Kuchar's Quad-Bogey Combo on 15 and 16 Plus Van Rooyen's 66 Put Van Royen within 1 of WWT Lead

National

LOS CABOS, Mexico -- Matt Kuchar eagled the 582-yard, par-5 first hole on the Tiger Woods-designed El Cardonal at Diamante course on Saturday, and he proceeded to birdie nine of the next 13 holes, as he pulled away to a six-shot lead during the third round of the World Wide Technology Championship. Then he made a quadruple bogey 8 at the 15th hole. At the par-3 16th, he wasn't on the green in two and had to work hard just to salvage a bogey. Having parred only four of the first 16 holes, he parred the last two.

All of which made the math he had to do on his scorecard a little complicated, but when he got it added up, he had a 5-under 67, and he was tied with Camilo Villegas for first at 197 (minus 19) going into Sunday's final round.

Villegas shot 64 each of the first two days and had the 36-hole lead at 128, but he was 1 over for the front nine on Saturday. He got there by making bogeys at the eighth and ninth holes, and even though he birdied the 10th and 13th holes, he found himself seven behind Kuchar after Kuchar ran off three straight birdies at the 12th, 13th and 14th. That got him to 24 under for the first 50 holes. This, however, was a day of wild swings on the scoreboard, from start to finish, and Villegas made up that seven-shot deficit on the last four holes, as he went 2 under (birdie-birdie-bogey-birdie) for a 69, and Kuchar went 5 over. 

You couldn't make this stuff up. No one would believe you. 

One behind Kuchar and Villegas is Erik Van Rooyen, the former University of Minnesota star from South Africa. He got off to a turbo-charged start with birdies on the first two holes, an eagle at the 351-yard, par-4 third, a bogey at the fourth hole and birdies at the fifth and sixth. (He and Kuchar would have had a four-ball score of 10-under 36 on the front nine -- with a best-ball bogey on the fourth hole.) And then, having made zero pars over the first six holes, Van Rooyen made 11 pars and one birdie over the last 12, for a 66. That put him 198. 

There is a threesome right behind him -- Justin Suh, Will Gordon and Mackenzie Hughes -- tied for fourth at 199. No one is at 200, but after that it's a mob scene, five-way ties for seventh (201) and 12th (202), a four-way tie for 17th (203), followed by a seven-way tie for 21st (204), a nine-way tie for 28th (205) and a massive, 15-way tie for 37th at 10-under 206.

The 45-year-old Kuchar looked as if he was going to run away and hide from the field when he completed his trifecta of birdies at the par-5 14th (554 yards). His closest pursuer at that point was Gordon, who was 6 under for the round and minus 18 for the tournament. He would give two back with a double at the 16th, before making a birdie at the 18th. 

A snap hook off he tee at the 462-yard 15th put Kuchar in the jungle left of the fairway and resulted in a lost ball, which started him on the way to his quad. He pulled his fourth shot (after the stroke-and-distance penalty for the lost tee shot), and the ball went down a steep slope. From there, he failed to hit his fifth shot hard enought to climb the slope and get on the green. Ditto the sixth shot. He hit great seventh shot, though, and made a 2-footer for the 8. His problems didn't end there. His tee shot at the 154-yard 16th came up short and barely stayed out of the hazard in front of the green. Faced with another steep slope, he came up just short of the green with his second shot, and he ended up having to make a 12-foot putt for a bogey. 

At the par-5 18th (585 yerds), he found a bunker with his drive. Attempting to hit a hybrid from there, he topped the shot and was lucky the ball escaped the sand. It turned out to be the equivalent of a lay-up, leaving him a wedge shot from 110 yards, and he nearly birdied the hole. His 15-foot birdie putt lipped out. Villegas, who was a few yards to the left of the green with his second shot (down yet another slope, but this one not quite so severe), barely got his third shot inside of Villegas, but he did make his 12-foot putt for a birdie -- and tied for the lead.   

What was most surprising about the roller coaster ride that Saturday's round turned into was that it was Kuchar who made such a mess of the last few holes. He's a former U.S. Amateur champion who has been a marvel of consistency since turning professional in 2000. He's won 18 times as a pro, nine times on the PGA Tour, and had top-10s in all four of the major championships, including second-place finish at the 2017 British Open. He's basically been a cash machine and is No. 8 on the PGA Tour's Career Money List, with more than $58 million in total earnings. He hasn't won since 2019, but coming into the WWT Championship, he's made $3,090,648 in '22-23, which has him at No. 53 on the money list, and he's No. 60 on the FedEx Point List, which is what determines a player's status on the PGA Tour for the following year. He'd like to move up into the top 50 on the points list by the end of the current season (which has two more events after this week), because the top 50 will get into all of the big-money tournaments next year. Nevertheless, his fully exempt status for 2024 is assured. 

Van Rooyen and Villegas, on the other hand, are playing for their jobs this month. The top 125 on the points list will retain full PGA Tour status for 2024, and Van Rooyen, 33, started the WWT Championship at No. 131 on the FedExCup Regular Season Points List. (He's 132 on the money list, with $981,390 in 29 events.) He is also No. 125 on the FedExCup Fall Points List, which is yet another part of the PGA Tour's unbelievably convoluted system for determining a player's status. Van Rooyen's fully exempt status on the tour has been guaranteed since he won the Barracuda Championship in 2021, but that status is in effect only until the end of this season. The good news for him is that players from 126 to 150 on the Regular Season Points List will at least have limited status next year.

Villegas, 41, is in a more precarious position. He has four PGA Tour victories, but he hasn't won since 2014, and he hasn't been in the top 125 on the points list for the last few years. So he has only partial status, and he's been splitting his time between the big tour (11 tournaments) and the Korn Ferry Tour (18 tournaments), He is currently No. 224 on the PGA Tour Points List, and No. 233 on the money list, with $33,148.



World Wide Technology Championship

At El Cardonal at Diamante

Par 72, 7,452 yards

Los Cabos, Mexico

Third-round results 

T1. Matt Kuchar                   65-65-67--197

T1. Camilo Villegas              64-64-69--197

3. Erik Van Rooyen             68-64-66--198

T4. Mackenzie Hughes        71-65-63---199

T4. Will Gordon                    69-63-67--199

T4. Justin Suh                      66-65-68--199

T7. Patton Kizzire                69-69-63--201

T7. Scott Piercy                    66-68-67--201

T7. Michael Kim                    64-69-68--201

T7. Carson Young                69-64-68--201

T7. Kramer Hickock              65-67-69--201

T71. Troy Merritt                 71-68-73--212