AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Power ranking the top ten pros

9 of 11

PEBBLE BEACH, CA – JUNE 17: Matt Kuchar plays a bunker shot on the second holeduring the first round of the 110th U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on June 17, 2010 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images) /

Last year, Matt Kuchar missed out on representing the U.S. in either a Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup for the first time since 2009. By the looks of things, the 40-year-old’s ready, not a moment too late to start a new streak.

Kuchar’s win at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in November was his first since 2014. He’s since proceeded to win the Sony Open in January and is up to five top-25s in a row. His last start was a T4 at the Phoenix Open where he played in the final group Sunday.

“The game’s good, been in pretty good control of the ball, feel like the shot shape I like to see, a little fade, has been working, been holding up very well,” Kuchar said on Saturday in Phoenix. “So I stand over the ball and feel pretty comfortable.”

Early returns on his 2018-19 PGA Tour stats back up his comfortability. Kuchar’s ninth in greens in regulation (77.5 percent) and is dialed in on birdie opportunities where he’s 16th in approaches from 125-150 yards.

He’s never been known as an aggressive player, but he’s got a lot more circles on his scorecards this season. Kuch is up from 116th in birdie average to 11th.

The chief concern this week if you’re riding with the Georgia native Kuchar is that most of his success is away from the West Coast. He’s yet to win a California event.

Not counting a withdrawal in 2010, Kuchar has played the Pebble Beach Pro-Am 11 times with a T6 his best finish in 2007. He returned to the Monterey Peninsula in 2018 for the first time since 2010 and took T62.

Home/Golf Power Rankings