by Jeff Skinner
Matt Kuchar is known as one of the nice guys on the PGA Tour. He is polite, kind, thoughtful and the worst you hear out of his mouth is a “gosh darn” or a “golly gee” when he happens to miss a shot. He is also known as a top ten machine as he racks up top finish after top finish.
Recently he was on the brink of getting the reputation of not being able to close the door on a victory. But that all changed today as he slammed the door on the competition with a wild chip in for birdie on eighteen for the win at the RBC Heritage.
Kuchar was cruising along until the seventeenth hole with seven birdies on his card when he uncharacteristically three putted…from four feet. From birdie to bogey in a flash and it looked like Kuch had let Luke Donald, the final round leader, back in the tournament. But Kuchar’s brilliant sand shot regained his lead and ended a string of near misses for the ’12 Players champion.
His past three outings had seen him contend for the win but stumble on Sunday. The most memorable may have been the loss to Matt Jones at The Shell Houston Open when Kuch was done in by Jones’ chip in on the first playoff hole. The following week at The Masters Kuchar also had a chance but couldn’t find a fairway at Augusta on Sunday.
Now, with a win this season Kuchar’s season can be seen in a new light. Much was made of his failure to close out a win but he chose to look at the positives. His ability to be near the top meant he was playing well and playing well puts you in a position to win.
His stellar 64 today overtook Donald and put him in that position today, a place he is getting very comfortable with.
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