You might think Matt Kuchar would have his Olympic bronze medal in the vicinity of his Sony Open in Hawaii trophy, right next to all of the other special hardware he has won along the way. Maybe it would be front and center in a trophy case with a special kind of light showing off one of the rarest accomplishments in sports.
But you’d be wrong. Way wrong. Instead, it resides in a backpack, inside a sock that Kuchar takes with him pretty much wherever he travels, going on now for four years.
Forget your wallet when it comes time to pay the check? Out comes the Olympic medal. Rushing through a line at the airport, well look what we have here. Why, it’s an Olympic medal. Speeding down the causeway to make an early tee time. Officer, have you ever seen my Olympic medal?
You never know when that bronze baby might come in handy. And if the defending champion of the Sony Open in Hawaii has his way, maybe he can bring home a baby brother this summer in Japan, this time perhaps a gold or silver, just to keep that bronze guy in a sock from getting too lonely.
“Still hugely proud of it,” Kuchar said Wednesday after his pro-am round. “I’m still amazed at the scale, the scope of just what the Olympics means to people, how big the Olympics is. I’m hugely proud to have been part of an Olympics, to be able to call myself an Olympian. Hugely proud to be a medalist at an Olympics. It’s definitely a goal of mine to be part of the Olympics in 2020 in Japan.
“Wherever my backpack goes it goes, yeah. It’s just been fun to show off. Hadn’t found a home anywhere other than my backpack. I probably haven’t brought it out other than in airport screenings. I always take it out … I’ve put the sock out open in a bin, the screener always grabs ahold of it, pulls it out and eyes kind of bug out.”
Something else that’s something of an eye-opener — the first time Kuchar made the cut at the Sony Open, Jerry Kelly was the winner. That would be 18 years ago if anyone is counting. Both are in the field this week as two of the nine past champions. Kelly makes his living these days on the senior circuit. Kuchar is the most recent winner here as the defending champ, but his love affair with Waialae got off to a rocky start.
Kuchar finished tied for fourth the year Kelly posed with the trophy. It was only his second appearance with the first ending in a missed cut in 2001. He cashed a $165,333 paycheck in 2002 and only did it once more in 2008 for considerably less ($11,100 for finishing 65th) over his next six appearances.
Not until 2011 did Kuchar get comfortable with the place. He has made the cut every time since in his last six starts, five of them top 10s to earn a comfortable living here with a little more than $2.22 million in earnings.
As far back as his career goes here, Kuchar is only 41, still searching for that elusive first major, a steady player with nine PGA Tour wins to his credit. Blessed with a wry sense of humor and a sweet swing, you often hear people yelling “KUUUCH” as he makes his way down the fairways on golf courses around the world.
Today, he begins his title defense in an afternoon pairing with 2017 Sony Open champ Justin Thomas and Brendan Todd, who almost won three consecutive events in the fall portion of the wraparound season. It’s a perfect television pairing for the Golf Channel to follow, something Thomas said yesterday that he was looking forward to after all three began their calendar year at Maui last week.
“He’s just one of those guys I haven’t been paired with a lot,” Thomas said of Kuchar, “but every time I do it’s just unbelievable how good he is. Kuch is so funny. His humor is one of a kind. … The entertainment is definitely high.”
With the weather forecast calling for more brisk trades, don’t expect to see any 59s as Thomas managed en route to winning here in 2017 or even a 63 as Kuchar fashioned on Thursday a year ago. With three-man pairings and a field of 144 golfers, getting done by 6 p.m. today could prove challenging.
Some golfers like playing in the breezes, some don’t. For Kuchar, it’s all about experience in the wind. He has played here when the wind comes sweeping down the plain and likes his chances if conditions are similar all four days.
“I feel good about my game,” Kuchar said. “The winds are up. I feel like that bodes well for me. Conditions are surprisingly soft as far as the golf course is concerned. Typically with high wind it dries places out. Typically get windy, goes along with firm and fast. This is not firm and fast this week, this year.”
