Ex-whiz kid Kuchar returns with more mature outlook  PGATOUR.COM Contributor PALM DESERT, Calif. -- On the surface, he still has the boyish looks and preternaturally optimistic disposition. Look inside Matt Kuchar, though, and you'll discover a newfound maturity.  Matt Kuchar made the best of his year on the Nationwide Tour. (Marco Garcia/WireImage)
Adversity has a way of making someone grow up, and the 1997 U.S. Amateur champion has spent the past 12 months learning plenty about his game and how he defines success. That new maturity has served Kuchar extremely well this week during his first career appearance in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, the 90-hole celebrities-and-amateurs party across four Palm Springs-area courses. Kuchar shot a 4-under-par 68 Saturday at the Classic Club to total 15-under 273. That bumped him up one spot to a share of sixth. He's five behind co-leaders Justin Rose (70 at the Classic) and Lucas Glover (65 at La Quinta) and will play in one of the last groups in Sunday's concluding round. That's a mouthful, especially considering where Kuchar's been these past few years. "I think the last time that's happened was Honda," Kuchar said, stroking his chin and recalling his only PGA TOUR victory, in 2002. "In fact, I think that's the only time." The four-year All-America at Georgia Tech hasn't exactly been to hell and back since that triumph. But he hasn't exactly embraced the success he envisioned since winning the Amateur at Cog Hill G&CC and tying for 14th as an amateur in the 1998 U.S. Open. In fact, Kuchar played so poorly in 2005 -- a dozen missed cuts in 21 starts, barely $400,000 in earnings -- that he lost his exempt status on the PGA TOUR. So he returned to the Nationwide Tour, which turned out to be the proverbial blessing in disguise. Some established professionals would have been frustrated by the turn of events. Kuchar, though, saw it as a chance to spend time with some guys he hadn't seen in a few years -- none of whom had been lucky enough to make the bigs -- and rekindle some "fun" in his game. Kuchar had only one Nationwide top-20 finish to his credit by last May, when his game showed signs of consistent rejuvenation. He tied for 14th in the Rheem Classic Presented by Times Record and then won a three-hole playoff over Paul Claxton the next week to win the Henrico County Open Presented by Saxon Capital, Inc. The $81,000 check was his largest since a tie for 10th in the TOUR's 2005 Heritage Classic. But where the Heritage was his only weekend play in a four-month stretch, the Henrico County Open title was a springboard to his consistently best season since turning pro in 2000. "If you've won before you've got the experience to fall back on," Kuchar explains. "It's not like you have to re-learn how to win or anything. When you're playing good it makes it that much easier." In late July he took second in the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open, posting a second-round 64. He was runner-up again in the Nationwide Tour Championship at The Houstonian in mid-November, his 11th top-10 finish in 21 starts. Kuchar's Nationwide haul last year squeaked past $300,000. That might not seem like much but the sum was plenty good enough to put him 10th on the money list and earn a PGA TOUR card for 2007. "I can't tell you that if I had stayed on the PGA TOUR last year that I would have gained that maturity and been in this place this week," Kuchar admits. Kuchar played "really well" last week in the Sony Open in Hawaii, despite missing the cut by one stroke thanks to a second-day 73. He arrived in the desert convinced that he'd enjoy the Hope the way he has six AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Ams, where he's made three cuts. He also discovered an affinity for the courses, playing on the opposite nine from the celebrity field. An opening 66 Wednesday at Bermuda Dunes was Kuchar's lowest opening round in a TOUR event since a 65 at the AT&T three years ago. That week he went 74-74-75 and blew himself out of contention. This time Kuchar followed with 68 at La Quinta and a 71 in Friday's gales at PGA West's Palmer Private course before yesterday's round at the Classic Club. Kuchar goes into the final round at the Classic with plenty of hopes. Thanks to that new maturity, he knows he's a longshot to win. Yet even if he only holds his place in the standings he'll gain a pile of FedEx Cup points and a big check that will buoy the confidence he gained last year. "I sure would love to become a more consistent player, to be the kind of player who makes THE TOUR Championship every year," Kuchar says of the tournament played in Atlanta, where he was a college standout. He has a much better understanding this year of what it would take to become that kind of player. Call it a more mature outlook. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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