Back in Fashion: Matt Kuchar

Four years after taking on golf's best as an amateur, Matt Kuchar is turning heads

'I'm walking to that first tee, just Tiger and me ... now I know I'm in trouble.'

Brian Smith/Getty Images

By Pete McDaniel

Photo By Jeff Gross/Getty Images

January 2002

Someone too cerebral to be a golfer once said, "In golf and in life, it's the follow-through that makes the difference." After tantalizing the golf world with an abbreviated, albeit brilliant, display of potential four years ago, Matt Kuchar is finally fulfilling the promise.

Kuchar succeeded Tiger Woods as U.S. Amateur champ in 1997, then dazzled the golf world a year later at the Masters and U.S. Open, the experience turning bittersweet only when the media vilified his father, Peter, for parental enthusiasm considered unbecoming for a caddie. With millions in endorsements available, it seemed natural that Matt would skip his final two years at Georgia Tech.

But it turns out that Kuchar is willing to take the road less traveled. At one point he considered following the lead of one of his heroes, a Georgia Tech graduate by the name of Bobby Jones, and spending the rest of his career as an amateur. When Kuchar did turn pro after earning his degree, it was with a modeling agency as his management firm. (He was once named one of Atlanta's 50 most beautiful people, and his mother, Meg, worked as a model.) Kuchar made the most of his sponsors' exemptions on the PGA Tour in 2001 and secured a card for the coming season, for which his goals are high: "In my heart, I have to believe I can beat Tiger."

We caught up with Kuchar, now 23, in October in Orlando, where the tour season was grinding toward a finish. Kuchar's quick wit and candor are proof that he is more than just a pretty face.

Golf Digest: You had an opportunity to be a millionaire after your sophomore year of college. Is it true that you turned down close to $2 million a year in endorsement contracts?

Matt Kuchar: They would have added up to seven figures, yeah. I think if I'd had $2 million cash in my hand, things might have been different. It's like playing in Vegas with chips -- chips never seem like real money. I never saw the money, so I didn't really know what I was giving up.

Any second thoughts?

There were times in school, after being up all night studying, that I thought, "I could be in professional golf and not have to worry about these tests." But those were just times of frustration. I'd quickly realize I made the right decision.

When you finally turned pro in the winter of 2000, you were still being pursued by all the top management firms, but you signed with Wilhelmina, a modeling agency that represents entertainers, supermodels and some athletes. Why not a golf-management firm?

Wilhelmina saw things as I envisioned them -- crossing over, outside of golf, into everyday people. The branding of Matt Kuchar -- making him more than just a guy who hits drivers and 7-irons; bringing him to a worldwide audience.

Do you have that kind of personality?

Yes, I have that. It's hard when you're in front of a guy with a tape recorder who's going to write a story about you. You try to be yourself when you're dealing with the media, because that's what you guys want. But at the same time you don't want to be John Rocker [former Atlanta Braves pitcher who made waves in 2000 with his comments about the people of New York]. You have to watch yourself so closely that you have to put up a bit of a guard.

Do you enjoy the spotlight?

Some.

Enough to become an actor?

Definitely.

A model?

Oh, yeah.

The same guy who gets so nervous in competition that you have trouble keeping your breakfast down -- he could do the lights-cameras-action bit?

Yeah. All you have is the camera. Sometimes in golf I've got 10,000 people watching me. Cameras are easy. Doing the Jay Leno show was easy.

What kind of an actor would you be? The James Dean type?

Sean Connery. Will Smith -- he's my favorite actor. Those two appeal to everybody.

That's a little different from the job you took after college. You were hired to play golf with business clients, correct?

I was given a great opportunity with an investment-banking firm that manages companies in distress. I was mentored by the owner. He said, "Matt, what a perfect fit you could be. People take to you."

You said during that time that you might just remain an amateur and be like Bobby Jones. Was that a serious consideration, or did you always know that you'd give pro golf a go?

It was serious. I still think back at what a wonderful life that could be. The door was open to see how competitive I could be as an amateur golfer. I felt I could play in maybe a dozen tournaments a year as an amateur.

What is your fascination with Bobby Jones?

I didn't know much about Jones until I went to Georgia Tech. I always liked that time in history. You weren't going to make a lot of money in sports. You played because you loved it. Sports were great back then. People not only dressed up to play golf, they dressed up to watch it.

Could you have stuck with the bank job?

Oh, yeah. That was a pretty cool job. But then I wanted to test myself week in and week out against the game's best. I wanted to find out how good I could be.

How bad were the corporate golfers you played with?

Some were pretty good. I did play with two guys I thought were just terrible -- then I played with Charles Barkley, and I realized those two were pretty good.