A T12 finish saw Matt Kuchar go home with $135,000 after resuming his PGA Tour round for just six minutes on Monday to complete the Wyndham Championship.
On Sunday, Kuchar hit his drive left of the 18th fairway after darkness beckoned at the Sedgefield Country Club. While his playing partners, Chad Ramey, and Max Greyserman, looked to finish the hole as they were way out of contention, Kuchar decided to mark his ball and tell the officials he was done playing for the night , forcing him to continue on Monday.
Kuchar teed off at 3 a.m. ET and he played for just six minutes, resulting in a T12 finish and a $135,000 cash windfall. However, before finalizing his position, Kuchar defended his decision to halt finishing on Sunday amid darkness.
The 46-year-old Floridian said his decision was influenced by playing partner Greyserman. “I was trying to set an example for Max,” the veteran said. “We were so far past when we should’ve stopped playing.
READ MORE: Matt Kuchar ripped by Jim Nantz as baffling PGA Tour decision causes controversy
EAD MORE: John Daly called unlikely golf cult hero a 'legend' after spotting hidden habit
"We saw what Max did on hole 16 (four-putting for a double bogey) – they should’ve blown the horn there. I feel bad, the poor kid should’ve won this tournament. By me not playing, it may show Max he has an important shot to hit.”
"Again, it stinks to - nobody wants to be that guy that's showing up today, one person, one hole," the American added on Monday. "Not even one hole, half a hole to putt.
"So apologies to the tournament, to everybody that had to come out. I know it stinks, I know the ramifications, I know it stinks. Certainly I apologize to force everybody to come out here.”
Kuchar's move garnered a mixed reaction from the golf community on social media. While some used expletives to describe the PGA golfer, others sympathized with Kuchar's decision. "Kuchar gets too much blame here. He was well within the rules to do what he did," one fan said. "The guy played 35 holes yesterday and was on the course over 10 hours. The tour deserves a ton of blame for allowing guys to play 5 and half hour rounds and not penalizing slow play."
"If ever you needed proof that Matt Kuchar is a -----, you got it last night," another said. Veteran announcer Jim Nantz said on the broadcast: "This is something I can't recall having seen before, a guy who is not truly in contention to win it.
“[Kuchar] said the horn has theoretically been blown and [referee] Ken Tackett told him yes and he has the power to be able to make that decision. Just he’s going to come out here tomorrow and I don’t think there’s going to be anybody here to watch it. I don’t expect we’re going to be bringing you that coverage tomorrow. But that is his prerogative. It’s just an interesting decision – he’s not going to make the playoffs.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0