Tag: Matt Kuchar

Matt Kuchar’s son WDs from Florida state tournament for ‘breaking rules’; team DQs without enough players

Jupiter entered the Class 3A state championship as one of the tournament’s favorites.

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. — Jupiter boys golf, ranked No. 2 nationally per iWanamaker, withdrew two of its golfers halfway through playing in the state championship this week, ending any hope for a state title.

Jupiter entered the Class 3A state championship as one of the tournament’s favorites and was in second place after the first day of play.

However, the Warriors started Wednesday’s second round with only three of five golfers on the course at Mission Inn Resort + Club, dashing their chances at a state championship in 2024.

Jupiter golfers Talan Wilkes and Cameron Kuchar, son of nine-time PGA Tour-winning golfer Matt Kuchar, were each absent on the second day of the tournament. Jupiter head coach Bruce Wasserman said “non-course incidents” forced the players’ withdrawals.

“Breaking rules of the state honor code for golf, for non-course stuff, is all I can really say,” Wasserman said.

Florida High School Athletic Association golf administrator Ed Thompson clarified that the two golfers were not disqualified; rather, they were withdrawn by Jupiter.

“WD” is listed next to both Wilkes and Kuchar’s names on the FHSAA scoring sheet.

“We were disqualified as a team because we only had three guys left, but the three guys, it was a great day with what they did,” said Wasserman, who became emotional discussing the circumstances. “From the start of this year, we knew we had the talent. We set out to win a state championship. We get here, we’re in position, and then this happens. It was devastating to them and emotional for all of us.”

After commending the efforts of his remaining players, Wasserman indicated that at full strength, his program might have won it all.

“Reasonably sure, if we would have had our full squad, we would have walked away with the title,” he said. “It’s tough. It’s a learning lesson for all of us. In the end, we had a fantastic season. We won a huge tournament in Orlando, we won districts, we won regionals, and things happen. That’s sports. That’s life. You’re not going to see a team as strong as this team, ever. But decisions, you know?”

Jupiter’s Hampton Beebe shot a 144, tying for the fifth-best individual score to achieve a medallion at tournament’s end.

“We did come a long way this year,” Beebe said. “This place is not easy. I’m proud of how I finished.”

Jupiter’s Hampton Beebe poses for a photo with his medal after shooting a 144 at the state tournament, good for fifth place overall (Nov. 20, 2024).
Brayden Jenard shot a 145, the eight-best mark, while Tristan Wieland wasn’t far behind with a 147, good for tenth place in the tournament.

In the wake of Jupiter’s ineligibility to compete as a group of give golfers, Viera took first place in the state championship, flanked by Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton) and Ponte Vedra.

Jupiter’s Brayden Jenard putts during the Class 3A state championship on Nov. 20, 2024. (Photo: Alexander Peterman/Palm Beach Post)

Dwyer takes sixth place in Class 3A state championship

Wylie Inman shot a 146, including two birdies on the back nine to crack the top 10 with a stellar performance for the Panthers, who finished sixth place overall in the tournament.

William Cui shot a 149 as a freshman. Notably, he shot par on every hole on the second day.

Alex Peterman covers high school sports for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at apeterman@gannett.com.

Matt Kuchar returns alone for Monday finish at 2024 Wyndham Championship with par on 18

The one-man Monday finish puts an official end to the tournament.

In what was likely the loneliest Monday finish ever, Matt Kuchar returned to Sedgefield Country Club at 8 a.m. Monday to complete his final round.

The lone golfer to not finish Sunday at the 2024 Wyndham Championship, Kuchar was in a tie for 12th when he hurriedly teed off on the 18th hole. Minutes later, he informed a rules official he was done for the day, electing not to complete the round in the growing darkness. Everyone else did, including tournament winner Aaron Rai, playing in the group ahead.

Tour rules official Orlando Pope explained that rather than blow the horn to suspend play due to darkness, all three players in Kuchar’s group were given the option to finish Monday but only Kuchar opted to do so, reversing course after driving left into trouble.

Rai went ahead and celebrated on the 18th green Sunday with the trophy but the victory was not deemed official until Monday, nor was the final top 70 for the FedEx Cup Playoffs official till then.

After Kuchar’s drive Sunday left him way left of the fairway, the first ball he struck Monday flew 189 yards, according to ShotLink, and ended up in front of the green. From there, he hit his third from 34 yards away onto the putting surface to 2 feet, 4 inches and then he made his par.

