Florida Golf Monthly - Matt Kuchar

More Than A Smile- Beneath the smile beats the heart of a champion, Matt Kuchar

In the summer of 1997, Matt Kuchar was sorting out the effects of his freshman year at Georgia Tech, playing some golf and hanging out like any other 19-year-old from Lake Mary. Life was so much simpler then. A year later, he finds himself playing the role of the "Anti-Tiger," the fresh face that will challenge the mighty Woods while disarming the golf world with a smile.

A year ago, Kuchar was a well-known name in amateur golf circles, which is on par with being a well-known numismatist. It's a big deal only to those in the inner circle. The biggest difference is that once a year the best amateur golfer gets his 15 minutes of fame when he wins the U.S. Amateur title on national television. The coin collector, on the other hand, is lucky if he gets a mention in the local newspaper when he discovers an extremely rare coin.

That was Kuchar's experience a year ago as he prepared for the first U.S. Amateur of the post-Tiger Woods era. After his freshman year at Georgia Tech, Kuchar's game was rounding into shape. He worked all summer towards the national amateur tournament for the sake of getting some valuable experience on the national stage.

"I played well at the Northeast Amateur in Rhode Island," says Kuchar, "and then I played very well at the Porter Cup and finished second while challenging for the lead. I even shot a 62. Things were starting to happen for me. My game was really getting in shape."

Kuchar's steadily improving game put him on a collision course with the U.S. Amateur Championship at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont, Illinois. His first U.S. Amateur would allow him to see where he stood in comparison with his peers around the country.

"It was really amazing," says Kuchar, recalling the experience. "Match play is so tough. You have to be really lucky to win six matches in a row. As the tournament went on and it went from one match to the next, the pressure increased. By the final two days, my stomach was in a knot and I could hardly eat anything. I was so nervous that I had trouble sleeping. When I won [defeating Joel Kribel 2 and 1 in the 36-hole final match], I felt relieved more than anything. It makes me appreciate even more what Tiger did in winning three in a row after winning all those matches. That's really an incredible feat."

"Tiger" &emdash; there's that name again. Kuchar was the first champion after "Tiger" won three in a row. The victory placed Kuchar in the field at the Masters and guaranteed him a playing date for the first round with "Tiger," the defending champion.

Over the years, many people have probably fallen in love at Augusta National during the Masters. However, this year may have been the first time the entire golf world fell in love with a player. Kuchar swept the golf world off its feet with his smile and game, right under the shadow of "Tiger" in the first round. As Woods sputtered and fumed when his putts careened past the hole and he slammed clubs at his bag when shots went awry, Kuchar beamed. He was having the time of his life, playing well and enjoying the moment and he wanted everyone to know it. To Kuchar a round of golf is a celebration in and of itself. To Woods the game is a strategic tragedy fraught with peril at every turn of a dogleg &emdash; kick butt, take names and add them up at the end. In Woods' mind, the only thing worth celebrating is total victory and nothing less.

Being referred to as the "Anti-Tiger" embarrasses Kuchar. He seems uncertain about being part of a marketer's dream, but he understands that such comparisons are inevitable. "You know," he says with a slight grin, "I never heard it put that way, that I'd be the 'Anti-Tiger.' I guess before I played with him, I thought pretty much the same thing &emdash; that he's totally intense on the golf course. That was what I expected. As it turned out, he was really great to play with. When there were lulls in the action, we chatted a lot, and he was the one who started it. He invited me to go out to Islesworth and play there with him when we're both in town. He was really great.

"I know people have this idea about Tiger," says Kuchar, "but I thought he was great and that he's nothing like that at all. I think he's done a great job handling all the things he has to handle."

Kuchar definitely didn't deny that he was having fun at the Masters. The world golf media had a new darling, and he loved every minute of it.

"I'd talked to a lot of former [U.S. Amateur] champions about it," says Kuchar, "and they all told me to just have fun and to enjoy the experience. It didn't matter if I played poorly or played well, but I should just enjoy the entire experience. As it happened, I played well."

For the record (and this will certainly get lost in the translation of the day and the week's events) Woods beat Kuchar by a stroke in the opening round. Additionally, the defending Masters champion finished 10th while the U.S. Amateur champ secured his automatic invitation (extended to the top 24 finishers and ties) to the 1999 Masters, finishing 20th at even par. Yet to the golf world, the kid with the smile walked away the big winner.

The entire week was an experience for which no one could ever be fully prepared, but Kuchar handled his introduction to the media major leagues with aplomb. "There certainly were a lot of media people there," he says with amazement. "It was a different experience, but I didn't find it distracting. It was fun. The thing is, the media ask questions in such a way about things you never have thought of before. That was really different."

