Peter Kuchar, father of PGA Tour pro Matt, dies at 73

Peter Kuchar, a highly-ranked tennis player in the state of Florida who gained a measure of attention for his exuberance while working as caddie for his son Matt Kuchar in the 1998 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club, has died, though no cause of death has been reported. He was 73.

Matt Kuchar, a nine-time PGA Tour winner, was scheduled to play in the Waste Management Phoenix Open this week, but withdrew upon receiving the news that his father had passed away while on a cruise with his wife Meg to celebrate her 70th birthday.

“My Pop was a huge fan of sport and passed on his love of competition to me,” Matt Kuchar said in a statement to Golf Channel. “He was a wonderful person—an incredible grandfather, a loving husband and best friend to my mother and the best father I could have ever hoped for. An avid pickleball player and outdoorsman, Pop was a man of great character and a character in his own right.

“He is the person that introduced me to the game of golf, a tie that will always remain between us. Those memories, and so many more, will be with me and our family forever. He will be missed more than words can express. We appreciate the support and privacy while we grieve as a family.”

Peter, who worked as a life insurance salesman, caddied for Matt when the latter won the U.S. Amateur in 1997, then caddied for him again in the Masters and U.S. Open the following year. In the U.S. Open that year, a few professional golfers were critical of the way Peter acted in the wake of his son holing a chip for birdie. Matt, meanwhile, has called those days of his father caddieing for him career highlights.

After Matt turned pro in 2000, Peter became a regular in Matt's galleries, going to numerous PGA Tour events to watch his son. The two played together in the end of the year father-child event, the PNC Championship, in 2018, where they tied for ninth place. Peter caddied for Matt at the most recent PNC Championship, with the tour pro teaming up with his son, Cameron.