“Listen, nobody wants to be that guy, which I feel I turned into, 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,” Kuchar said Monday after playing the final hole as a single with a Tour official as a marker. “Again, it stinks to, 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 to force everybody to come out here.”

In terms of dollars, a tie for 12th earned Kuchar $144,965. Had he ended up with bogey at the last, his payday would’ve shrunk to $77,025, while a birdie would’ve netted him $223,833. Kuchar’s all-time on-course earnings on the PGA Tour now stands at $59,932,212.

Asked if he had heard any of the reaction to his decision, Kuchard said, “Thankfully, I avoid that stuff. I did get a call from my agent, said ‘Hey, you’re causing quite a stir,’ so that was the little I heard. I’m grateful to not be a part of the social media thing.”

Golfweek’s Adam Schupak contributed to this article.

Matt Kuchar gives a curious explanation on why he walked off the course before finishing the Wyndham Championship

This was weird all around.

Matt Kuchar made a wild decision on Sunday that has sent the golf world into a bit of a tizzy: despite the fact that he’s tied for 12th, with no way to win the Wyndham Championship, he decided to pick up his ball and finish No. 18 on Monday morning.

There was a lot of speculation over why, but Kuchar gave an explanation that … well, I’m not really sure it helps his case. He spoke with Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, saying that “he was trying to help [Max] Greyserman in hopes that Greyserman would follow his lead in stopping, and that he told [PGA Tour rules official Ken] Tackett he was done playing for the evening prior to [Aaron] Rai birdieing the last hole in front of them to pull two shots clear of Greyserman.”

Here’s more:

“I was trying to set an example for Max,” Kuchar told Lewis. “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. 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.”

That’s … curious, isn’t it? Why is Kuchar trying to set an example for another player?

Yet here we are. It’s Monday, and Kuchar will finish his round.

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Here’s why Matt Kuchar curiously elected to be the only player to finish final round on Monday at Wyndham Championship

Kuchar will return to play the final hole as a single on Monday at 8 a.m ET.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — There will be a Monday finish on the PGA Tour after all.

That’s because Matt Kuchar elected to mark his ball in the pine straw 212 yards from the flag on the 18th hole and wait to finish his round at the Wyndham Championship on Monday due to darkness. That means the tournament and Aaron Rai’s first victory on the PGA Tour technically isn’t official, though Kuchar’s score can’t impact that result.

Kuchar, who was the 36-hole leader at 12 under and playing in the final group, needed to win to remain the only player to qualify for every FedEx Cup playoff since it debuted in 2007. He was out of the running at 11 under and in a 10-way tie for 12th. Curiously, he had teed off on the 18th hole and unknowingly hit into the group in front of him, which included Rai, who was nursing a one-streak lead at the time. With the sun having set, Kuchar seemed to rush to make sure the group got done. Tour rules official Orlando Pope explained that rather than blow the horn to suspend play due to darkness, all three players — Chad Ramey was the third in the group — were spoken to and given the option to finish on Monday but only Kuchar opted to do so, reversing course after driving left into trouble.

Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis spoke to Kuchar, who said, “I was trying to set an example for Max. We were so far past where we should’ve stopped playing. We saw what Max did on hole 16; they should’ve blown the horn there. 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 can be heard on the TV broadcast saying to Tour rules official Ken Tackett, the chief referee this week, “Horn’s been theoretically blown?” Kuchar informed Tackett of his decision to wait to finish before Rai made birdie at 18 when Greyserman was only one shot back and Greyserman could’ve still tied him.

Lewis said that Kuchar went over to Greyserman and said, “I’m done maybe you should follow my lead.”

However, Shelby Swanson, a reporter with the Raleigh News & Observer who witnessed the exchange between Kuchar and Greyserman, didn’t hear Kuchar directly tell him to slow down and wait until Monday.

“It was more wink-wink, nod-nod,” she said. “He said something along the lines of ‘Hey, I’m finishing tomorrow.’ Greyserman walked closer and said, ‘OK, if I finish do I have to come back tomorrow?’ Kuchar said no. Greyserman didn’t say anything, walked back to his ball and played his second shot.”

Golf Channel’s Paige Mackenzie and Brandel Chamblee said they were perplexed and sharply criticized Kuchar’s decision.

“Why did he tee off on 18 when the fairway wasn’t clear? To me that was the egregious error,” she said. “It was completely disrespectful.”

