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PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan on Wednesday gave his hot take on Matt Kuchar’s controversial late finish at the 2024 Wyndham Championship. The circuit chief defended the golfer and stated that he had “every right to do exactly what he did.” He dubbed the incident at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C. a “unique situation.”
For the unversed, Kuchar made headlines on Sunday by opting to finish his final round a day after the winner was decided. The 46-year-old golfer stopped play midway on Sunday citing darkness as reason, while his playing partners finished their respective rounds. Kuchar returned with his caddie and finished play the next day after Aaron Rai won the trophy.
While the move received flak from fans and some other players, the PGA Tour commissioner seems to back the player’s decision. Monahan noted that he is “exceedingly proud” of the PGA Tour rules and competitions team for handling the situation.
Speaking about the Matt Kuchar situation, Jay Monahan said at TPC Southwind ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, as quoted by ASAP Sports:
“Sunday was clearly a unique situation. The entire week was a unique situation. I am exceedingly proud of our rules and competitions team for the way that they handled the entire tournament, in particular Sunday, and the level of communication that they were having with each group, including communication right there as we got to the 18th tee.
Matt had every right to do exactly what he did. There are so many unique circumstances that come up on the PGA TOUR, and that was one of them.”
Matt Kuchar’s controversial Monday finish explored
Matt Kuchar’s T12 finish at the 2024 Wyndham Championship was overshadowed by his decision to delay his finish by a day. The 46-year-old was on the field on Sunday evening when PGA Tour Chief Referee Ken Tackett informed his group about the suspension of play.
Kuchar and his playing partners, Max Greyserman and Chad Ramey, were given the option to finish their hole or return in the morning to do the same. While his partners chose to finish the round, the 36-year-old picked a Monday finish. It is pertinent to note that the decision received flak from fans as he was not in contention for a win.
Notably, Kuchar arrived at the Sedgefield Country Club driving range at 7:40 am local time on Monday with his caddie. He finished his final Wyndham Championship round playing alone with some ground staff and rules officials in attendance.
Speaking about the decision, Matt Kuchar later said on Monday, as quoted by PGATOUR.com:
“Last night was dark. I think had I been in the fairway with a normal shot, I probably would have attempted to finish… Nobody wants to be that guy … the one guy that didn't finish… Here it's me now as the guy that didn't get to finish the tournament.”
In Matt Kuchar’s defence, he had made his decision before knowing that his playing partners picked to continue play. As per Rule 5.7, a player opting to stop play cannot resume until the Rules Committee restarts play. The golfer was forced to finish on Monday due to his early call.
