Matt Kuchar said he had never experienced the sensation he did last year when he knocked in his putt for eagle on No. 15 on Sunday at Augusta National. He felt earth tremble beneath his feet as the crowd roared its approval at seeing Kuchar place himself firmly in contention for a Masters green jacket.
Kuchar’s 3 on the par 5 placed him in a three-way tie for the lead with Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen at 9 under par with three holes to play. But, alas, it was short-lived.
Kuchar missed the green on the par-3 16th, somewhat of a nemesis hole for him, and had his par putt lip out. He parred in and finished in a tie for third, two strokes behind Watson.
“Last year was my first real time being in contention here late on Sunday,” said Kuchar, a St. Simons resident and Georgia Tech graduate. “It’s kind of what we all play for, having a chance in a major championship, having a chance in the Masters tournament. It’s exciting. I haven’t had those kinds of feelings anywhere.”
It would appear that moment better prepared Kuchar for other big moments. He’s back in position to make a run at a Masters title. He shot a third-round 68 on Saturday to move into sixth place at 4 under, three shots behind the leaders.
“All and all I’m happy with my round of golf, and I certainly don’t feel like I left a lot out there,” Kuchar said. “… I kind of cleaned things up today and feel like I’m in good shape.”
Kuchar has played tidy golf since last year’s Masters. He won The Players Championship last year and the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship this year.
In all he has five PGA Tour victories and one on the European Tour, but he has yet to finish atop the leaderboard in a major, though he has come tantalizingly close.
He finished ninth in last year’s British Open, sixth in the 2010 U.S. Open and 10th in the PGA Championship that same year.
“The more times you’re in that situation, the more comfortable you get,” Kuchar said. “The more comfortable you get, the better you play.”
Kuchar’s play here this week indicates he has all the ingredients to win a Masters. First, he’s putting well. Second, he’s chewing up the par 5s.
On Saturday, he birdied all four par 5s. For the week he’s 9 under on them, with nine birdies.
“Out here the par 5s are opportunities, and you want to take advantage,” Kuchar said. “So I feel great about birdieing all four because that’s a good feat. Even though they are all potential birdie holes, they’re all potential bogey holes, too. They’re holes you can mess up on, so going 4-for-4 today was great.”
Actually it’s the dinky 16th hole that has given Kuchar grief. He bogeyed it twice this week before making par Saturday and is plus-2 on the hole in his career.
“It’s not an easy hole for me,” Kuchar said after bogeying it for the third time in a row Friday. “It should be: Hit the middle of the green and take what it gives you.”
As for this Sunday, he said: “I’m just going to see if I can hit the green.”
But it was with excitement, not trepidation, that Kuchar was going to sleep Saturday night. Having been in this situation before, he’s glad just to be back here again so quickly and looks forward to the possibilities the day holds.
“We’ve all hit a thousand golf shots before,” Kuchar said. “They just get a little bit bigger and a little more challenging when a tournament’s on the line. Hopefully the experience from last year and good play throughout the years will help me.
“I’m really excited to have a shot. Hopefully nobody goes crazy, and I’m in contention.”
Again.
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