Matt, Cameron Kuchar scramble for 54, run away with PNC Championship
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Cameron Kuchar and Matt Kuchar pose with the Willie Park Belts after winning the PNC Championship.
Photo: AFP
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ORLANDO – Matt Kuchar could not control his emotions on Dec 21, believing that his late father was watching over him at every golf course whenever he is competing.
The 47-year-old and his son, Cameron, shot a tournament-record 54 on the second and final day of the PNC Championship to land their first title in the family event in Orlando, Florida.
Playing a scramble format, Team Kuchar carded 14 birdies, two eagles and just two pars for the 18-under round at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club.
After starting the day with the lead, the Kuchars cruised to a seven-stroke victory at 33-under 111.
Matt set up both of his team’s eagles, first with a draw shot at the par-five third that left 18-year-old Cameron an easy putt, then again at the par-five 18th when he stuck his shot inside three feet and could be seen fighting through tears.
It led to an outpouring of emotion afterwards from the PGA Tour veteran, whose father, Peter, died earlier in 2025.
“I don’t know if you believe in karma, if you believe in fate, whatever you believe in, there’s something – something magical that does exist,” Matt said.
“I’m a believer in God that dad is up above looking down, and that – what happened on 18, I could hardly stand up and hit a shot. For me to hit it to a foot, makes me think there’s something more out there. (I) just miss – miss Pop.”
Cameron, meanwhile, explained just how fun it was to win the event with his dad and to play excellent golf along the way.
“That was amazing,” he said. “I wasn’t keeping as much track today as I was yesterday but I probably made five or six solo birdies.
“Every now and then, I would let him know, ‘All right, I made that one myself’.
“But he also made a few solos and he’d come right back and he’d go, ‘That was all me right there’. It was just fun just going back and forth like that.”
Davis Love III and his son Dru shot a 58 to move to 118 and tie for second with John Daly and his son, John Daly II (59).
A shot further back in joint-fourth were women’s world No. 2 Nelly Korda and her father Petr, and Steve Stricker and his daughter Izzi, who carded 13-under 59s. REUTERS
