Tiger Woods once said that ‘golf is a lonely sport’… and it appears that Matt Kuchar knows the feeling after a bizarre ending on Monday to the Wyndham Championship.
The 46-year-old Kuchar was the only player who opted not to finish Sunday’s final round at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, due to darkness. He was tied for 12th at 11 under when he elected to stop play on the 18th hole.
Kuchar – a PGA Tour veteran – later revealed that he was ‘trying to set an example’ for his playing partner, Max Greyserman, who suffered a late meltdown to lose out to Aaron Rai, of England.
Greyserman, the 29-year-old former Duke player, shot 69 to finish two strokes back on a day when everyone played 36 holes and some a few more in the event washed out by rain Thursday and delayed Friday and Saturday due to Tropical Storm Debby.
Rai was four strokes back after Greyserman holed out from 91 yards for eagle on the par-4 13th, then had an unexpected share of the lead a hole later when Greyserman drove out-of-bounds and made a quadruple-bogey 8 on 14.
PGA Tour veteran Matt Kuchar raised eyebrows wit his decision to stop play on hole No. 18 at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday evening
Man has had enough 🤣 pic.twitter.com/7YOgWt0971
— Golfbet (@Golfbet) August 12, 2024
Greyserman – who shot 60 in the second round – birdied the par-5 15th to pull a shot ahead, then four-putted the par-3 16th for a double bogey and parred the last two holes. Rai clinched victory with a birdie on hole No. 18 in the group ahead of Kuchar and Greyserman.
‘We were so far past when we should’ve stopped playing. We saw what Max did on hole 16; they should’ve blown the hole there,’ Kuchar said.
‘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.’
Kuchar returned to the course Monday at 8 a.m. ET to play his 72nd hole, parring the 508-yard, par-4 18th to finish in a 10-way tie for 12th place at 11 under — seven strokes behind Rai.
Kuchar (R) was playing with Max Greyserman (L) as they finished second in Greensboro, N.C.
England’s Aaron Rai clinched victory with a birdie on hole 18 ahead of Kuchar and Greyserman
The difference between a 10-way for 12th and a seven-way tie for 21st is ~$58,000. Matt Kuchar has made $59.8 million in his career.
Cannot believe I'm typing any of these words.
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) August 12, 2024
His final tee shot on Sunday night had sailed to the left, leaving him 212 yards to the flag. After receiving line-of-sight relief due to the scoreboard near the green, Kuchar dropped in the adjacent fairway and came up short of the green. His third shot struck the flagstick, leaving him a tap-in par.
The T12 finish came with a $135,000 paycheck.
‘The difference between a 10-way for 12th and seven-way tie for 21st is ~$58,000,’ CBS Sports Kyle Porter wrote on X, adding: ‘Matt Kuchar has made $59.8million in his career. Cannot believe I’m typing any of these words.’
‘Loser,’ a user on X said of Kuchar while another golf fan described the Winter Park, Florida, native as a ‘spoiled jerk.’
Kuchar also moved up 10 spots to No. 103 in the FedEx Cup playoffs — a big boost to his chances of finishing the season in the Top 125 and maintaining his tour card for 2025.
