Matt Kuchar Wins the Barclays Cup Final Round
The tussle between Martin Laird and Matt Kuchar for The Barclays Cup 2010 has finally ended with Kuchar ultimately claiming the victory. He played the tournament’s final round with 66 in R4 that lead him to a win over Laird. The Ridgewood Country club experienced Kuchar’s quick turn of fate along with his golf balls as well.
Just as there is always a light at the end of every tunnel, Kuchar’s hard work over the past decade has seemed to pay off finally. His first win at a PGA tour was in 2002 after which it took him seven years to catch another triumph. The seven year belated victory came about in 2009 at The Turning Stone Resort Championship. His luck in 2010 is rather shinning drastically. This year, the thirty two year old can boast about two things, his selection in the Ryder Cup and the recent victory at Barclays.
Against the previous round leader Laird, Kuchar was declared winner at the Paramus New Jersey after a sudden death playoff for the win. He was at 66 that is 5 under par at the ultimate round against Laird who stood with a 3 putt bogey. Kuchar finished the game at minus 12. His performance throughout the rounds have been 68, 69, 69 and 66, making him the number one player on the leader board and hence the whole tournament.
Here is what happened at the final hole; When Kuchar closed with a 66 at minus 12, Laird was in the lead with one shot and needed only two putts. Everyone was immersed in calculating whether the ball would cross the 25 feet or not. However, after the putt, the ball travelled past the hole and had a distance of 7 feet between them. Laird missed the par putt and hence set up a playoff handing Kuchar the win.
Experts suggest that Kuchar has been playing a very consistent game throughout the season and is likely to move from the 23rd to 10th position in the world rankings. The leader board marked Martin Laird as a runner up. He stood second with a minus 12 at 71 in the round four. His game statistics show his score as 69, 67, 65 and 71 in rounds 1, 2, 3 and 4. With a 272, the final putt of Laird favored the championship in Kuchar’s fate. The six feet four’s victory has led him to attain prize money of US$1.35 million. This is out of the total purse of US$7.5 million.
Andres Romero of Argentina also appeared at The Barclays; he had a double bogey at the start of the round but over the last five holes, he made an impressive collection of four birdies. Speaking of distance and putting, Romero landed on 100 in rankings after a 40 foot putt at his final hole. Wood, who was also in the top boards earlier, is now seen tied at number 16 with minus 7 along with a total of 277.
Kuchar exclaimed with great joy that he has at least one day to celebrate the victory and said it was a good thing. He added that a player feels like he’s on the top of the world once he wins an event. At 274 was Steve Stricker, striking number three on the board with his swings. He stood with a total of minus 10. Further down the board, Streeman also stood with a minus 10 and a 68 at the final round.
Meanwhile, Kuchar’s latest win has earned him exemption from qualifying for the coming years with major events counting to four. Kuchar says he is excited since he also has an auto placement in the upcoming Tour Championship.
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