ABERDEEN LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH-PLAY RESULTS

B Reid (C) bt J Forrest (N) 6 and 5

S Allan (C) bt D Grieve (BA) at 20th

A Shand (BA) bt D Mair (N) 2 and 1

G Meade (C) bt S Muir (N) 5 and 4

W Ross (C) bt M Rimmer (C) 2 and 1

C McBain (N) bt G McLaggan (BA) 1 hole

B Edmond (BA) bt C Johnstone (N) 3 and 2

L Minty (N) bt W Shand (BA) 6 and 5

R Evett (N) bt R Rimmer (C) 6 and 5

D Leslie (N) bt S Smith(C) 3 and 2

M Dunn (BA) bt A Sheldrick (C) 4 and 3

D Mullen (C) bt M Edmond (BA) 2 and 1

M.Greig (BA) bt J Duff (N) 4 and 3

S Allison (C) bt J Inglis (N) 9 and 7

C Somers (BA) bt S Finnie (C) 3 and 2

G Somers v S Murphy - All square (to finish on Wednesday).

 REVISED MURRAY CUP DRAW
 FOR TUESDAY EVENING

5.00 J Leslie (BA) v S Guyan (BA)

5.06 A Pirie (N) v J Craig (BA)

5.12 C Carson v I Petrie (N)

5.18 A McDonald (C) v R Smith (C)

5.24 J Hay (BA) v D Cumming (BA)

5.30 D Still v C Murphy (BA)

5.36 C Dunn (BA) v G Fiddes (N)

5.42 R Kane (C) v G Mair (N)

5.48 F Kennedy (C) v D Gill (N)

5.54 B.Lumsden (N) v D Barclay (BA)

6.00 R Jones(N) v I Rowe (N)

6.06 J Ritche (N) v M Winton (C)

6.12 G McBeath (C) v P Gray (BA)

6.18 J Smith(BA) v D McPherson (BA)

6.24 E Anderson (N) v S Meade (C)

6.30 S Kelly (BA) v N Christie (BA)

AILSA SUMMERS WILL NEVER TURN PRO BUT SHE WILL PLAY ON PAUL LAWRIE TOUR AT DOWNFIELD AND CARNOUSTIE

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Ailsa Summers, the 19-year-old St Andrews student from Carnoustie, who put Scottish women's amateur golf centre stage at the weekend by beating a very strong field, including World No 22 female amateur Celine Boutier, to win the St Rule Trophy is going to play on the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Scottish Ladies Open Tour early next month.
Carnoustie Ladies member Ailsa will play in the 18-hole events at Downfield GC, Dundee on Tuesday, July 2 followed by the one-round competition over Carnoustie Burnside on Wednesday, July 3.
She would have played in the following week's PLGC SLOT events at Blairgowrie Rosemount (July 11) and Alyth (July 12) but her well-deserved selection for the Scotland squad to compete in the European women's amateur team championships at Fulford GC, Yorkshire that week has ruled that out.

"I do plan to play some more events on the Paul Lawrie Tour before going back to St Andrews University, probably the ones at Fairmont St Andrews (August 26) and The Duke's (August 27)," said Ailsa who revealed that she is a career amateur who will never become a professional golfer.
"I've completed my first year, studying mathematics and statistics at St Andrews and that's going to be my future. I love it at St Andrews and I never really considered going to an American university. I like to be near home at Carnoustie and St Andrews has become a second home for me."
+Ailsa Summers is pictured with her father-caddie, Graham, and Margaret MacNaughtan, president of the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association at the front door of the St Rule Club, St Andrews on Sunday evening.

