After losing to son for first time, Matt Kuchar looks to extend FedExCup Playoffs streak

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Last week, Matt Kuchar suffered maybe the best loss of his career (a high bar for an Olympic bronze medalist).

Kuchar fell to his teenage son Cameron, a promising junior golfer, for the first time. Cameron made a 12-footer for par on the final hole at Gozzer Ranch Golf & Lake Club in Idaho to clip his dad, 2-under to 1-under. They were playing alongside two good friends, making the day even more memorable. It stung, but it was a sweet sting.

“One of those days I knew was going to happen sooner or later,” Kuchar said Friday. “Knew I'd be proud, but at the same time wanted to hold it off as long as I could … I was sure pressure was going to get the best of him, but he canned it and was very excited.

“It was a cool moment to have him beat me.”

It’s not like Kuchar is in poor form either. At age 46, he still has plenty of game, as evidenced by his third-place finish at the 3M Open two weeks ago. That led to Friday’s opening-round 64 at this week’s Wyndham Championship – after the opening round was postponed a day due to Tropical Storm Debby – as he eyes a late-stage effort to maintain a record FedExCup Playoffs streak.

Kuchar needs to win the Wyndham to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs for the 18th straight time, and he’s the only player to have qualified for each of the first 17 iterations of the Playoffs. It’s harder now than ever, with only the top 70 qualifying (prior to 2023, the top 125 qualified), and his early-season form suggested that the streak would end with a whimper.

But his game has come alive in recent weeks, contending to the 72nd hole at the 3M Open en route to his first top-10 finish of the season. Last week, he flew to Long Island for some work with his swing instructor, and he watched his son play a junior tournament in Salt Lake City before a trip home to Idaho and then a cross-country jaunt back to North Carolina. He also spent a lot of time watching the Olympics – in which he earned bronze in men’s golf at the 2016 Rio Games, the first Olympic golf competition of the modern era.

He credits improved iron play for his uptick in performance lately; he ranks No. 140 on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Approach this season, but he led the field in the statistic at TPC Twin Cities. Then he gained nearly five strokes on the greens Thursday at Sedgefield Country Club, a venue where he has produced modest results – he had never finished better than T17 in six prior appearances.

Needing a win to maintain a historic streak – the likes of which might not happen again as the game trends toward shorter careers – he’s positioned to give it a heck of a run.

Not that he’s paying much attention.

“If you asked me where I stood, I wouldn't know,” Kuchar said Friday. “Now we get those texts and I understand kind of where I stand with points. I don't want to know how many points I need; I don't want to know any of those things. No, I've always been of the belief, ‘How is that going to help me play better?’”

Whatever he’s thinking lately, it’s working.