“That was more surprising to me than seeing Max Greyserman make a quadruple bogey,” Chamblee said of Greyserman’s costly eight on the 14th hole. “I’ve seen people do what Max did. I’ve never seen anything happen like what happened on the 18th tee.”

Weather wreaked havoc with the Wyndham Championship all week making Sunday a race against daylight to complete the tournament. Tropical Storm Debby dumped more than five inches on Sedgefield Country Club on Thursday, postponing the first round until Friday. An overnight storm on Friday delayed the resumption of play on Saturday.

A 36-hole cut wasn’t made until Sunday morning. The 67 players who made it had to play at least 36 holes on Sunday — they didn’t regroup after the third round, were given only a short break between rounds and utilized a split-tee start. Kuchar’s group didn’t tee off in the final round until 3:21 p.m. ET.

It was touch and go whether a winner would be determined before darkness and while that goal was met, Kuchar will return to play the final hole as a single (with a Tour official as a marker) on Monday at 8 a.m ET.

CBS’s Jim Nantz noted the surprise decision and said, “I don’t think there will be anyone here to watch it and I don’t suspect we’ll be bringing you that coverage tomorrow.”

Matt Kuchar incredulously walked off the course before finishing Wyndham Championship final hole due to darkness

This was incredibly bizarre from Matt Kuchar.

While the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina officially has declared its victor after the weekend’s tournament, Matt Kuchar will play half a hole on Monday due to some strange circumstances.

As the final golfers were making their way through the course on Sunday, Kuchar suddenly walked off after his tee shot on No. 18. Tied for 12th with no way to win the tournament or advance to the FedEx Cup playoffs with this result, Kuchar decided to mark his ball and finish the hole on Monday.

Why? Because the sun had set in Greensboro and it was apparently too dark for him to continue.

What a strange sequence of events. It’s quite incredulous that Kuchar would decide the course was too dark for him to continue when every other golfer finished that day.

A possible reasoning for Kuchar’s walk off might have to do with his payout depending on where he places. The difference between his two possible placements is a measly $58,000, a mere drop in the bucket of the $59.8 million he’s made in his career.

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Vegas, baby! Jhonattan Vegas wins 2024 3M Open for first PGA Tour win in seven years

The last time Vegas won on the PGA Tour, the 3M Open didn’t exist.

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The last time Jhonattan Vegas won on the PGA Tour, the 3M Open didn’t exist.

Also in the span between then and now were myriad injuries and wondering whether he would return to the pinnacle. Those questions were answered Sunday.

Vegas captured his fourth Tour victory Sunday, claiming the 2024 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota, after a 72nd-hole birdie helped him beat Max Greyserman by a shot. Greyserman shot a back-nine 6-under 30 to get to 16 under, but Vegas birdied No. 16 and 18 to add another trophy to his case.

“These are the moments that you get up every day and you work hard, you do all the right things because nothing feels better than this,” Vegas said.

The last time Vegas won was in 2017, claiming the RBC Canadian Open for the second straight year. His 3M win came in his 299th Tour start, and it happened in the midst of a so-so year that saw him make as many cuts (seven) as he missed coming into the week in Minnesota.

Jhonattan Vegas celebrates after winning the 3M Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

After an iffy approach into 18 on the front of the green, Vegas faced a lengthy 96-foot eagle look, but, needing a birdie to secure the win, he nestled the lag putt close and then knocked in the birdie putt.

3M Open: Leaderboard | Photos | Merchandise

The win meant even more for Vegas for getting to celebrate with his family on the 18th green.

“I mean, that was the cherry on top of the cake,” Vegas said. “In my house we’ve had a lot of talks, my boy’s 5, hadn’t had a win since he was born. Lots of pictures of my daughter with trophies around the house, so my boy was asking me when am I going to have a picture with a trophy.

“Like I said earlier, there was a big cloud on top of my head because I need to have a win for him. It’s even more special that they were here because a lot of times they’re not. It just means the world.”

Jhonattan Vegas celebrates with his kids after winning the 2024 3M Open. (Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports)

The win vaults Vegas 83 spots in the FedEx Cup Playoffs points race, from 149 to 66, and most importantly, inside the top 70. Only the top 70 make the post-season. 

For Greyserman, a Tour rookie, it was the best finish of his career. He shot 8-under 63 on Sunday to zoom up the leaderboard, and the finish will move him into the top 70 to 63rd.

“I think I just locked up my spot in the first playoff event, so that’s big because that’s another huge point opportunity and hopefully continue to play my way up,” Greyserman said.

