Matt Kuchar Is A Delusional Disgrace, Billy Horschel Is Mr. Nice Guy, And Aaron Rai Finally Gets It Done

This week's edition of Par Talk needs no introduction, instead, we're just going to open things up with a very simple question: Matt Kuchar, what the hell are you doing?

Aaron Rai earned his maiden victory on the PGA Tour at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday, yet that story is being overshadowed by Kuchar making what may possibly be the most ridiculous decisions in the history of professional golf.

Matt Kuchar Is Afraid Of The Dark, And Also Delusional

Let's set the scene.

Sunday served as the marathon of all marathons at the Wyndham Championship with every player in the field having to play 36 holes, with a few others including Kuchar, having to play a few more thanks to weather completely wiping out Thursday's first round.

Getting 36+ holes in on the PGA Tour where the pace of play is glacial was always going to be a challenge, and it certainly was on Sunday, yet everyone was able to finish their final round, except for Mr. Kuchar.

The drama unfolded on the 18th hole when Kuchar took it upon himself to hit his tee shot with Rai and his playing partners standing in the fairway waiting to hit their approach shots. You would think that Kuchar pegging his ball with players very much in firing range was the strangest part of the situation. Not even close, things got much weirder.

After Kuchar's playing partners Max Greyserman and Chad Ramey waited for the fairway to clear to hit their teeshots on the final hole, Kuchar walked over to his ball, marked it with a tee, and decided that it was simply too dark for him to finish the final hole. It's worth noting that he was in a tie for 12th at this point, with half of a hole remaining.

Meanwhile, up ahead on the green, Rai drained a short birdie putt to seal his two-shot victory over Gresyerman. Ramey and Greyserman went on to finish the hole as well. The tournament was over, or at least it should have been, but Kuchar decided to be the one player of the 67 who made the cut to decide not to finish the hole.

This meant volunteers, officials, and workers would have to come back on Monday morning so that Kuchar could finish up his round on Monday morning. While the entire scenario is beyond ridiculous, his explanation for not finishing the hole on Sunday evening was just as absurd.

"I was trying to set an example for Max [Greyserman]," Kuchar was quoted saying during Sunday's broadcast. "We were so far past when we should’ve stopped playing [given the light]. We saw what Max did on hole 16; they should’ve blown the horn there. I feel bad, the poor kid should’ve won this tournament. By me not playing, it may show Max he has an important shot to hit."

Greyserman held a four-shot lead with a handful of holes to play, but made a quadruple bogey on the 14th hole and a double bogey on the 16th that ended up costing him the tournament.

Kuchar's sentiment here may have been heartfelt, but Greyserman was well aware of the situation and could have made the decision to not finish the round due to darkness. Kuchar's comments sound like he's talking about a teenager who has never been in contention in a golf tournament before, not a 29-year-old grown man who is fully capable of making his own decisions.

We can't forget that Kuchar rushed to hit his teeshot on the final hole, which may have been a move to allow Ramey and Greyserman to finish the hole out, but the tournament was over as soon as Rai made his birdie putt on the last. Kuchar decided to call it quits before Rai sealed the victory, making the entire situation that much more confusing.

While we can't completely ignore the financial implications involved with Kuchar's final hole, we also kind of can seeing as how the man has earned $59 million in his career. 

Kuchar ultimately resumed play at 8 AM ET on Monday morning and made par on his final hole to earn $134,695 in a 10-way tie for 12th place. A bogey on the last would have seen him take home $77,000. Again, that's a massive difference for us regular folks, but for a multi-multi millionaire, it's whatever.

The only, and I mean only, defense of Kuchar's decision is that his T-12 finish moved him to 103rd in the FedEx Cup standings. The finish didn't earn him a spot in the playoffs, but may allow him to keep his full-status Tour card with the Top 125 in the year's final standings keeping their status.

He never mentioned that though, instead, he claimed he was trying to set an example for Greyserman.

For a guy whose reputation was almost non-existent after he completely stiffed a caddie, Sunday's antics firmly cemented Kuchar in the disgraceful player category.

It Was Only A Matter Of Time Before Aaron Rai Earned A W

There is no easy transition from Kuchar's tomfoolery to perennial nice guy Aaron Rai earning his first victory on the PGA Tour, but here we are.

The story has been told countless times now, but Rai is the poster child of the grateful hard worker. He uses iron covers - which is a no-no in the golf world - because his working-class family bought him a set of expensive Titleist irons when he was eight years old. His father put covers on the irons, which cost around $1,000 at the time, to protect them from being damaged. Ever since then, Rai has used iron covers just to show appreciation for his equipment and pay homage to his hard-working family.

Rai also wears two gloves while he plays, two black rain gloves to be exact. The story behind those are similar, as he was gifted a pair when he was young and the double-glove has stuck ever since. All in all, it's impossible to not like the young Englishman.

As for his win at the Wyndham, it certainly didn't come as a surprise. Sure, Greyserman gave the tournament away down the stretch, but Rai carding a final-round of six-under to get the job done caught nobody off guard who has been paying attention to leaderboards this season.

Rai entered the week with Top 20 finishes in six of his last seven starts, including a runner-up finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic at the end of June. He also happens to be the fourth-best player on Tour in terms of strokes gained: total. When only Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Xander Schauffele gain more strokes than you each round, then you're doing something right, and certainly doing enough to win on the PGA Tour.

With the win, Rai is now 25th in the FedEx Cup standings, and don't be shocked if this victory propels him to make some noise down the stretch.

It's Hard Not To Like Billy Horschel

Billy Horschel may have been more excited that Aaron Rai won the Wyndham Championship than Aaron Rai himself.

Horschel, who was playing alongside Rai on Sunday, was amping him up down the stretch. After Rai hit a perfect tee shot on the final hole, Horschel immediately walked over to him and gave him a fist bump. 

When Rai sunk his birdie putt to seal the victory, Horschel gave multiple fist pumps before giving Rai's caddie a few hits on the chest in pure excitement.

The celebration from Horschel continued in the scoring area as well as he gave Rai a huge hug and a quick shoulder rub as he signed his card.

This is what it's all about. These guys may have been battling for millions of dollars, but for Horschel to have the wherewithal about the situation, that Rai was on the cusp of literally changing his life and cheering him on down the stretch is one of the coolest scenes of the year.

Horschel has caught some flack over the years for being a touch over the top, maybe a little too intense, but 2024 has been mighty kind to the former Florida Gator. He won over some fans during his run at The Open and certainly won over some hearts after showing so much support to Rai.