As a follow-up to the last Wyndham Championship, the news is that Matt Kuchar (US) teed off all by himself on an empty course at 8 am local US time on Monday morning to finish Hole 18 and officially complete his final round of golf.
However, it did not impact the final standings as 29-year-old Aaron Rai had already completed his debut victory on the PGA Tour which is indeed a life-changing moment for him. Achieving this milestone solidifies his place among the top golfers and opens up new opportunities in his career.
Kuchar took a free drop from Sunday night’s tee shot – a second shot played 189 yards just short of the green – a 34-yard chip and a short putt for par on the 503-yard par 4 hole and he finally signed his scorecard and the tournament has been completed according to all the regulations.
He finished tied 12th on 11 under par.
We will recall that Kuchar, although not in contention for anything related to the tournament or the FedEx Cup Rankings – decided not to complete his final round due to the failing light on Sunday night – but the rest of the field did. There is no blame on Kuchar – it was unfortunate for so many reasons but it was his right as a player.
Has so much time and effort ever been consumed on just one player playing in a professional tournament on one day – on his own?
What about the golf course preparation, media, volunteers, officials, security, catering , TV coverage, ticketing corporate hospitality and so much more? Was it a tournament organiser’s worst nightmare?
It is predicted that the above was perhaps all scaled down for obvious reasons!
What happened next?
The Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and FedEx Cup Rankings were required to be updated.
The OWGR movement of note was by Aaron Rai up to the 22nd spot from last week’s 48th. At the start of the year, he was in 64th place.
In the FedEx Cup Standings, he is now in 25th. He is also the second-highest English player in the OWGR behind just Tommy Fleetwood in 11th, Matt Fitzpatrick (24th), Tyrrell Hatton (31st) and Justin Rose (46th).
A check of Rai’s bio says he only joined the PGA Tour in 2022, having graduated through the Korn Ferry Tour, having previously progressed through the EuroPro Tour (now the Clutch Pro Tour), the Challenge Tour and the DP World Tour.
Who can argue against him continuing this dramatic rise up the various golf rankings?
Hardworking Rai has perhaps, to date, not got the profile or recognition for the performances he deserves. But he is certainly one to watch as he hopes to continue his dramatic rise in the world of golf.
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