Current:Home > NewsMatt Kuchar bizarrely stops playing on 72nd hole of Wyndham Championship -Prime Capital Blueprint
Matt Kuchar bizarrely stops playing on 72nd hole of Wyndham Championship
View
Date:2025-04-18 08:08:53
Aaron Rai won his first PGA Tour title on Sunday, claiming a two-stroke win at the Wyndham Championship.
But the tournament didn't officially end as darkness fell on Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina.
That's because Matt Kuchar bizarrely stopped playing after hitting his tee shot on the 18th hole, opting to mark his ball in the pine straw 212 yards from the hole and walk the course with the other players in the last group as they completed their rounds.
"It has been a really bizarre sequence of events," said CBS Sports analyst Trevor Immelman as the network's broadcast came to a close.
Kuchar led the tournament after 36 holes, but was out of contention at 11-under when he stepped to the 18th tee to conclude a marathon, 36-hole day stemming from weather delays due to Tropical Storm Debby.
With the sun already set and visibility declining, tournament officials informed Kuchar, Chad Ramey and Max Greyserman that rather than blow the horn to suspend play, they would be allowed to finish the hole then or complete it the next day.
In an apparent attempt to finish quickly, Kuchar unknowingly hit into the group ahead of him, one that included Rai – who led Greyserman by one stroke at the time.
"Why did he tee off on 18 when the fairway wasn’t clear? To me that was the egregious error," Golf Channel’s Paige Mackenzie later said. "It was completely disrespectful."
After Kuchar's ball landed left of the fairway, he informed officials he would finish his round Monday morning – even though he had no chance of advancing to the PGA Tour's playoffs. As things turned out, Rai birdied the final hole to push his lead to two strokes and Greyserman closed with a par to finish second.
As the sun rose again on Monday, Kuchar was the only player back out on the course to make the results official.
He hit his second shot on the green and parred the hole to finish in a tie for 12th, earning him $134,695.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
veryGood! (777)
Related
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- What happens to the puppies after the Puppy Bowl? Adopters share stories ahead of the 2024 game
- Travis Kelce Has Heated Moment with Coach Andy Reid on Field at Super Bowl 2024
- Body of famed Tennessee sheriff's wife exhumed 57 years after her cold case murder
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- This teen wears a size 23 shoe. It's stopping him from living a normal life.
- Art exhibit honors fun-loving man killed in mass shooting in Maine
- John Cena appears for Savannah Bananas baseball team with electric entrance
- Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
- NFL schedule today: Everything you need to know about Super Bowl 58
Ranking
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- Kim Kardashian and Odell Beckham Jr. Spotted Together in Las Vegas Before Super Bowl
- Valerie Bertinelli ditched the scale after being 'considered overweight' at 150 pounds
- King Charles III Breaks Silence After Cancer Diagnosis
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- MLB offseason awards: Best signings, biggest surprises | Nightengale's Notebook
- “Diva” film soprano Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez Smith has died at 75
- Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker steals Super Bowl record away from 49ers kicker Jake Moody
Recommendation
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
Wu-Tang Clan opens Las Vegas residency with vigor to spread 'hip-hop culture worldwide'
‘Lisa Frankenstein’ fails to revive North American box office on a very slow Super Bowl weekend
Travis Kelce's perfect Super Bowl companion? Not Taylor Swift, but 49ers counterpart George Kittle
A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
'Grey's Anatomy' star Jessica Capshaw returns to ABC series as Dr. Arizona Robbins
Super Bowl winners throughout history: Full list from 2023 all the way back to the first in 1967
For Las Vegas, a city accustomed to glitz, Super Bowl brings new kind of star power