When it came to Matt Kuchar’s 72nd-hole actions two Sundays ago at the Wyndham Championship, Max Greyserman is still as perplexed as anyone.
Greyserman and Kuchar were playing in the final group at Sedgefield, though only Greyserman had a chance to win the tournament down the stretch. When Aaron Rai birdied the par-4 finishing hole ahead of Greyserman to go two shots up, Greyserman decided to accept defeat and finish up. He fired at the flag, and when it didn’t go, Rai was officially the winner. Kuchar, meanwhile, decided not to hit his approach way left of the 18th fairway (he had quickly hit his drive, unaware Rai and others were still in the fairway ahead), and afterward told Golf Channel that, “I was trying to set an example for Max.”
“We were so far past when we should’ve stopped playing,” Kuchar continued to explain. “We saw what Max did on hole 16; they should’ve blown the hole there. I feel bad, the poor kid should’ve won this tournament. By me not playing, it may show Max he has an important shot to hit.”
Kuchar returned the next morning, took TIO relief and ended saving par. He then added that he was not aware that Rai had birdied and thought Greyserman – still with a chance to win, he thought – would opt to finish Monday as well.
All this was news to Greyserman, who told Barstool’s Dan Rapaport this week at the BMW Championship that Kuchar never communicated anything with him.
“I’m not really sure why he said that in his post-round press conference,” said Greyserman, who explained that it seemed as if Kuchar was rushing to finish as well, and Kuchar’s drive into the threesome ahead was an accident.
Matt Kuchar said he wanted to send a message to Max Greyserman when he opted to come back Monday morning to finish the Wyndham. Here’s Max’s side:
— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) August 22, 2024
“He never said anything to me…for him to say he was trying to do something in service to me, I thought that was pretty strange.” pic.twitter.com/XecMTfRXCt
“I tried to hole the shot, and if not, I can’t see anything, it doesn’t matter anyway,” Greyserman explained. “So, I’m like, let’s just finish. I hit my shot and I look over at Kuchar and he’s in the trees and he just marked his ball and never said really anything. We just keep going and he’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to come back in the morning.’
“I don’t really know why, again, he never said anything to me. Not sure why he said that in the media. I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I think he needed TIO relief. Maybe that was going to take a lot of time, which is fine. For him to come out and say that he was trying to do something in service to me, I thought that was pretty strange.”