Matt Kuchar returns for unique solo-Monday finish at Wyndham Championship

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Matt Kuchar and his caddie whisked in a cart from the Sedgefield Country Club clubhouse to the driving range at 7:40 a.m. Monday, 20 minutes before the resumption of the Wyndham Championship’s final round. A Monday finish on TOUR is nothing new, particularly when a tropical storm is involved, but this was quieter than most.

Kuchar, 46, was the only player to return Monday, electing to mark his ball well left of the fairway on the 72nd hole as darkness fell Sunday evening, while his playing partners Max Greyserman and Chad Ramey elected to complete the round.

“Last night was dark," Kuchar said Monday. "I think had I been in the fairway with a normal shot, I probably would have attempted to finish."

It was anything but. Facing a precarious 212-yard approach deep in the rough and blocked out by trees at the long par-4 closer, PGA TOUR Chief Referee Ken Tackett informed Kuchar's group that play had been suspended. They could finish out the hole or return in the morning. Kuchar opted to stop playing, not knowing at the time what his playing partners would elect to do. Once they decided to continue, Kuchar realized he would be the lone man left.

“Nobody wants to be that guy … the one guy that didn't finish,” Kuchar said Monday. “I can't tell you how many times I have been finished with a round thinking, bummed out that somebody didn't finish, that we didn't get to make the cut because somebody didn't finish. Here it's me now as the guy that didn't get to finish the tournament."

Under Rule 5.7, once a player has decided to stop play, they cannot resume until the Rules Committee restarts play.

"For the viewer at home, was it something we haven't seen? Yeah, it was definitely odd," Tackett said. "But for us week in, week out, it is something in our sport that we go through where we have suspensions for darkness often and so the players know the deal."

And thus, the zany finish to the Wyndham Championship was born.

Kuchar loosened up with a few swings on the range Monday morning, headed to the practice putting green for a few minutes before shuttling back to the 18th fairway (his ball was actually closer to the adjacent 10th fairway).

Play resumed as scheduled at 8 a.m. Kuchar took line-of-sight relief from a scoreboard between his ball and the green, played a hybrid approach to short right of the green and nearly holed his chip, the ball settling within tap-in range. The veteran of 556 TOUR starts converted his par and acknowledged a smattering of fans that had gathered greenside, before heading to the scoring area to render his tie for 12th official. (Kuchar’s playing partners did not have to return Monday; a TOUR official served as a marker).

Monday morning was unique for multiple reasons – the returning player didn’t have a chance to win the Wyndham, and the scene was absent the typical bustle of a TOUR event’s final moments. The on-site footprint included just a handful of TOUR staff and media, club staff and a couple dozen patrons – including a man and his dog observing from well back in the 18th fairway. Tackett said they did not bring back dining staff or volunteers and the TOUR's normal day-after-a-tournament efforts remained the same, except on the 18th hole, which remained untouched.

Kuchar met the media after signing his card, first apologizing to those who had to stay for his somewhat anticlimactic finish. His Monday morning par assured a T12 finish, while a bogey would have dropped him to T21. Kuchar jumped 10 spots to No. 103 on the FedExCup standings. The top 125 after the FedExCup Fall will retain exempt status for 2025. His hopes of making a record 18th consecutive Playoffs appearance were gone, but he figured he would have done well to make a bogey on Sunday night (he needed time to assess his options, and daylight had quickly faded).

"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."

Kuchar teed off first at the par-4 18th Sunday evening, pulling his tee shot well left of the fairway, with Greyserman and Ramey following suit. The group was informed as they departed the tee box that they had the option to finish or to return in the morning (since all tournament play had reached the 18th hole, the PGA TOUR rules staff elected not to blow the horn). At the time, Greyserman still had a conceivable chance to win the tournament, but Rai made birdie from the group ahead shortly thereafter, moving two strokes clear en route to an eventual two-stroke victory. After Greyserman and Ramey completed the hole, Kuchar joined them in the scoring area to attest their cards.

Roughly 11 hours later, Kuchar returned to hit the final three shots of the FedExCup Regular Season.

"Nobody wants to be that guy that's showing up today... (for) not even one hole, half a hole to putt. Certainly I apologize to force everybody to come out here.”