Matt Kuchar, Camilo Villegas co-lead entering final round at World Wide Technology Championship

At one point Saturday at the World Wide Technology Championship, Matt Kuchar was leading by a half-dozen shots.

And then, well, he wasn’t. Golf happened. The most unpredictable of games reared its ugly head once again and Kuchar made a quadruple bogey on the par-4 15th hole. This after firing a 7-under 29 on his first nine, a run that included a bogey.

While Kuchar is looking for his first PGA TOUR title since the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2019, he has been the epitome of marked consistency. Only one man has made it to the FedExCup Playoffs each year they’ve been contested – Kuchar. That’s 17 years of bodies of work being elite enough to be considered the best of the best on the TOUR.

Despite the late-round stumble Kuchar, at 45, is still firmly in the mix for another TOUR title – his 10th. He’s tied for the lead at 19 under through 54 holes with Camilo Villegas. This marks the first time that two players aged 40 or older share the 54-hole lead on TOUR since 2017.

“It's golf,” Kuchar said. “Every hole has the same value, the same importance to it. I shoot 5 under and you could look at it multiple different ways. I shot 5 under today, played really good golf. I really like the state of my game, so here I am.

“I'm pretty good at letting that stuff roll off my back. I let that one roll off my back and am going to try to play some good golf tomorrow.”

Erik van Rooyen is one back at 18 under after a 6-under 66 Saturday. Van Rooyen came into the week at No. 125 on the FedExCup standings, and a great week for him would do wonders for his spot heading into 2024. He’s currently projected to move all the way up to 90th.

“It would mean everything,” he said.

Will Gordon, Justin Suh and Mackenzie Hughes – whose 9-under 63 was tied for the low round of the day – are a shot further back at 17 under and tied for fourth.

Kuchar was certainly embodying Moving Day in Mexico early as his 7-under opening nine was followed with three straight birdies from Nos. 12 to 14. There was talk of a 59.

“Matt was kind of running away,” Villegas said, “but golf is weird and he came back to us.”

Villegas, at the start of the 15th hole, was seven shots back of Kuchar. By the time they both putted out one hole later, they were tied.

Kuchar pulled his tee shot on No. 15 into the native area and when he was unable to find this ball, he had to retee. It then took him three attempts (two chips rolled back down the slope in front of the green) to get the ball to settle on the putting surface. To make matters worse, he bogeyed the par-3 16th hole, too, and couldn’t take advantage of the par-5 18th after hitting his tee shot into the fairway bunker.

“The drive was terrible, so that was two shots right there. That's a fairway that's 70 yards wide. I mean, I hit that one in my sleep. Just tried to ride (the wind) and, you know, that one I'd love to have back,” Kuchar said of 15. “This course has some trickiness to it. That 15th hole is one I think we all have circled I think this could be a big number and for me it was today.”

Although he struggled to get it to the house, Kuchar is still holding a share of the 54-hole lead in Mexico. Shawn Stefani is the only player on record (1983-present) to make a quadruple bogey or worse in the third round on TOUR and go on to hold a 54-hole lead. That came in 2013 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

“I'm playing some good golf, I'm very pleased with the state of my game,” Kuchar said. “I had it rolling nicely, it was a lot of fun out there. One bad swing is probably all I made.”

Kuchar is sixth on TOUR in bogey avoidance this season so chalk up the quadruple bogey Saturday to golf being golf. And with 18 holes left at the World Wide Technology Championship, Kuchar still has an excellent opportunity to get to double-digit wins for his career on the PGA TOUR.

“All in all, I still feel like I’m playing really good golf. Certainly would love to be six shots clear of where I am at the moment,” Kuchar said with a knowing smile, “but I’m in a good spot and certainly excited for tomorrow.”