Matt Kuchar

*Wins and career earnings as of December, 2022

After a successful amateur career, Matt Kuchar hit the professional golf world in 2000 and it took him less than two years to get his first victory at the 2002 Honda Classic. His final round score of 66 cleared the field by two strokes and Kuchar had become one of the successful, fresh faces on tour.

As time went on, Kuchar won some of the PGA Tour’s biggest events including The Players Championship in 2012 and the Memorial Tournament in 2013. In fact, Kuchar’s stretch from 2010- 2013 have been his most prominent, winning seven professional events in that span.

Kuchar’s most dramatic win came at the 2014 RBC Heritage where he started the final round four shots back and holed his bunker shot on the final hole for birdie. He won by one stroke over Luke Donald.

Kuchar has only had minor injuries in his career, but a back injury forced him to withdraw from the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.

Matt Kuchar is considered among the best current players to have never won a major championship. His major finishes, however, include 12 top-10’s with a solo second place finish at the 2017 British Open.

Unfortunately for Kuchar, one of his career wins was clouded with controversy. After his win at the 2018 Mayakoba Golf Classic, Kuchar was awarded a winner’s share of $1.296 million, of which he gave his caddie, David Giral Ortiz, $5,000. Kuchar had hired Ortiz, a local caddie, for the event and the pair had agreed on payment prior to the event. After Kuchar won, Ortiz’ payday came to light and Kuchar was criticized for not giving him a payday more worthy of a win. The standard caddie pay on tour is 10% of the player’s winnings for the week. Kuchar ended up giving Ortiz $50,000, but his reputation had already taken a hit.

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On the course, Kuchar is known for having one of the best golf swings in the game. At 6-foot-4, he has a tilted spine angle and long arms, but it’s his massive shoulder turn that gets a lot of attention. Although never near the top for driving distance, Kuchar is a fantastic fairway wood and long iron player which goes along with a stellar short game.

On a national level, Matt Kuchar has been a part of four U.S. Ryder Cup teams (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016). He was also a member of five Presidents Cup teams (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019). He is a prime candidate to be a captain at either event in the future.

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When golf returned to the Olympics in 2016, Kuchar competed as a member of the United States and won a bronze medal.

Kuchar’s career earnings total $54,850,719. His highest earning year on the PGA Tour came in 2013 ($5,616,808), but he led the tour in money in 2010 with $4,910,477 won over 26 events.

Matt Kuchar’s amateur career was highlighted by his time at Georgia Tech where he was a two-time first-team All-American. In the 1996 U.S. Amateur Championship he barely lost to Tiger Woods and came back the following year in 1997 to win the event.

Kuchar was born June 21, 1978 to Peter and Meg Kuchar. His father was a college tennis pro. In 2003, Matt Kuchar married Sybi Parker and they have two sons, Cameron Cole and Carson Wright. They currently reside in St. Simons Island, Georgia.