Matt Kuchar of the United States takes a drop on the 18th hole during the third round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio on April 01, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)
Matt Kuchar stepped on the tee of the par-5 18th hole with the best round of the course going. He was only a shot out of the lead.
By the time his putt dropped, he carded a double-bogey 7 and was four shots behind Rodgers.
Kuchar’s tee shot drifted left before bouncing into a cactus. He was forced to take an unplayable. Then his third shot ended up against a hospitality tent. After taking relief, his fourth narrowly crossed the creek meandering in front of the green. His fifth shot came up short of the cup, and with a chance to escape with a bogey, Kuchar’s putt barely missed on the left side.
Although it was a tough finish, Kuchar sits solo third at 9-under 207 heading to Sunday. He shot 3-under 69 on Saturday, but the tough finish will make it an uphill battle come Sunday.
“Yeah, this was definitely my best day ball-striking by a long shot, was playing some good golf,” Kuchar said. “This is a tough golf course, one that it’s easy to go wayward, easy to make some big numbers. It’s a course I have a huge amount of respect for. It is a tough, demanding golf course and I paid the price with a poor tee shot on the last. But all in all, listen, it was a good day of golf out there.”
If he was able to win, Kuchar would head to Augusta National, a place he has been 15 times and finished inside of the top 10 four times. If he’s not able to win Sunday, it would be his second straight season not making it to the Masters after 13 straight trips down Magnolia Lane.
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