LOS CABOS (Mexico) — Matt Kuchar was playing at El Cardonal in Diamante on Saturday, but suddenly the game was over.
Kuchar had a ’59-watch’ on as he approached the 15 th par-4 hole. Nine birdies and one eagle were recorded by Kuchar, who channeled Tiger Woods, on a course designed by Woods. He went from being two shots behind Camilo Villagas to seven shots ahead of him, and six shots in front of everyone else. Then disaster struck.
Kuchar, 45 made a quadruple bogey after snap-hooking into the jungle his teeshot and a bogey the next, while Villegas 41 went birdie-birdie, and Kuchar’s lead was lost. In less than 30 minutes, the World Wide Technology Championship took on a new look. The two veterans, both in their 40s, were tied for the lead at the end of the first day at 19-under-197. This was the first time since the 2017 FedEx St. Jude Classic that two players over 40 shared the 54-hole leader.
Kuchar told reporters that the course was a bit tricky. “That 15th is a hole I believe we have all circled. I think this could potentially be a large number and it was for me today.”
Kuchar did not even look for his tee-shot at 15. He told Golf Channel’s Arron Upperholser who was walking along with the group to stop searching for the ball.
Kuchar stated that he made “probably only one bad swing”. Kuchar said, “That’s about 70 yards of fairway.” I mean, I could have hit that in my sleep…and from there 15, it can creep up on you and sort of catch you.”
It most certainly did. Kuchar’s provisional shot found the fairway, but the wind pushed his next shot to the left of the green and into a collection zone with a steep hill to climb in order to reach the hole. Kuchar’s two next pitch shots were both unable to generate enough power and fell back towards his feet.
Kuchar admitted, “I don’t know how to play that shot when the bank is so steep.” “It’s obvious I didn’t execute it.”
Kuchar has taken six shots so far and is still not on the green.
Villegas said, “I was on the green with the caddie.” He used the slope to his advantage and hit the approach shot to 5 feet for a birdie to take him to 18-under. We were saying, “Wow, this guy could make six or seven or eight or nine.” It was a difficult spot.
Kuchar left the hole with the snowman, a five-stroke swing and Villegas in the hole. This was his sixth quadruple-bogey or worse in his Tour career, and the first since the final rounds of the Genesis Invitational 2019. When asked what Tiger would say to Kuchar about his performance in round 15, Kuchar replied, “He probably said why don’t hit it on right side of green, that it’s fairly easy.”
Kuchar had more difficulty on the par-3 16 . His tee-shot barely cleared the arroyo in front of the green, and he was lucky that his ball stayed inside the red area of the penalty zone. Kuchar used a hybrid with a putting motion and again hit the ball too softly, causing it to fall back into the rough. He used a lofted sand wedge to throw his ball about 10 feet beyond the hole, but still managed to make it.
He said that his biggest shot was the putt for bogey. “That’s like walking off of the green. I think that had that putt not gone, my head may have hung low.”
Kuchar acknowledged that his head was in a state of near-spin mode.
He said, “I saw things moving quickly. But I think I was as calm as I have ever been in the past when I’ve seen things move so fast.”
Kuchar finished with two pars and a score of 67. This included holing the ball out at 30 yards using a lob wedge on the first hole, as well as six birdies while going out in just 29 seconds (with one bogey). 4.) Three more birdies followed, starting at No. Tiger’s design took revenge on him at No. 12.
Kuchar is still a co-leader at 54 holes as he seeks his 10 th PGA Tour career title on Sunday. Kuchar, who plays always with a smile, chose to see his day in a positive light.
He said, “You can look at it in many different ways.” “I played really well golf today. I shot 5 under. Here I am. I’m really happy with the state of my golf. “I’m good at letting things roll off my back.”
Four more things you need to know about World Wide Technology Championship’s third round.