LADY PROS ARE THE POOR RELATIONS WHEN IT COMES TO PRIZEMONEY

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@Scottishgolfview.com
When it comes to prize money, lady pros are the poor relations compared with their male counterparts.
For example, this past weekend the LPGA Tour in America held its Shoprite LPGA Classic.
The total prize fund was $1,500,000 and the first prize, won by Karrie Webb, was $225,000.
Even the US Champions (Seniors) Tour event at the weekend could top both these figures - total prize fund of $1,750,000 and $262,500 to the winner, Russ Cochran.
But it's the prizemoney offered on the men's US PGA Tour that dwarfs the LPGA cash.
The Memorial tournament at the weekend had a total prize fund of $6,200,000 and the winner, Matt Kuchar, went away with $1,116,000 - around two-thirds of  the TOTAL prizefund in the LPGA event.
Back here in Europe at the weekend, the men's European Tour event in Sweden, the Nordea Masters, had a prize fund of 1,509,000 Euros with the winner, Mikko Ilonen, collecting 250,00 Euros.
The Ladies European Tour event at the weekend was the German Ladies Masters for which the prize fund was 350,000 Euros. The winner, Carlota Ciganda, collected 52,500 Euros.
The current rates of exchange are: $1.45 = £1 and 1.11 Euros = £1.
I'll leave you to work it all out but a very rough league table of prize funds at the weekend read something like this:
                               Prizefund      Winner
America (in dollars)
US PGA Tour   ...  $6,200,000    $1,116,00
US Senior Tour ...  $1,750,000    $262,500
LPGA Tour ........  $1,500,000    $ 225,000
Web.Com tour ..    $   600,000    $ 108,000    
Europe (in Euros)
European Tour ...  1,509,000       250,000
LET ....................     350,000        52,500
     

HUGH HUNTER'S CLACKMANNAN COUNTY NEWS

TOP TEN FOR SCOTT AT SOUTHERNESS.

 In the Scottish Open Stroke Play Championship held at Southerness, Dollar’s Scott Borrowman finished in seventh equal place---- the second best Scot in the event.  

 With a 10 over par aggregate for the first two rounds---- and that included a brilliant eagle 3 finish at the 18th when he holed his approach shot from the fairway--- it looked as if he might just miss the cut , but with soaring scores in the second round, he made it to the last 36 holes where he returned much better scores of 69 and 70   to give an 11 over par aggregate of 287  (73,75,69,70) and a share of seventh place.   

The points earned will keep him well up the 2013 Order of Merit, and keep his name forward for team selection.

The other two County representatives just missed the cut   Alloa’s Jamie Aitken  recorded 83 and a good 72 while Alva’s Lawrence Allan back from University studies in America  finished with 78 and 75

SGU BOYS' AREA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

This weekend sees the 2013 Boys Area Team Championship at Prestwick St Cuthbert where 4 boys from each of the sixteen Areas will compete for the 2013 title.  Selected for Clackmannanshire are Rikky Alexander, Grant Murray, Brian McAdam and Ryan Calder.  Two foursomes are played on Sunday morning and 4 singles in the afternoon (best 3 to count).

                            

SCOTTISH SENIORS' GOLF

The season is well underway with the Spring Meeting paled at Montrose where two County seniors finished in the top ten.  Tillicoultry’s Mike Rust finished in 9th place with rounds of 78 and 80 one shot ahead of Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart with rounds of 82 and 77.   The East of Scotland Seniors take place this week at Forfar with Bob Stewart and Michael Niven in the field.

SCOTTISH LADIES CLUB FOURSOMES

Only two of the local Clubs put forward teams to compete in the Scottish Ladies Club Foursomes event. The draw arranges local ties in the early rounds and Braehead recorded a win against Tillicoultry by 3 and 1 in the second round.   

Braehead Ladies now play Falkirk Tryst in the third round of the competition.

PAUL LAWRIE FOUNDATION SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS

 

The Scottish Schools Golf Championships will be held next Monday over the Murrayshall Hotel courses near Perth.  A good field of over 80 boys and 40 girls will compete for individual awards and team championships.  

Clackmannan is represented in the event by Rikky Alexander and Robert Watson in the boys' section with Eilidh Watson in the girls' section all  with high hopes for good scores.  The top players from the event will represent Scotland in a Schools International against English Schools in September at West Kilbride.

     

                             

World Rankings for Jamie Donaldson – Debt Owed to Fabric?

Welsh golf star, Jamie Donaldson has achieved a great victory in January this year, with a flying start to the 2013 Tour season. His incredible success at the HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi has seen an impressive victory for the Galvin Green golf pro and he is now achieving a well deserved top 30 position in the official golf world rankings.

