Bubba Watson Breezes Past Kevin Kisner to Win WGC-Dell Match Play 2018

Bubba Watson cruised to victory over Kevin Kisner in the final of the WGC-Dell Match Play on Sunday at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas.

Watson prevailed 7 and 6, wrapping up the result with a birdie on the 12th hole. It's his second tournament win this year after he finished first at the Genesis Open in February.

After Watson birdied No. 10 to go 7 up, Kisner kept his slim title hopes alive by birdieing No. 11 to cut his deficit slightly. But Watson locked things up one hole later. The PGA Tour shared a replay of the approach that set up his birdie putt. He nearly holed out from the fairway, with the ball rolling to the right of the cup:

As the score would attest, Watson was dominant in the final. He was 5 up through the first five holes after birdieing No. 1 and reeling off three straight pars. Kisner conceded on No. 5 to give Watson what was essentially an unassailable lead.

Having an Academy Award winner in his corner may have helped the two-time Masters champion. The tournament's official Twitter account showed Watson enjoying a moment with Matthew McConaughey:

The one-sided score wasn't enough for Watson to set a record for the margin of victory in the tournament, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Tiger Woods defeated Stephen Ames 9 and 8 in the opening round in 2006.

Watson advanced to the final Sunday after beating Justin Thomas 3 and 2 in the semifinals. In doing so, he prevented Thomas from becoming the No. 1 golfer in the world. Considering how well Thomas is playing at the moment, Watson likely delayed the inevitable.

Kisner, meanwhile, required a sudden-death 19th hole to dispatch of Alex Noren. In retrospect, he had one of the shots of the tournament when he sank a 51-foot eagle putt on the 12th hole. That tied things up between Kisner and Noren before the decisive playoff hole.

The European Tour shared a replay of Kisner's impressive putt:

Noren recovered from his dramatic defeat to beat Thomas 5 and 3 in the third-place match.

The win couldn't come at a better time for Watson, who has largely struggled in 2018 aside from his Genesis Open victory. A week ago, he tied for 66th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which was the fifth time in eight events he placed 35th or worst. He missed the cut altogether at the CareerBuilder Challenge.

Granted, ESPN.com's Jason Sobel noted Watson hadn't registered a string of victories prior to his two triumphs at Augusta National Golf Club:

Since his last Masters victory in 2014, Watson has largely been a nonfactor on the final day. He tied for 38th in 2015 and tied for 37th in 2016 before missing the cut a year ago.

According to OddsShark, Rory McIlroy (8-1) is the favorite to win the 2018 Masters, and Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods (9-1) are followed closely behind. Watson was in 11th, with 22-1 odds. The numbers are bound to shift slightly following WGC-Dell Match Play, though. 

While Watson is unlikely to be one of the top favorites leading up to the Masters, his dominant performance over Kisner is another reminder that he shouldn't be dismissed as a contender at Augusta next month.