Matt Kuchar Snags PGA Money Title, Two Scoring Awards

While no one was really paying a lot of attention, Matt Kuchar was racking up dollars and shaving strokes off his scores. 

Today he was awarded the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Award for being the leading money winner in 2010 with a little over $ 4 million and change. The award, obviously, does not include the $10 million for first place in the FedEx Cup or it would have gone to Jim Furyk. 

Of equal importance, Kuchar won the PGA Tour’s Byron Nelson Award and the PGA of America’s Vardon Trophy, both for low scoring average.  

“It's so exciting,” Kuchar said. “It feels like the college days when I had the great success at Georgia Tech, following on with the Amateur and Masters and U.S. Open, and these accolades. It's hard for me to even believe. I remember it was just a couple of years ago I was back on the Nationwide Tour and hoping to get back out on the TOUR and trying to keep my card.”

That’s right, after winning the US Amateur, turning professional and winning on the PGA Tour, some kind of slump enveloped Matt Kuchar.

He must have wondered at times if he would ever get back to top form.  

In 2005, he won just over $420,000 on the PGA Tour.

While it sounds like a princely sum to most, it was not enough to keep his card.  

In 2006, he was sent back to the minors, to the Nationwide circuit. That’s where he found a new golf coach who helped him turn missed cuts into paychecks.

“I'd have to point to Chris O'Connell, my instructor. We got together in 2006 when I was on the Nationwide Tour, and every year, we worked together and got better,” Kuchar said about his improved play in the last three or four seasons. “He has definitely made me a better golfer, and I'm excited about continuing on this progression next year.”

He believes that one change in his golf game is that he now has more consistency. 

He certainly has fewer missed cuts and higher finishes each year since 2007. 

After the announcement of his awards, he was still pinching himself to be sure it was true.

“Just to make the Top 30, to qualify for The Tour Championship, to this year going in as the leading point winner going into The Tour Championship, going into The Tour Championship ranked No. 1 ( in Fed Ex points), it was hard to believe.”

Kuchar believes he still has many things to accomplish in golf, and he has some goals set for the future.

“I think the next progression is to contend more in the majors,” he explained.

“This year, I had a nice finish at the U.S. Open. I tied for sixth, and then the PGA, I was the leader after 36 holes there with a good chance to win. There were a couple of opportunities that --  I would like to continue that trend, like to see myself really battling the stretch in major championships.“

This season for the majors, he modified his long iron trajectory, starting at The Masters.

“I felt like I was hitting a lot of long irons into the greens but needed to hit a little higher, have a little more control when it landed on the greens,” he explained about the adjustments.

“That was the only change I made to any bit of my game, and that 4-iron actually stayed in my bag the rest of the year. It stayed in my bag the rest of the year after it went in at the Masters.”

When asked about this ability to smile through the tough times, he had a reply that sounded like a Norman Rockwell painting come to life.

“I feel like I have not changed,” he explained. “Some guys, I think, come out to the TOUR, and it can be rigorous.  If it's not going your way it's tough, because it is your livelihood and you're trying to compete against the best in the world. It's a tough thing to do. But I love playing the game of golf. I love being out there.”

Hand him a glass of milk, please.

“I still feel like a kid. I still remember being a kid, and I think some of the more rewarding things are when you are able to see a kid underneath the ropes and either flash him a smile, just let him know that you see him, but when you get to toss him a golf ball that you're done with, the look on the kid's face, and you see them run back to their mom or dad and show them the ball, you feel like you made their day. Seeing that expression makes my day, and just makes my world better.”

Give the guy a couple of cookies.  Another merit badge. Shake his hand.

Seriously, this is the kind of thing we need in golf and all sports.  

It’s been a while since a number one athlete admitted to these feelings, and it’s refreshing. Whether others feel it and cannot say it or whether others just do not feel it, we may never know. 

One thing is for certain, in 2010, we may have lost one number one, but we have gained a leading money winner with a caring perspective, and you cannot buy that anyplace.  

Kuchar is on to more golf after Thanksgiving. He plays at the Shark Shootout with Greg Norman as his partner.

“As a kid growing up, I think most of us wanted to be Greg Norman. He was the coolest guy in golf,” he said. .

Kuchar will play the first three tournaments on the PGA Tour Schedule: the Hyundai at Kapalua, the Sony Open and the Bob Hope Classic—yes, we have a leading money winner who is starting the season in January. 

Maybe with Kuchar we are seeing a new trend in professional athletes, one that really makes you cheer.

-Kathy Bissell