Monday Scorecard: Sergio-Kuchar drama overshadows fun week of match play

"Monday Scorecard" is a look back at the biggest stories from the golf world over the past seven days.

Sergio and Kuchar's "Concession-gate"

Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar - golf's two biggest newsmakers of 2019 - joined forces last week to produce a bizarre story that perfectly combines each player's unique characteristics: Garcia's temper and Kuchar's stinginess.

Here's how it unfolded:

Sergio missed a short par putt, losing the seventh hole. Instead of waiting for his 6-inch putt to be conceded by Kuchar after the miss, the Spaniard assumed it was good, hit the ball, and missed again.

Putts of this length are conceded every time in match play. But due to the quickness of Garcia's antics, Kuchar didn't have time to make his intentions officially known.

Kuchar admitted after his round he was going to concede the putt. During the match, however, he asked a rules official how to proceed - after Garcia missed.

There was no going back once Kuchar discussed the situation with the official; Garcia's missed putt stood because retroactive concessions are not permitted under the rules.

A frustrated Garcia didn't stop there. After missing another putt on the eighth hole to fall 3-down, he mimicked swatting the ball in what appeared to be Kuchar's direction.

With tensions high, Sergio continued to plead his case on the 10th hole, where he told Kuchar, "If that were me, I would have given you a putt on the next hole."

Kuchar didn't bite on Garcia's hole-concession deal and wound up winning the match 2-up, a result that came down to the 18th after Sergio battled back on the final few holes.

In the end, both players are at fault for this fiasco, albeit with more blame falling on Sergio.

If Garcia, who admitted he made a mistake after the round, had simply made eye contact with Kuchar after his initial miss and waited for Kuchar to say the putt was good, this would be a non-story. (Sergio also could have made the tap-in putt, which would have been the best way to avoid the issue.)

Contrastingly, if Kuchar hadn't called in the rules official and instead played it off as though he'd conceded the putt, this story is non-existent. Instead, Kuchar used the intent-ignoring rules to his advantage - something Chris Paisley of the European Tour believes virtually no other professional would do.

Score: Eagle! Feuds on the golf course are amazing, and they're even better when they feature the two most controversial players of 2019.

Tiger Woods' intriguing run

Expectations for Tiger Woods heading into the match play seemed to be at an all-time low. It wasn't because of his form or lack of success at the event (shocker - he's won it three times), but more due to the nature of the tournament.

Was Tiger actually motivated to potentially play seven matches over five days with the Masters quickly approaching? Likely not.

But Woods displayed surprising resiliency after losing to Brandt Snedeker in Round 2. He could have easily folded on Day 3, headed home for the weekend, and started preparing for Augusta. Instead, he beat Patrick Cantlay 4 and 2 in a match highlighted by his hole-out eagle to move 2-up and set up a massive showdown with Rory McIlroy in the Round of 16.

Saturday marked the first time Woods and McIlroy had faced off against each other in match play, and the contest seemed far more intriguing than the manufactured drama that was "The Match": Rory, currently the best player in the game and fresh off his Players Championship win, versus Tiger, who is, well, Tiger.

Unfortunately, as was the case in Woods' showdown with Phil Mickelson, neither player brought their best stuff as the duel failed to live up to the hype. Rory didn't make his first birdie until the 12th hole and was over par through 17 holes. Woods more outlasted Rory than beat him 2 and 1.

In his second match Saturday, Tiger faced Lucas Bjerregaard, a relative unknown on the PGA Tour despite a solid resume in Europe. The two exchanged blows throughout the round, which came down to the final hole. Tiger ended up missing a 4-foot par putt to lose the match, which could have been a blessing in disguise.

Had Woods made the putt and advanced to the semifinals, he would have had to play another 36 holes in cold, wet conditions on Sunday. For a 43-year-old constantly dealing with back and neck stiffness, that sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Even though he bowed out in the quarterfinals, Tiger proved two things last week: His desire to win - regardless of the situation - remains strong, and his game is in great shape heading into the Masters.

Score: Birdie - mainly because Tiger looks poised to contend at Augusta.

Kisner's match-play mastery

Kevin Kisner has quickly turned into one of the fiercest match-play competitors on the PGA Tour. He became only the fifth player to reach the WGC-Match Play final in back-to-back appearances and the first to win the tournament after finishing as the runner-up the year prior.

After losing his opening match to Ian Poulter, the 35-year-old won six straight to advance to the knockout stage. He toppled the scorching-hot Francesco Molinari in the semifinals before handling Kuchar with ease for the title. His singles match-play record now stands at 14-5-2.

It's fascinating to ponder what could have been if Kisner was selected for the 2018 Ryder Cup - something European assistant captain Lee Westwood snarkily pointed out, rubbing more salt in Team USA's wounds.

Score: Well-earned birdie. Kisner is a gamer with a knack for showing up in big events. It's safe to say he'll be representing the U.S. for the upcoming President's Cup and beyond.

McDowell inches closer to Royal Portrush

Graeme McDowell won the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title since 2015. The victory also inches him closer to his ultimate objective for the 2019 season - qualifying for the Open Championship at his hometown club of Royal Portrush.

"Of course the big goal this year is to be at Portrush and to play The Open Championship in my hometown," he said in early March, according to Golf Channel's Will Gray. "It's going to be a special summer if I can get myself there."

The 2010 U.S. Open champion's triumph in the Dominican Republic doesn't automatically qualify him for the Open Championship, but it does secure him a spot in May's PGA Championship, plus full Tour exemption through the 2021 season. The latter should give him plenty more opportunities to crack the field before The Open begins on July 18.

In other Puntacana news, quarterback-turned-broadcaster Tony Romo competed in the event as an amateur, shooting 79-80 to miss the cut by 17 shots. He beat only one player, George Riley, a local club professional in the Dominican Republic.

Romo already received another sponsor's exemption into May's AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas, which will hopefully be his last; it's clear he doesn't have the ability to come close to competing with the big boys.

Score: Birdie for McDowell. It would be cool to see one of the good guys on Tour compete at The Open in his hometown. As for Romo - double-bogey. It's time to exclusively play Pro-Ams, Tony.