DUBLIN, Ohio — Matt Kuchar was in a good spot Sunday at the Memorial. He had his first multiple-win season, and an audience with tournament host Jack Nicklaus.
Needing two putts from 20 feet to hold off a late charge from Kevin Chappell, Kuchar punctuated a remarkably steady final round by making the birdie putt for a 4-under 68 and a two-shot victory at Muirfield Village. He joined Tiger Woods as the only players with more than one win this year on the PGA Tour.
Kuchar, who goes to a career-best No. 4 in the world, won the Match Play Championship in late February.
Woods made another triple bogey — two shots from a bunker, three putts from 15 feet on the fringe — at the par-3 12th and had to rally for an even-par 72. Woods came into the Memorial having won three times in his last four starts, and left with the second-highest score of his career at 8-over 296.
The final round was a snoozer until the very end, when Chappell birdied three of his last four holes. His approach to the 18th settled within tap-in range for birdie, putting a little extra pressure on Kuchar. When the putt dropped, he flashed that easy smile and thrust his fist into the air as his 3-year-old son Carson gave Nicklaus a high-five.
“This is such an amazing feeling. This never gets old,” said Kuchar, who won for the sixth time in his career. “To have Jack Nicklaus congratulate me is a real treat. This is as special as it gets.”
Chappell, who missed four birdie attempts inside 10 feet on the front nine, closed with a 4-under 68.
Woods finished 20 shots behind, his largest deficit in a full-field event.
Woods was 30 shots behind at Firestone in 2010 at the depth of his most recent slump, and he was 20 shots behind in the 1996 Tour Championship at age 20. Both those tournaments have limited fields without a cut.
“It happens. It happens to us all,” Woods said. “Go home next week and practice.”
Putnam’s Web.com win second straight
Michael Putnam turned 30 Saturday. On Sunday, Putnam shot a 68 at the TPC Potomac at Avenel to win the Web.com Tour’s Mid-Atlantic Championship. It comes on the heels of his victory last week in the Mexico Championship.
Putnam finished the tournament at 7-under-par 273, two shots ahead of runner-up Chesson Hadley. Putnam won $108,000 from a purse of $600,000.
“It’s the second week in a row and I can’t get used to it enough,” Putnam said.
He will play Monday in a 36-hole U.S. Open sectional qualifier at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.
Putnam, tied for the third-round lead at 5 under, birdied three of the first six holes to take control.
“To pull away from the field early was big, especially with the windy conditions and knowing it was going to be a tough day,” Putnam said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.