SINGAPORE - Matt Kuchar had breezed through the three par-five holes at Sentosa Golf Club all week. Ten times he had played them and he had nine birdies and an eagle.
As he stepped onto the 587 yard par-five 7th, with a commanding four shot lead, Kuchar had seemingly turned Sunday's (Jan 19) final round of the SMBC Singapore Open into a procession.
Then, disaster struck. His tee shot missed to the left, his approach went out of bounds and the 10-footer he holed was for a triple-bogey eight. That, coupled with flightmate Jazz Janewattananond's birdie on the same hole, wiped out Kuchar's advantage at the US$1 million (S$1.35 million) tournament.
The veteran American showed tremendous resilience though to recover as he managed three birdies over the next 11 holes for a one-under 70 and a winning total of 18-under 266.
The 41-year-old, who was making his debut here, said: "I turned it into more of a competition that I thought it would be, and it was one of my best putts for an eight.
"Golf and life have a lot of similarities. When you face difficult times, it's how you persevere and overcome those things.
"My caddie said pretend like that was Jordan Spieth making those putts against me at Royal Birkdale (Spieth played the final five holes at the 2017 British Open to beat Kuchar by three shots). There was momentum from not getting a quadruple-bogey nine.
"To make a great turnaround and play a great back nine to close out the tournament with birdies on the 16th and 18th was a real thrill."
Besides the US$180,000 winner's cheque, Kuchar will earn world rankings points for the win. The world No. 24 is eyeing one of spots on the United States team for this year's Tokyo Olympics but has 12 other Americans ahead of him in the standings.
Kuchar, who claimed a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Games, added: "Qualifying for the Olympics is a huge goal of mine. Hopefully, this win helps out with some ranking points... it would be nice to try to get something better than my bronze from Rio."
Olympic champion Justin Rose finished second at the Serapong Course, three shots behind Kuchar. After birdies on the 11th, 12th, 14th and 16th, the Briton's red-hot putter went cold. He settled for a 67 and ended on 269.
Rose, 39, said: "I ran out of holes and it was too little, too late. But I really enjoyed the chase, played some good golf and made some good putts. I got close, but Kuchar made a good birdie on the 16th, so every credit to him.
"I was just disappointed with the turn because I didn't realise his mistakes on the front nine and bogeyed Holes 8 and 9. That's where I lost the tournament. Had I known, I would have played with a different intensity.
"It's a good first round of the year for me, four rounds in the 60s, got in contention, felt some of those nerves which was great. Some second-places hurt, but this was more of a feel-good second place. I'm looking forward to a big year."
Thai Jazz (71) was bidding to become only the second man - after Australian Adam Scott in 2005 and 2006 - to defend his Singapore Open crown. He said: "I tried to put up a good title defence, but Kuchar was playing next-level golf. Even after the triple bogey, he managed to recover. That's what makes him great and that's what I need to improve on."
Four players - Kim Joo-hyung, Richard T. Lee, Poom Saksansin and Ryosuke Kinoshita - earned a spot at this year's British Open thanks to their results in Singapore.
The Republic's highest finisher was amateur James Leow. The SEA Games champion closed with a 76 and was tied-46th on 285.
