Matt Kuchar is known for that omnipresent smile on his face, but this week is different and he has been on the verge of tears several times at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
It has been a difficult week for Kuchar after Angela, the wife of his long-time caddie Lance Bennett, died Wednesday of a seizure. The couple has a four-year-old daughter, Emma Grace.
Kuchar, who said he was playing the tournament for Angela after Lance left Boston on hearing the news, surged into contention in yesterday’s second round with a round of five-under par 66.
The round included a run of six straight birdies around the turn at the TPC Boston and got him to within one shot of the early clubhouse leader Ryan Palmer at seven-under par 135.
Palmer, the overnight leader after a brilliant eight-under par 63 on Friday, got off to a roller-coaster start yesterday, not making a par until his sixth hole. But he managed to grind out on the back nine and finished at even-par 71.
“Today was easier,” Kuchar said. “I still felt like Angela was on my mind almost every hole, every shot.”
Caddies wore black hats and players wore orange ribbons, Angela’s favourite colour, to show their support.
Several players have already pledged part of their earnings from the tournament towards a fund for the Bennetts.
“A caddie is part of the family; a caddie’s family is part of the family,” Kuchar added. “It’s one of those things, I can’t imagine how I would survive without my wife as the father of a couple of children, and Lance has a four-year-old little girl. It’s sad. It’s things you wish wouldn’t happen and shouldn’t happen, but unfortunately they do.”
Billy Horschel (66) tied Kuchar at seven-under par, while Bill Haas kept alive his Ryder Cup hopes with a 69 that put him two shots behind Palmer. But the same cannot be said of Brandt Snedeker, who missed the cut for a second straight week and that would put a serious dent on his chances of becoming one of captain Tom Watson’s three wild cards
