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The 34-year-old American emerged triumphant after a marathon week at Dove Mountain that began with a snow delay on Wednesday, winning all six of his matches in an elite event that brings together the game’s leading players.
Last year, Kuchar clinched his fourth PGA Tour title at the Players Championship, which is unofficially regarded as the “fifth” major, and he was thrilled on Sunday to add a WGC crown to his career resume.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” smiled Kuchar, who will climb to eighth in the world rankings which will be issued on Monday.
“Tough to compare with the matchplay difference, but you’ve got two fields that are the strongest fields in golf,” he said of the Players Championship versus the prestigious WGC tournaments.
“You’ve got the best players in the game of golf showing up, and to be a champion at an event where you’ve beaten the best in the world, it’s just an amazing feeling.”
When Kuchar won the 2012 Players Championship by two shots at the TPC Sawgrass to secure a US$1.71 million pay cheque, it was the greatest achievement of his career.
“So many things were so cool to me about winning the Players,” the soft-spoken American recalled.
“I look at the Players as having the strongest field in the game of golf on one of the most difficult courses.
“It also finished on Mother’s Day. My mom had never been to a tournament that I had won, so to have all those things kind of come together was just a really special week.
“But to be here, to win my first World Golf Championship in this format, to win six matches, to win two matches on Saturday and two matches on Sunday, it is just an amazing feeling.”
Kuchar had to withstand a pressure-laden back nine on a bitterly cold and windy Sunday afternoon at Dove Mountain where his compatriot Mahan fought back from a four-down deficit at the turn. — SuperGolf.
Online Reporter