Matt Kuchar’s Wyndham Championship got here to a weird finish Monday morning.
The PGA Tour veteran, who was the one participant who opted to not end the 18th gap on Sunday night due to darkness, returned at 8 a.m. ET to par the 72nd and ultimate gap of the event.
It took him six minutes to finish his 18th gap on Monday morning.
“No person desires to be that man that’s exhibiting up right now: one individual, one gap – not even one gap, half-a-hole to putt,” Kuchar stated Monday. “So apologies to the event, to all people that needed to come out. I do know it stinks. I do know the ramifications. I apologize to drive all people to come back out right here.”
Kuchar’s next-day par clinched his 10-way tie for 12th, which netted him practically $145,000. He had already been eradicated from the FedExCup playoffs, ending the common season at No. 103 within the standings and ending his streak as the one energetic participant to advance to the postseason yearly because the cup’s inception in 2007. With the highest 125 on the finish of the autumn slate holding their playing cards for 2025, Kuchar’s ending place might go a protracted solution to serving to him preserve his taking part in privileges for subsequent season.
After a short warmup on the vary and observe placing inexperienced Monday, Kuchar was pushed again out to the 18th gap with a Tour official serving because the marker for the group. (Kuchar’s fellow taking part in opponents didn’t need to return to the course.)
Kuchar’s ultimate tee shot had sailed nicely left, 212 yards from the flag – one of many important causes, he stated, why he didn’t end on Sunday evening; in dwindling daylight, he believed his best-case situation was a bogey, since he didn’t have sufficient time to correctly assess his choices. However now, after receiving line-of-sight reduction from the scoreboard close to the inexperienced, he dropped within the adjoining fairway, No. 10, and got here up simply in need of the inexperienced. His pitch shot clanked off the flagstick for a tap-in par.
Kuchar finally ends up with a par and a T12 @WyndhamChamp
Handshakes of appreciation .. strikes up 10 spots to No. 103 on FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Factors Checklist, large for his top-125 standing
Smattering of patrons respect as nicely pic.twitter.com/c3oZyWkXwh
— Kevin Prise (@PGATOURKevin) August 12, 2024
It was a complicated and confounding resolution to finish what was an in any other case gripping finish to the Tour’s common season.
Within the ultimate threesome and making an attempt to beat sundown after a marathon day at Sedgefield Nation Membership, Kuchar teed off first on the 18th gap even with event chief Aaron Rai lining up his method shot within the fairway. Kuchar stated he had incorrectly assumed that the second-to-last group was already up on the inexperienced.
When he discovered his tee shot buried within the left timber, Kuchar marked his ball and informed a guidelines official that he was executed for the day.
“It was a horrible place,” Kuchar stated. “Had it been an ordinary shot, I most definitely would have proceeded (on Sunday).”
Kuchar later informed Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis on Sunday that he hoped to set an instance for rookie Max Greyserman, who had coughed up a four-shot lead with 5 holes to play, by deciding to not play his second shot and return within the morning. As a substitute, Greyserman watched Rai pour within the successful putt up on the inexperienced, so he went forward and performed, his closing par sufficient to safe second place alone.
“I didn’t notice Aaron Rai made birdie on the final, so I’m over on 10 making an attempt to determine what I’m going to do,” Kuchar stated. “I’m figuring no approach Max goes to complete out with an opportunity to win a event. I assumed Max, for positive, had a shot to win, and I assumed no approach on this state of affairs do you hit this shot – you come again within the morning 100% of the time.
“So I stated, Properly, Max will cease, I’ll cease, type of make it simple on him. And for me, coming again within the morning, like I by no means would have taken that drop final evening. I by no means would have thought to ask. I knew I used to be in a horrible state of affairs; I used to be praying to make bogey from the place I used to be. To stroll away with par, practically birdie, is a large bonus.”
Although Rai was declared the winner and posed with the trophy, the event was not formally full as a result of Kuchar was the one participant within the discipline who had but to complete all 72 holes.
“I simply hope it doesn’t trigger too many issues,” he stated.
The 46-year-old stated he was solely conscious of the stir he had induced after receiving a name from his agent.
“I’m grateful to not be part of the social-media factor,” he stated.
