Matt Kuchar has left the course. Finally.
Some 12 hours after the American golfer opted not to finish his final round at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., citing darkness, Kuchar returned and wrapped things up, according to PGATour.com’s Kevin Price.
Alone.
The Wyndham Championship was a mess, thanks to a tropical storm that created all sorts of delays. Indeed, three different rounds were being played simultaneously on Sunday.
Kuchar was in the final group with Chad Ramey and Max Greyserman. All had hit their tee shots on 18 when they were told that, because of darkness, they could finish their round on Monday. While Ramey and Greyserman played on, Kuchar marked his ball on the 18th fairway, 212 yards from the hole, and stopped. Many were confused by the decision.
Greyserman wound up in second, two shots back of winner Aaron Rai, who was in the group ahead of them. Ramey finished in a tied for 52nd.
Neither were required to stick around Monday for Kuchar’s final shots. Instead, according to Price, a tour official served as his marker.
So, at 8 a.m. local time, the 46-year-old came back out, warmed up, got some line-of-sight relief from a scoreboard because of where his drive had landed, and then hit his approach. According to Price, he missed the green but nearly holed his chip, settling for an easy tap-in instead.
Kuchar scored a par. “A smattering of fans that had gathered greenside” applauded, according to Price. The observers even included a man and his dog.
Afterward, Kuchar apologized for keeping people around and offered an explanation.
“Last night was dark,” he told the assembled media. “I think had I been in the fairway with a normal shot, I probably would have attempted to finish. … Coming back in the morning, I never would have taken that drop last night, I never would have thought to ask. I knew I was in a terrible situation; I was praying to make bogey from where I was. To walk away with par, nearly birdie, is a huge bonus.”
The par meant Kuchar finished in a tie for 12th, moving him up into 103rd spot in the FedExCup standings. Worth noting: only the top 125 retain their exempt status for near year on the Tour after the fall events are completed.