Matt Kuchar gains much-needed confidence at 3M Open with strong finish

Matt Kuchar held his own at the 3M Open this weekend, finishing tied for third. The PGA Tour veteran is looking to extend his season a little longer.

Kuchar carded an even-par 71 Sunday to sit at 15-under overall and two shots behind the winner, Jhonattan Vegas.

On the week, the former Georgia Tech golfer went 68-67-63-70. That 63 on Saturday was massive for him as it propelled him up the leaderboard and into contention.

He may not have closed on Sunday, but this week gave him some confidence for the rest of the season.

“It was a good week,” Kuchar said. “It was fun to be out with a chance to win on Sunday. I hadn’t had this opportunity in a while, and to be in the last group Sunday to have the lead for a moment there was an exciting day. Wish I could have done more.”

“I feel like the short game let me down a little bit. I don’t think I got one ball up and down on a missed green today, which typically one of my strengths is being able to scramble pretty well. It was a challenging day — pars were good scores. I came away with a bunch of them today but needed a handful of birdies to do the trick.”

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images

He started the day with a birdie on two but dropped a shot at the 4th. Another birdie came at the 5th to sit at even par, but back-to-back bogeys saw him turn in 36 strokes.

Kuchar made one final birdie on the par-5 12th but could not get anything to drop after that. He settled six pars down the stretch.

The 46-year-old is the only player to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs since they began in 2007, so he is trying to avoid ending that streak.

“It is on my mind, and it is something I know is back there,” he said. I don’t want to miss the Playoffs. I don’t know where this puts me, but it is certainly within some striking distance. I’ll be in Greensboro again with basically that on my mind, trying to get in the top 70.”

He came into the week ranked No. 153 in the FedEx Cup standings. After this finish, he could jump to No. 111. While it could be a stretch, Kuchar could find a way into the Top 70. This finish was a big help for the veteran as the gap is not nearly as wide as it was a week ago.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.