Matt Kuchar has apologised for refusing to finish his last round on the PGA Tour on Sunday and admitted ‘it stinks’ that workers had to return to the course on Monday to wait for him to play his final few shots.
Kuchar’s bizarre behaviour completely overshadowed the Wyndham Championship victory of Aaron Rai, the Englishman whose United States breakthrough has seen him rise to world No 22.
“Nobody wants to be that guy that’s showing up today, one person, one hole. Not even one hole, half a hole to putt,” Kuchar said on Monday. “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 apologise for forcing everybody to come out here.”
Kuchar’s remorse was in stark contrast to his attitude the previous evening when, with Rai already assured of the title and $1.4 million (£1.1 million) first prize in North Carolina, the former US Ryder Cup star declined the offer of the referee to conclude his round in the dwindling daylight.
As they had already hit their drives off the last hole, Kuchar’s playing partners decided to complete the par four and thus allow the tournament to end. But not Kuchar, 45. As was his right within the rules of the game, he insisted on returning in the morning.
At 8am, it only took him a few minutes. getting line-of-sight relief from a scoreboard near the green that permitted him to drop in the adjacent fairway. He duly saved his par to come a 10-way share of 12th place that awarded him a $134,695 (£105,494) payday. A bogey would have lowered his payday to just over $77,000 (£60,306).
Kuchar, who has won more than $60million in his career, made headlines a few years ago after initially paying a local caddie $5,000 when he earned nearly $1.3million (£1.02 million) for winning the Mexico Open, when the standard payment to the bagman would have been $102,000
Rai’s maiden PGA Tour win has secured the 29-year-old from Wolverhampton his debut in next year’s Masters. “It truly is a dream come true,” he said.
