By MIKE JOHNSON
Kevin Kisner doesn’t hit it very far, but he finds fairways with remarkable regularity, and that’s a trait that always plays well in matchplay, as it puts relentless pressure on your opponent. Kisner carded just three birdies in winning the WGC–Dell Technologies Match Play final against Matt Kuchar, but hit enough fairways (nine out of 13), to avoid putting himself in poor position, forcing Kuchar to try to make up ground, which he couldn’t as Kisner won 3&2.
In becoming the lowest seed (48th) to win the Match Play since Geoff Ogilvy 13 years ago, Kisner hit 11 fairways in downing Francesco Molinari in the morning semi-finals before taking on Kuchar in the afternoon. In that match, Kuchar simply couldn’t get anything going, making two bogeys and drowning his tee shot on the par-3 11th, handing Kisner the hole to take him to 2 up.
Kisner’s driver is Callaway’s Epic Flash Sub Zero – the lower spinning model of the Epic Flash family. The driver utilises the company’s Flash Face technology, where artificial intelligence was used to create a face whose back is rippled in areas to create more ball speed across a larger portion of the face. Kisner first put the driver in play at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January. Although the club features a moveable weight in the rear sole, Kisner keeps it in the neutral position.
Of course, when you hit it as straight as Kisner, why would you want to alter ball flight anyway.
What Kevin Kisner had in the bag at the WGC–Dell Technologies Match Play:
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero (Aldila NV 2KKV 65 TX), 9 degrees
3-wood: Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero, 13.5 degrees
5-wood: Callaway Rogue Sub Zero, 18 degrees
Irons (3-4): Callaway Apex UT; (5-9): Callaway Apex Pro; (PW): Titleist Vokey SM7
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 (52, 58 degrees)
Putter: Odyssey White Hot Pro #7