The PGA Tour takes a brief hiatus next week for the Olympics before returning for the regular-season finale at the Wyndham Championship.

Despite increased criticism, Webb Simpson defends PGA Tour sponsor exemption for 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

“It has nothing to do with me being on the board,” Simpson said of his place on the PGA Tour Policy Board.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Outside of the four major championships, players have circled the PGA Tour’s eight signature events on the 2024 schedule seeing as the limited-field tournaments boast a $20 million purse and offer up even more FedEx Cup points than a normal event.

This week at Quail Hollow marks the Tour’s sixth of eight elevated stops, and the big-money event has brought another round of criticism for the four players who received sponsor exemptions to the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship: Matt Kuchar, Adam Scott, Webb Simpson and Gary Woodland. As members of the PGA Tour’s Policy Board, players like Scott and Simpson have been in the social media crosshairs, and the latter – a Quail Hollow member since 2011 and resident since 2014 – defended his selection during a press conference on Wednesday.

Wells Fargo: Photos | Thursday tee times | Picks to win, odds

“Look, it’s a different day and age now than it was. I know these sponsor exemptions are probably the most coveted sponsor exemptions in the history of the Tour, but we’re not going to make everyone happy,” said Simpson. “As we’re looking at what criteria should these sponsor exemptions be, yadda yadda, we’re trying to balance making sponsors happy, giving them the opportunity to invite — you know, these tournament directors, who do they want to bring to their tournament, to their community, who do they think will add value to their tournament. These tournament directors are working round the clock for a year trying to make their tournament the best. We want to give them the opportunity to say, ‘Hey, you have a few spots, four spots in these Signature Events to be able to invite who you want to invite.’”

The Tour’s idea with the signature events was for players to earn their way into the amped-up tournaments and reap the rewards for their efforts. A member of the Tour’s Policy Board earning four spots into the six signature events so far brings the meritocracy into question, especially given his form this season. Across seven starts, Simpson has made six cuts but hasn’t cracked the top 25. He’s 152nd in the FedEx Cup standings and No. 227 in the world.

“I know that I’ve gotten, this is my fourth sponsor exemption, and Adam Scott’s received his fair share. There was controversy and guys were trying to link us being on the board, but it has nothing to do with me being on the board,” Simpson. The seven-time winner on Tour (not since 2020) argued his relationships with tournament directors and specifically his connection to the Charlotte area have made him a worthwhile selection.

Webb Simpson hits a tee shot on the first hole during the third round of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

“So I certainly think the criticisms, I knew they were going to come depending on who got them, but I’m very comfortable knowing that we’ve given the sponsors the opportunity to pick, and the tournament directors,” he added. “I want to move on from it and realize that the Wells Fargo Championship is an amazing tournament.”

As a player in the field this week, Simpson has spent time with kids in the hospital and will spend time with the First Tee of Charlotte on the range at Quail Hollow on Wednesday afternoon.

“There’s things that I’m way more interested in and that get me excited than kind of worrying about what a certain person thinks about who should get sponsor exemptions,” Simpson said.

While Simpson doesn’t care about the perception of sponsor exemptions to signature events, the fans clearly do. The last thing the Tour needs right now is to alienate its supporters and water down its biggest events as it continues to be challenged each year by the threat of the guaranteed money offered by LIV Golf. The powers that be in Ponte Vedra Beach at Tour HQ are in a tough position as they try to make players, fans and sponsors happy.

“What the PGA Tour Policy Board has committed is that at the summer meeting, they’re going to review how things have progressed in terms of the metrics we looked at, you guys might remember me talking about this a year ago, retention rates, and the sort of aspirational nature of the PGA Tour,” said the Tour’s Chief Competitions Officer Tyler Dennis. “We’re gonna look at all of that and I’m sure sponsor exemptions will be one of those things and see what, if any, changes might be made for the 2025 season.”

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Justin Thomas leads list of 7 big names to miss the cut at 2024 Genesis Invitational

Gone after 36.

The PGA Tour’s third signature event of the season has reached its midway point, meaning the 36-hole cut has been made at the Genesis Invitational in Pacific Palisades, California, at Riviera Country Club.

The top 50 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead, earned Saturday tee times.

Tiger Woods withdrew from the event Friday afternoon due to illness (and as you’d expect, social media went into a frenzy).

Patrick Cantlay, who last won at the 2022 BMW Championship, leads the way at 13 under, five shots clear of a group at 8 under that includes Jason Day, Luke List and Mackenzie Hughes.

