An opening 18 holes score of 64 saw his fellow duffers acknowledge his superior round with respectful nods. Coming back the next day with another 64 got the attention of those interested in the sport’s betting odds. A third-round tally of 65 and a four-stroke lead made him the man who would be followed by the gallery gods. Follow him they did, along with the rest of the field, as Matt Kuchar sat atop the leaderboard from start to finish at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, on November 8-11. He shot a 22-under with 262, breaking the tournament record by one stroke to earn the eighth PGA tour title of his career.
Poetic artistry on the links could be an apt description of Kuchar’s surprising performance in Mexico. He had gone four years, six months and three weeks since his last victory. His last few holes on the final day of play must have felt just as long.
He started the final round with a four-shot lead after making a mere two bogeys in the first 67 holes of play. He proceeded to hit back-to-back bogeys and barely held off Danny Lee for the win, finishing with three pars, sinking stressful three-footers on the last three holes. He ended with a one-shot advantage and a huge sigh of relief.
“I didn’t want a three-footer on the last hole,” Kuchar said in a post-tournament press briefing. “I was hoping to have a three or four-shot lead for some wiggle room. But man that felt awfully good.”
“That was some of the best ball-striking I’ve had, and through some 60 holes, awfully good putting,” Kuchar added. “And then the putter kind of went a little bit on the fritz there coming in. I’m thrilled to be the champion here. It’s been a long time for me. It feels extra sweet right now.”
The 40-year-old Kuchar had gone 115 starts on the PGA Tour since his last win in the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head in April 2014. The victory comes at the conclusion of a disappointing year in which Kuchar finished out of the top 70 on the PGA Tour money list for the first time since 2007. He also failed to make the Ryder Cup team for the first time in 10 years.
“My 2018 wasn’t what I wanted,” Kuchar said. “This is a high note. It’s an amazing thing to get a win. I go from ‘Hola’ to ‘Aloha.’ I’m pretty excited about that.”
The win got him qualified for the Sentry Tournament of Champions to start next year at Kapalua (Hawaii).
Kuchar won for the eighth time on the PGA Tour in a career characterized more by consistency than trophies. In 2018 he had neither. He had only four top 10s – his best finish was a tie for fifth in Phoenix – and he was coming off a tie for 57th place in Las Vegas.
He added Mayakoba at the last minute and was forced to hire a local caddie with his regular caddie having a previous commitment. He referenced the week in Mexico as a “working vacation” because of the local beaches and amenities, though it was some real work at the end.
“Golf is such a funny game,” Kuchar said in his press briefing. “It’s hard to predict when it’s going to come around.”
Ryder Cup captain and fellow Ukrainian Jim Furyk closed in Mexico with a final round score of 67 and tied for sixth place overall.