Allan Henry – USA TODAY Sports
Matt Kuchar is most certainly one of the good guys.
A gentle and extremely likable character, a family man, a religious man. He may not have the corporate earning potential of Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy, but boy can he golf his ball. I doubt that anyone works harder than Kuch, but what I like most about him is the fact that he does what top players seem to do less and less of these days — he plays golf.
Kuchar has teed it up 14 times this year, and has found himself a nice groove. Honing his capabilities to produce at the business end of a tournament has to be seen as more beneficial than bashing balls all day on a range, or whatever it is that Woods and McIlroy do with their time off.
McIlroy has played nine events this year, while Woods has played just eight. When you can earn $20 million a year from a club manufacturer’s endorsement, maybe you don’t need to play so much, but to me there is no substitute for the heat of battle.
Kuchar is now undoubtedly the second-best player in the world at the moment after Woods. Currently fourth in the World Golf Rankings, he is second only to Woods in the number of ranking points gained this season.
Kuchar notched up his second victory of the season at last week’s Memorial Tournament, his sixth top-10 finish. If you had a few dollars on him every time he teed it up, you would have to feel that your money is in good hands, and the forthcoming U.S. Open at Merion should be no exception.
Neil White is an Irish based golf writer for Rant Sports, you can like him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter, or add him to your Google+ network.
