In one of the strangest stories of 2024, Matt Kuchar actively protested playing conditions and pace of play by not finishing his tournament on Sunday evening, saying after that it was too dark to continue. A little before 8 A.M. ET on Monday morning, Kuchar and dozens of Wyndham tournament staffers headed out so he could finish the 18th hole at Sedgefield and complete his round.
As documented by the PGA Tour’s Kevin Prise (doing invaluable work in the critical field of surreal golf journalism), Kuchar’s solo day started with him asking for a ruling and taking line of sight relief.
51 years ago, Chi Chi Rodriguez won @WyndhamChamp in a Monday finish
Perhaps in homage, Matt Kuchar will do the same
Kuchar on cart headed to range, final prep for 8 am restart .. playing 72nd hole, current T12 pic.twitter.com/7RpPv7RGdb
— Kevin Prise (@PGATOURKevin) August 12, 2024
He did this with the help of an official who was forced to come into work on Monday due to Kuchar’s decision to take his ball and go home on Sunday. In true PGA Tour fashion, the TIO relief took Kuchar from a spot of bother to a place of little worry.
Second shot hit, Kuchar heads to green to complete his 72nd hole @WyndhamChamp pic.twitter.com/HcxCyR51N9
— Kevin Prise (@PGATOURKevin) August 12, 2024
He ended up tapping in for par, earning a tiny round of applause and holding onto his T-12 position in the tournament and moving to 105th in the FedEx Cup standings. He offered an apology of sorts, saying “Nobody wants to be that guy that’s showing up today, one person, one hole. 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 [for forcing] everybody to come out here.”
Of course, one has to ask: if he was aware of those ramifications, why did he do it to begin with? What an unbelievable 12 hours for Matt Kuchar’s personal brand.
This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
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