Matt Kuchar gathers momentum with tie for third at 3M Open in Blaine

Matt Kuchar trailed by as many as three strokes Sunday in the 3M Open but approached the 18th tee with a chance to extend an impressive streak.

It was a methodical grind to reach that point. Kuchar, part of a final group that included Maverick McNealy and eventual winner Jhonattan Vegas, was worked over by the TPC Twin Cities course throughout the day. But all three were among the cast of characters who delivered one of the better finishes in tournament history.

The best finish here came during the first 3M Open in 2019, when Bryson DeChambeau eagled No. 18 and thought he was in the driver’s seat — only to watch Matthew Wolff sink a 26-foot putt to match his eagle and leapfrog him for the championship in front of an energized crowd.

That was a blockbuster of an ending. This year’s version was more suspenseful.

Kuchar was part of a four-way tie for the lead with five holes to play, and the tournament rose toward a crescendo. Kuchar, who shot 63 on Saturday, was the veteran of the group. McNealy also fired a 63 on Saturday to challenge the leaders. Tour rookie Max Greyserman, the clubhouse leader at 16-under after his own 63 on Sunday, played table tennis to pass the time while the final groups finished up. And then there was Vegas, baby, who closed with a 70 to win by a stroke.

Kuchar, one stroke back with a hole to play, saw his tee shot on 18 veer left, landing near the cart path. That took away the option of going for the green in two. Once he reached the green, he had an 18-foot putt for birdie that would have pulled him into a brief tie for the lead, but it faded left of the cup. On the final stroke of the tournament, Vegas rolled in a 3-footer to win.

“Our group was kind of give-or-take all day, it seemed like,” Kuchar said. “It was a fun vibe just in our group and to have the great crowds that were out here certainly made it more exciting.”

Kuchar was pleased to be in the final reckoning amid a challenging season for him. By tying for third Sunday, he rose to 111th in the FedEx Cup standings. The top 70 players qualify for the first leg of the end-of-season playoffs, a three-tournament swing in which the winner receives $25 million.

That’s right, Kuchar hasn’t qualified yet. And there’s just one more tournament on the schedule, the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., starting Aug. 8.

This will be the 18th FedEx Cup playoffs. Only one golfer has taken part in each of the past 17: Kuchar. The first FedEx Cup in 2007 included Kuchar, Tiger Woods, Tom Lehman, Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington and others.

Kuchar, 46, has missed the cut in eight of his 19 tournaments this season and had zero top-10 finishes before Sunday. His 3M Open result earned him $477,900 — close to his season earnings of $550,656 before coming to Blaine.

Now he has some momentum heading into the Wyndham. He found the greens most of the week and got hot with the putter Saturday. Fans frequently crooned “Kuuuuch” when his putts found the bottom of the cup.

“It was a good week, looking back on it,” he said. “It was fun, 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. Certainly wish I could have done more. I feel like my short game let me down a little bit.”

3M Open final results

The 3M Open served its purpose for a few golfers looking to qualify for the FedEx Cup. Vegas clinched a spot with his victory. Kuchar would have qualified with a victory, but he moved closer to the top 70. There will be one thing on his mind when he arrives in North Carolina.

“Certainly, making the playoffs, keeping my job for next year, they’re all checkmarks,” he said. “I normally like to check these off a lot earlier in the year than right now, but ‘tis the bed I made. Certainly helpful. It is on my mind, it is something that I know is kind of back there.

“I don’t want to miss the playoffs, don’t want to miss top-125, all those things you tend to try to check off somewhere on the West Coast, but here I am late in the year trying to still check them off.”