by Chris McMaster

Created on: July 20, 2011   Last Updated: July 26, 2011

PGA Golfer Profile: Matt Kuchar

In golf media, the big names are usually the young guns who entered the PGA tour with massive wins and seem to have been born with a 290 yard drive. No attention is given to the grinders who may enter the PGA tour at an early age, but don’t rake in consistent top tier finishes. Matt Kuchar is changing the way media looks at golf. In 2009, he was in his thirties and barely a top 100 player. However, in 2010, he smashed his way into the top 10 and followed it up with an even better year in 2011. His astonishing rise left the media scrambling, who IS Matt Kuchar?

Early life

Matthew Kuchar was born on June 21, 1978 in the scenic suburb of Winter Park, Florida. He discovered golf at the age of 12, when his mother upgraded the family’s country club membership to include golf. After playing with his father, Matt was hooked, and the two of them began to regularly play and improve their games. The father and son bonding moments would eventually lead to Kuchar’s success in both golf and family.

Going Pro

Kuchar hit the ground running when he entered the world of professional golf. Still in college, at the age of 20, Matt tied for 14th in the US Open and tied again for 21st in the Masters. His outstanding performance in that year earned him the Fred Haskins Award, for the best collegiate golfer in the United States. At first it was considered a fluke year, as he struggled to improve his game to the pro level. In hindsight, it was more a sign of things to come much later. In 2000, he made the leap from amateur to PGA Professional and only 2 years later he captured his first victory at the Honda Classic for $630,000.

Professional Stats

The win at the Honda Classic would be far from his last. In fact, what makes Matt Kuchar an exciting golfer to watch is that he’s consistent in his play, and is steadily improving. During a slump, Matt did not qualify for 2006 PGA Pro status and instead honed his skills on the Nationwide tour for the year. During that year, he earned over $300,000 and was back on the PGA tour for 2007. He remained determined, finishing the year with $886,000 and following it up with over $1.4 million in 2008. Still, he remained a relatively unknown grinder, with no spectacular finishes on the leaderboards. The winless streak ended in 2009, when he won his second PGA title at the Turning Stone Resort Championship. The win netted Matt over $1 million, and he finished the year with over $2.4 million. Still, he only placed 77th , and was not yet considered to be a top tier golfer.

That would all change in 2010, a landmark year for Kuchar as he proved to the world that he is a superstar athlete. He earned respectable top 30 finishes in The Masters and Open Championships, and placed in the top 10 for the US Open and PGA Championship. He followed this up late in the tour with a win in The Barclays. For the entire year, he earned almost $5 million, earning him the Arnold Palmer Award for most money earned on the PGA Tour, and both the Vardon Trophy and Byron Nelson award for lowest average score on tour.

Current Life

In 2011, Matt appears to be having another landmark year. Already earning eight top 10 finishes, a win seems almost inevitable.  He shot up the overall player leaderboards to sixth, where he currently stands. Personally, Matt resides in Georgia with his wife and 2 sons. A devoted family man an excellent golfer, his father has been known to caddy for him and when he’s not on the links, he’s spending time with his loving family. 

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