Here are 7 players who are leaving the Los Angeles area a few days early.

Tiger Woods has chosen this veteran caddie to work for him at the Genesis Invitational

Golfweek has learned this veteran caddie has been chosen by Woods for the plum assignment at Riviera.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Tiger Woods is back in action this week as the playing host of the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational. That has been anticipated for some time. But who will be on the bag for Woods now that Joe LaCava has taken up permanent residence with Patrick Cantlay?

Golfweek has learned that veteran caddie Lance Bennett has been chosen by Woods for the plum assignment at Riviera. Woods knows Bennett well from his days caddying for Matt Kuchar, including a win alongside him at the 2012 Players, during his prime.

In recent years, Bennett has been on the bag for Sungjae Im and Davis Riley and he also spent time on the LPGA with Juli Inkster, Paula Creamer and Lorena Ochoa. This season, he’s working full-time for Tour rookie Adrien Dumont de Chassart, a Belgian golfer who competed at Illinois and won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour, earning KFT Player of the Year honors last season.

Dumont de Chassart (nicknamed ADDC for short) and Woods are managed by the same agency, and Dumont de Chassart isn’t in the field this week, which makes it easy for Bennett to jump to Tiger’s bag. It’s possible that Bennett could be on the bag for Tiger at the Players Championship and the Masters too, but sources say that Tiger may bounce around between some different caddies.

Photos: Tiger Woods through the years

Rob McNamara, Tiger’s longtime business partner and vice president of TGR Ventures, caddied for Tiger at the Hero World Challenge in December and could fill the role again and Woods didn’t shut down the possibility of son Charlie serving as his sidekick in the future when asked if he might tote his bag.

Woods is making his first official Tour start since withdrawing from the Masters after making the cut in April. How much Woods plays this season will depend on his health, but he’s made it very clear he expects to play a limited schedule focused around the majors.

Woods originally had Mike “Fluff” Cowan on the bag when he won the 1997 Masters, then won 13 majors and 72 Tour titles with Steve Williams, and joined up with LaCava in 2012.

Efforts to confirm Tiger’s caddie with his management team were not returned.

In other caddie news, Paul Tesori has moved to the bag of Tom Kim. Tesori spent 12 years on the bag of Webb Simpson before moving to Cameron Young last March. Tesori started the year with Brendon Todd but wasn’t on Todd’s bag in Phoenix. Kim had Joe Skovron last season until he was hired away by Ludvig Aberg. Kim began the year with Daniel Parratt. When asked about joining Kim, Tesori said, “I’m looking forward to what will hopefully be another long term relationship on the bag. Tom is obviously extremely talented but having faith as a common denominator is something that I believe will help when golf gets difficult, which it seems to always be!”

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Rickie Fowler, Max Homa among notables who missed the cut at the 2024 WM Phoenix Open

The cut at TPC Scottsdale didn’t happen until nearly 2 p.m. local time Saturday.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Rain delays, frost delays, 4:30 a.m. alarm clocks, playing as many as 30 holes in one day and 20,000 drunk, screaming and often booing fans – and that’s just at 16 – this is a week where PGA Tour pros earned their paycheck at the WM Phoenix Open. Yet the 132-man field still must be whittled down, even if the 36-hole cut day extended to nearly 2 p.m. local time on Saturday thanks to multiple suspensions of play.

When it was all said and done, 73 players moved on for 36 more holes at TPC Scottsdale and a chance to take home the trophy as champion and more than seven figures in prize money. The total purse this week is $8.8 million, with $1.584 million going to the winner.

It took a score of 2-under 140 to make all that hard work and effort pay off into a paycheck in the Valley of the Sun.

Among those to sneak through on the number included Tom Kim, who rallied to shoot 5-under 66, Garrick High (67), Adam Scott (68), Brian Harman (69), Sungjae Im (70) and Zach Johnson (70).

Two of the three Monday qualifiers made it through in Jim Knous (66, T-34) — read his story here — and former Arizona State golfer Nicolo Galetti (67, T-34) as did Bud Cauley (-5, T-23), who made his first start since the 2020 Fortinet Championship. Kevin Chappell (68) made a 12-foot birdie putt at nine, his last hole of the day, to make the cut on the number.

But not everyone was so fortunate — Adam Svensson, for one, missed a birdie putt from 44 feet. Here’s a closer look at the notables who were sent packing at the WM Phoenix Open.