Although the world saw Kuchar's father, Peter, as the excited cheerleading caddie, the young golfer had other family members on hand in Augusta who also shared in the glow of the magical week. "It was really great to go through the experiences of the day," says Kuchar, "and then sit with my grandparents and the rest of the family and watch it on TV at night. It was fun watching them watch that. Everyone had a great time."

When the glorious week finally came to an end, Kuchar had to refocus. "It was like after winning the U.S. Amateur," explains Kuchar. "Everyone wants to talk about the Masters, and I wanted to get focused for the next tournament. It was the ACC championship. It was tough getting ready for it."

The challenges Kuchar faced after the Masters differed from those he encountered after winning the U.S. Amateur title. The attention he had garnered in Augusta was global, and it came right after his collegiate schedule, just as he was headed for the Olympic Club and gearing up for the U.S. Open. And it was at the U.S. Open that he felt the effects of what had transpired at the Masters.

"I guess a lot of people took an interest in me after the Masters," he says with a tinge of humble embarrassment. "The greeting I got there [the U.S. Open] was really something. Being paired with Ernie [two-time U.S. Open and defending champion Els] and Justin [British Open champion Leonard] for the first two rounds was really great. They were really tremendous to play with, and it was a lot of fun."

Again, the fact that Kuchar could share the week's experiences with his family heightened the thrill. With his father under the strap once again, Kuchar's gallery was infiltrated with family members. "It was really nice for my grandparents and everyone in the family," says Kuchar, "because they were in the gallery and were talking with people who didn't know who they were, and people were saying things like, 'Matt seems to be as nice a person as he looks to be.' They got a kick out of things like that. It was a lot of fun for them and it was for me as well."

Kuchar also experienced another occurrence during the final round of the U.S. Open that may just affect him most times he plays in is tournament from here on out. His birthday is June 21st and will usually fall during the tournament. This year, fans serenaded Kuchar with renditions of "Happy Birthday" on almost every hole. "It was a surprise," he says modestly. "I never expected anything like that."

Nor did he expect that his game would again be at a competitive level with the world's best on a major stage. He finished nine over par, good enough for a T14th position and an invitation to return for the 1999 championship. Kuchar's smile reflected the fun of being on a roll. The glitter was for real, and with it came the reality that some serious questions lay just over the immediate horizon. His smile, game and personality are like a huge stack of casino chips. The longer they sit there, the greater the chances of losing them. Could it be time to cash in, take the money and run?

"I honestly don't know," says Kuchar with a straight face. "I read a story where an agent said I could make $2 million a year in endorsement contracts right now. That's a lot of money. That's really a lot of money. I really have to think about it a lot. What if I got hurt? What if I lose my game? Should I leave school and take the money now?"

It's heady stuff to be decided by a 20-year-old. You have to keep in mind that certain factors appeal to a 20-year-old that don't occur to older and supposedly wiser folks.

"My freshman year at Georgia Tech was a little rough," Kuchar admitted. "It was tough getting used to the schedule of being away for a week for a tournament and then coming back to school for a week and making up the work I missed. It was really hard. Then, last year I found out how to do it. I learned a couple of the secrets of how to get everything done, and school was a lot of fun for me. I'd miss school, going to the fraternity parties and hanging out with my friends on campus. I really enjoy that. Also, I don't have a (PGA) Tour card now, so I don't have any place to play. There are a lot of things to think about before I make the decision.

"The best thing about the entire situation is," says Kuchar with his trademark beaming smile, "both answers are the right one. I win either way."

As the cycle of golf personalities continues to evolve, there's a definite niche for Kuchar on the international professional scene. Ernie Els has his laid-back approach to life that has earned him the sobriquet, "The Big Easy." Eldrick Woods' fiery, combative appearance on the golf course has helped him live up to his natal nickname, "Tiger." Kuchar doesn't have a nickname yet, other than "Kuch," maybe that's because he's just a "Kuch" kind of guy.

No, his personality doesn't lend itself to nicknames. It takes more than word or a simple phrase to capture Matt Kuchar. The best description of this young man is etched on the Havemeyer trophy, the permanent champion's trophy of the U.S. Amateur Championship. The winners' names are inscribed on the sides of the trophy's base, and each winner is responsible for the engraving of his name. While some champions have had their names etched in large point type, the name "Matt Kuchar" appears in the smallest type on the trophy. He's just happy to have his name there, and his smile tells the whole story. There will always be a place for that in the world of golf.