jason Day on Saturday morning.
Kuchar admitted that he wasn’t aware of how close he was to tying Woods’ record until he was told ahead of the week. He expressed his pride in the achievement, saying, “There’s 300 more records I’m sure, to go, but it’s a fun one to be able to say you’ve kind of got something you tied Tiger with.”
Kuchar’s record of 36-11-5 includes wins and losses against some of the biggest names in golf from the last decade, including Jeev Milkha Singh, Jordan Spieth, and Hiroyuki Fujita. Kuchar’s four top-three finishes include a championship win against Hunter Mahan in 2013 and a consolation win against Bubba Watson in 2011, which he described as “entertaining.”
Although Kuchar’s current world ranking of 71 would likely not have qualified him for the tournament this year without the LIV Golf breakaway, he remains bullish on his game after this result and a top-10 finish at Riviera last month.
If Kuchar wants to break into the world’s top 50 and reach the Masters this year, he will need to beat Day on Saturday and score at least two other wins, finishing at least in third place.
Kuchar is the final player to tie Woods’ record in the Match Play, as this is the last year the event will be held in Austin. He may never get another chance to break the record, but Kuchar remains focused on his goals and excited about his achievements.
