Throwback Thursday: Kuchar sinks Donald at Harbour Town
Luke Donald’s tale of woe at the RBC Heritage continued in 2014, as Matt Kuchar holed a bunker shot on the final green to defeat the Englishman by a solitary shot. NCG takes a closer look
The Background
In the final round of the 2014 RBC Heritage, Luke Donald led the field after 54-holes and was looking for his first title at Harbour Town.
He’d gone close many times before, having racked up four top 3 finishes without victory around the short, seaside layout.
Matt Kuchar, starting the day four shots adrift of Donald, was storming through the leaderboard courtesy of a front-nine 30.
The Scene
When the American three-putt bogeyed the 17th, it looked like that would be his race run.
Kuchar found the greenside bunker at the final hole, and with Donald coming off back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12, it seemed Kuchar would come up a few shots short.
But with a slight uphill lie in the bunker, Nick Faldo on commentary declared: “this is easy.”
Sure enough, he splashed it out, landing the ball about 20ft short to let it track towards the hole.
Surely not? The ball caught the right side of the cup at speed and dropped – leading to mass celebration.
“I said to Lance ‘I‘m about due to make one of these’. It was so cool to see that thing disappear at the end”, Kuchar said.
Donald, playing in the final group a few holes behind, would need a birdie to playoff with Kuchar, or two for the outright win.
After the 12th hole, the Englishman failed to pick up a single shot and, as a result, couldn’t convert his two-shot lead at the start of the day.
The Legacy
It would be Kuchar’s seventh PGA Tour title and, since that win in April 2014, the American has yet to win again on the Tour.
For Donald, his remarkable record without victory at Harbour Town is unrivalled. Since finishing second in 2014, he’s finished runner-up twice more.
His record in his previous nine starts now reads: 2-2-15-2-3-37-2-3-2.
Golf can be a cruel game.
Course closed – now what are you going to do?
Who to back at the RBC Heritage
Throwback Thursday: That chip at 16
Tom Irwin
Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.
