Kuchar blows 6-shot lead, falls into tie with Villegas in Mexico with Hughes 2 shots back
By The Associated Press on November 4, 2023.
LOS CABOS, Mexico (AP) – Matt Kuchar blew a big lead with a late collapse Saturday in the World Wide Technology Championship, leaving him tied with Camilo Villegas with a round left at Tiger Woods-designed El Cardonal at Diamante. Six strokes ahead at 24 under with three holes left on a breezy, cloudy afternoon on the tip of Baja Calif., Kuchar pulled his drive on 15 left into dense bushes and made a quadruple-bogey 8. He then bogeyed the par-3 16th, limiting the damage with a 12-foot bogey putt. Kuchar closed with two pars – with his birdie try on the par-5 18th hitting the cup – for a 5-under 67. Playing alongside Kuchar in the final group, Villegas finished birdie-birdie-bogey-birdie for a 69 to join Kuchar at 19 under. Mackenzie Hughes of Hamilton, Ont., shot a 9 under on Saturday and moved to 17 under, two shots back of the leaders. Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., is tied for 28th at 11 under. Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., is tied for 52nd at 9 under. The 45-year-old Kuchar won the tournament in 2018 at Mayakoba. A month after that, he won the Sony Open in Hawaii for the last of his nine PGA Tour titles. After opening with consecutive 65s on Thursday and Friday in calm conditions, Kuchar eagled the par-5 first on Saturday and had six birdies and a bogey in a front-nine 29. He birdied Nos. 12-14 to get to 10 under for the round and 24 under overall before the meltdown. Villegas, two strokes ahead after opening 64-64, is fighting to gain his full PGA Tour card. The 41-year-old Colombian split time between the Korn Ferry Tour and whatever PGA Tour events he could get in this year, and he stands at No. 223 in the FedEx Cup with only three tournaments left. The top 125 have full cards for 2024; the top 150 at least have conditional status. Erik van Rooyen, who came into the week at No. 125 in the FedEx Cup, was a stroke back at 18 under after a 66. Mackenzie Hughes (63), Will Gordon (67) and Justin Suh (68) were 17 under. — AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf 11-10
