Thomas eyes No. 1 ranking
AUSTIN, Texas — Justin Thomas won two matches on Saturday to reach the semifinals of the Dell Technologies Match Play. One more and he will become the world No. 1.
Thomas made quick work of Si Woo Kim in the morning, then trailed for the first time all week against Kyle Stanley — but not for long. Thomas won three straight holes to start the back nine, made a 6-foot par putt to stay in control and closed out Stanley, 2-and-1.
Dustin Johnson didn’t win a match all week and will not get any world ranking points. That means Thomas only has to reach the championship match today to become the seventh American to reach No. 1. In his way is Bubba Watson, who is back to playing like a two-time Masters champion.
“It will and would be a great accomplishment,” Thomas said. “But I’m just worried about trying to beat Bubba Watson.”
Watson made all the key putts in a battle of Georgia southpaws when he beat Brian Harman in the morning, then he turned a tight match into a runaway against Kiradech Aphibarnrat by winning five of six holes on the back nine for a 5-and-3 victory. That put Watson, who won last month at Riviera, in the semifinals for the first time since his Match Play debut in 2011.
Alex Noren extended his run at Austin Country Club by winning for the ninth time in his last 10 matches. His only loss was to Johnson a year ago in the quarterfinals, and he needed only 31 holes to beat Patrick Reed and Cameron Smith of Australia.
Noren and Thomas are the only semifinalists who have not lost a match this week. Kevin Kisner reached the semifinals with a big putt and a big blowout. He made a birdie on the 18th hole to beat Matt Kuchar, then matched the shortest match of the week with an 8-and-6 victory over Ian Poulter, who was disappointed for more than just losing.
“I probably didn’t see that one coming,” Kisner said. “I thought it was going to be a difficult match. I got off to a good start. He made a few mistakes and I was able to capitalize on those.”
Poulter was told after he beat Louis Oosthuizen in the morning that reaching the quarterfinals was enough for him to be in the top 50 at the end of the week, which would get him into the Masters. He later received a text that he needed to win his match against Kisner. The misinformation wasn’t to blame, though it clearly added to an all-around bad day at the office. “I gave him no fight at all. It was rubbish,” said Poulter.