AUGUSTA -- With “Kooch” ringing through the pine trees of Augusta National, Matt Kuchar wasn’t going to give up at the Masters on Sunday.
Even after a double-bogey on No. 9 that dropped him four shots behind the leader, he wasn’t going to go away. Not on the course that his father said introduced his son to the world.
But in the end, a three-putt on that ninth green and a tee shot on No. 16 that missed the spot by 10 feet and led to a bogey caused Kuchar to come up short in his bid to win his first major. He finished 8 under, tied for third.
Still, he and his father, Peter, were proud that he didn’t give up.
“I’ve played a lot of rounds of golf when things weren’t going well, and I stuck with it knowing that there was going to be a situation and time like this where things were going to go my way,” Kuchar said. “I stuck with it, and it was great to see those efforts pay off.”
Kuchar started the day 5 under, four behind leader Peter Hanson. Kuchar birdied No. 3 and No. 7 to move to 7 under and get his fans stirring.
It was at the Masters in 1998 when Kuchar, then an amateur and student at Georgia Tech, finished 21st. The cameras and patrons loved his big smile and the enthusiasm of his father, who was serving as his caddie.
Kuchar stepped to the ninth tee Sunday knowing that he had birdied the hole the day before. He hooked his drive toward the first fairway. He punched out across the fairway. But after a solid approach to within seven feet, he three-putted for a double-bogey.
But looking at the leaderboard he saw he still had a chance.
“I still wasn’t that far back when I made the turn,” he said. “That’s extra incentive. I knew I was still playing some good golf and looking forward to trying to make a run on the back nine.”
Still at 5 under after Nos. 10 and 11, he said he got lucky on the par-3 12th because the wind died. He said he hit a 9-iron as hard as he could and rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt to move to 6 under.
He followed by hitting what he said was his best drive of the week on No. 13, a 530-yard par five. His second shot hit the green and rolled through, stopping just short of a bunker. His putt rolled down the green, broke left and skimmed the edge. He made the 2-foot birdie putt to move to 7 under, one behind Louis Oosthuizen, who had moved into the lead.
After parring 14, he slammed another drive down the middle of the fairway on No. 15. He followed with a 3-wood from 268 yards that Peter Kuchar said “made my knees buckle.”
“It came off just like I wanted to,” Matt Kuchar said. “I still had to hope a little bit.”
The ball settled 2 feet from the pin. He calmly drained the eagle putt to move into a tie for the lead with Oosthuizen at 9 under.
The tee shot on No. 16 favors a draw, which isn’t Kuchar’s natural shot. He said he tried to aim right and play for the middle of the green. The ball didn’t turn as much as Kuchar hoped, landing on the fringe to the right of the green.
He used the slope of the green to chip to within 6 feet, staying below the flag. But he missed the par putt to fall to 8 under, two behind Oosthuizen.
Still, he didn’t give up. He missed birdie putts on 17 and 18 that could have moved him into a tie.
When he came off the 18th green, his father was there to hug him and tell him how proud he was.
“We thought we were going to grab a green jacket,” Peter Kuchar said. “He played so well from Thursday to Sunday. He made that double on 9 and he just fought back like a champ. He’s got so much heart.”
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