Matt Kuchar made the headlines for the wrong reasons on Sunday evening after refusing to finish his round at the Wyndham Championship, and YouTube star Rick Shiels is the latest high-profile name to react to the incident.
The American – out of contention – opted to mark his ball on the 72nd hole and return to finish his round on Monday morning. Golf fans raged at Kuchar’s decision on the 18th after his playing partners went on to conclude their rounds with Englishman Aaron Rai eventually claiming his maiden PGA Tour title.
The 46-year-old would go on to make par and finished tied for 12th. Kuchar made $59,000 after finishing one shot clear of a tie for 22nd.
Shiels has now shared his thoughts on the incident and highlighted another issue that the American’s actions caused.
Rick Shiels reacts to Matt Kuchar’s Wyndham Championship decision
Kuchar’s return to the course on Monday could’ve had an impact on players and fans who would’ve been looking forward to playing immediately after the tournament.
And it’s a point Shiels has highlighted in his latest podcast episode.
“It’s the weirdest story,” said the YouTube star. “Think about the complications of him going back. You know what I would hate, typically the following day after a PGA Tour event is quite an exciting day for normal people. Often, the golf course is being used by sponsors and sponsors’ invites.”
Shiels went on to suggest Kuchar isn’t the most popular golfer on tour at the moment.
“I have been lucky enough to play the Monday after the Open and the Monday after the Masters,” he said. “That golf course will have a full tee sheet, with excited golfers going to play this incredible golf course, yet is that going to be threatened now because Matt Kuchar hasn’t finished his round?”
Shiels added: “He is not winning many fans, is he? Famously, all those years ago, when he won a few million, he was using a temporary caddie at the time, and he gave the caddie like five grand. He’s not doing himself many favours.”
Matt Kuchar makes huge error at the Wyndham Championship
The true motive behind Kuchar’s error remains to be seen, but at least the American has admitted he made a mistake.
“Nobody wants to be that guy that’s showing up today, one person, one hole,” Kuchar said after the incident. “Not even one hole, half a hole to putt. So apologies to the tournament, to everybody that had to come out.
“I know it stinks, I know the ramifications, I know it stinks. Certainly, I apologise for forcing everybody to come out here.”
As Shiels mentions, Kuchar does have a prior history of strange decision-making. After winning $1.3 million at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in 2019, Kuchar gave his temporary caddie just $5000.
It remains to be seen whether his decision at the Wyndham Championship was money-oriented, but given his prior history, it appears to be.
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