Matt Kuchar (Finally) Finishes Wyndham Championship After Weird Sunday Decision

Matt Kuchar saw his chance to extend his streak of being the only player to make every FedEx Cup playoffs since they began in 2007 end earlier on Sunday. 

But he made headlines for a different reason.

The 36-hole leader at the Wyndham Championship went into the new version of “Golf’s Longest Day” on Sunday, having to win to reach the playoffs. He fell into a tie for 12th by the time he — and the rest of the final group — reached the 18th hole at Sedgefield. 

He was told by tournament officials that they could elect to play the hole in twilight or return on Monday to finish. Max Greserman and Chad Ramey finished up to head home. Kuchar, after rushing his tee shot and hitting it into the rough off the fairway, elected to come back Monday morning.

There was one member of the PGA Tour’s digital team there to document it, along with a handful of others, including a man and his dog watching from beyond the 18th green.

Kuchar with last-minute range prep before Monday finish @WyndhamChamp

Current T12 for week, bogey would drop him to T21

Won’t make Playoffs but could be crucial in efforts to preserve top-125 spot after FedExCup Fall to retain exempt status on @PGATOUR pic.twitter.com/rttTdYe3hG

— Kevin Prise (@PGATOURKevin) August 12, 2024

Once he reached the 18th fairway, he immediately asked for relief from a temporary immovable obstruction (TIO). He received the relief thanks to a scoreboard obstructing his line of sight.

From that point, he wound up parring the hole and hung on to a tie for 12th. The difference from par to bogey was about $65,000, so it was a worthwhile extension of Kuchar’s stay — to the chagrin of many.

Kuchar finishes up with a par and a T12 @WyndhamChamp

Handshakes of appreciation .. moves up 10 spots to No. 103 on FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List, huge for his top-125 status

Smattering of patrons appreciate as well pic.twitter.com/c3oZyWkXwh

— Kevin Prise (@PGATOURKevin) August 12, 2024

Kuchar said afterward:

“Nobody wants to be that guy … the one guy that didn’t finish. I can’t tell you how many times I have been finished with a round thinking, bummed out that somebody didn’t finish, that we didn’t get to make the cut because somebody didn’t finish. Here it’s me now as the guy that didn’t get to finish the tournament … I know it stinks, I know the ramifications, I know it stinks. Certainly I apologize to force everybody to come out here.”

Kuchar admitted that if his tee shot landed in a better spot, he likely would’ve wrapped things up with everyone else:

“Last night was dark … I think had I been in the fairway with a normal shot, I probably would have attempted to finish … Coming back in the morning, I never would have taken that drop last night, I never would have thought to ask. I knew I was in a terrible situation; I was praying to make bogey from where I was. To walk away with par, nearly birdie, is a huge bonus.”

And with Jim Nantz’s tongue-in-cheek declaration that CBS would not provide coverage of Kuchar’s Monday-morning finish, congrats to Prise, who was the PGA Tour media rightsholder for the day. 

Man has had enough 🤣 pic.twitter.com/7YOgWt0971

— Golfbet (@Golfbet) August 12, 2024

Cover Image via Golfweek