The PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship concluded on Monday morning in an unusual manner because of Matt Kuchar’s actions that delayed the tournament’s completion.
Kuchar had the opportunity to finish his round on Sunday, as evidenced by his playing partner who did so. However, the 9-time PGA Tour champion decided to mark his ball after his tee shot on the 18th hole, using darkness as an excuse for not finishing. Consequently, everyone involved had to reconvene on Monday morning to dismantle the PGA Tour’s setup. Aaron Rai’s first PGA Tour victory was not officially recognized until Monday morning due to Kuchar’s selfishness.Numerous volunteers at the Wyndham Championship had to return solely because of one player who could have completed his round. This fact is evident as Kuchar’s playing partner finished while Matt chose to mark his ball. Kevin Prise of PGA Tour Digital witnessed Matt’s completion on Monday morning in front of a small group of returning fans.
Kuchar was the sole golfer on the range, the only one on the putting green, and the only one on the course because he opted not to finish his round, causing a delay for everyone else…
Where exactly is the scoreboard that is obstructing his line of sight?
With a lackluster par, Matt finished tied for 12th place, earning $144,965. Considering Kuchar’s career earnings of $59,787,247 on the PGA Tour, this amount is not life-changing for him.
Moving up ten positions in the FedEx Cup Standings/Money List was significant for Kuchar, who now sits in 103rd place and will comfortably maintain his top-125 status on the Tour. Typically, a PGA Tour player’s playing partner must witness the completion and signing of their scorecard. However, in this case, Kuchar’s partner did not have to return just to observe Matt’s scorecard, as a PGA Tour official filled it out instead.
On Golf Twitter/Golf X, individuals expressed strong opinions about the incident. Most of the posts regarding Kuchar contain inappropriate language, so I cannot share them here. However, the general sentiment within the golf community is astonishment that one person would choose to delay the entire tournament out of anger.
If Kuchar had bogeyed the hole, he would have lost $58,000 in winnings. Nevertheless, considering he has earned nearly $60 million solely from the PGA Tour, this amount is insignificant. Some individuals suggested that the PGA Tour should penalize Matt for his behavior. Others pointed out that regardless of whether Kuchar birdied the hole, he would not have qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, rendering his actions pointless.
If I were Aaron Rai, I would be furious. Kuchar deprived him of the opportunity to celebrate his first PGA Tour victory by prolonging the tournament for another day. The million dollar question is why? If it was truly too dark, then how was Kuchar’s playing partner able to finish the hole and move on? People are speculating whether this was simply a selfish move.
Photo from Wyndham Championship (X) Account