At the top his game, Jamie Donaldson has proved his cool in the fiery desert heat of Abu Dhabi. After a second European Tour victory and overcoming the challenge of Justin Rose (world No 5) and Thorbjorn Oleson, Donaldson grabbed the €336,726 first prize and moved into second place in Race to Dubai 2013.

Jamie Donaldson rose to the top 30 rankings for the first time in his entire career in January 2013, achieved whilst wearing the Galvin Green VENTIL8™ range.

The specialist VENTIL8™ collection from Galvin Green has been a great success factor Welshman, Jamie Donaldson, giving him an edge and assisting in his performance in golf tournaments. The benefits of the VENTIL8™ garments include;

• High breathability – the clothing has been made with breathable fabric to keep your body feeling comfortable and clean during sports. 
• Moisture wicking – transports moisture away from the body to keep you cool and dry which is great for warm weather or heated games. 
• High comfort – the range has been made with soft, light and comfortable fabric so it’s soft to touch. 
• Anti bacterial – permanent anti bacterial technology will keep garments fresh and this will increase your levels of hygiene. 

Other top golfing garments from Galvin Green include the Galvin Green Max Tour Polo, the Galvin Green Alvis Waterproof Jacket and the Galvin Green Windstopper range.

Jamie Donaldson 2013 Success to Continue

In the desert heat in Abu Dhabi, Donaldson kept his cool with the help of the Galvin Green support and the Welsh star managed to climb the rankings, leaving both Rose and Dane behind. Jamie Donaldson’s comments on the day were: “I’m very happy to be stood here with the trophy.”

To follow, Donaldson became the fifth man in history to achieve a hole in one on the 6th hole at Augusta National Golf Club during the Masters, making him an even bigger global sensation.

This advertisement placed by Julian Harvey Carax

BACK-TO-BACK WINS FOR PUTNAM ON THE WEB.COM TOUR

FROM THE US WEB.COM TOUR WEBSITE
POTOMAC, Maryland -- Michael Putnam staked himself to a big lead early in the final round of the Mid-Atlantic Championship and then coasted to victory for the second straight week on the Web.com Tour.

RELATED CONTENT

Final leaderboard Results, points
Money list

Putnam, who turned 30 on Saturday, shot a 2-under 68 at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm and finished with a 7-under 273 total, two shots better than rookie Chesson Hadley (67).
Bronson La’Cassie (67), Daniel Chopra (70) and Chad Collins (72) wound up at 3-under 277 and four off the pace.
Peter Tomasulo (65), Alex Prugh (68), Scott Dunlap (71) and Sung Kang (73) shared sixth place at 1 under.
Putnam, winner of last week’s Mexico Open, picked up a check for $108,000 and increased his hold on the top spot of the Tour’s money list. His season total of $354,234 puts him more than $132,000 in front of No. 2 Edward Loar.
“It’s the second week in a row and I can’t get used to it enough,” Putnam told the crowd at the trophy presentation.
The former Pepperdine All-American started the final round at 5 under and tied for the lead with playing partners Collins and Kang. Three birdie putts of 15, 10 and 12 feet on his first six holes separated Putnam from the pack.
“To pull away from the field early was big, especially with the windy conditions and knowing it was going to be a tough day,” Putnam said. “It was going to be tough to make any birdies today and to start off with three cemented the lead for a good while.”
Putnam got ahead of himself when he was up by four and staring at a 4-foot birdie putt at No. 8, which would have stretched his lead to five strokes.
“My mind started racing thinking about my family and what I was going to do with the win and a bunch of other stuff,” he said. “Then I missed it. I knew there were a bunch of tough holes ahead and I caught myself. I tried not to exhale the rest of the back nine.”
With his lead at four and the TPC course showing its teeth once again – the four-day scoring average for the par-70 layout was 72.631 – Putnam took his foot off the gas pedal.
“If you get aggressive on this golf course it’s real easy to make bogeys. There are penalties everywhere,” he said. “I was aiming towards the middle of the greens having 20 footers for birdie.”
Putnam didn’t make many but then neither did anyone else. The only one applying any pressure was Hadley, who closed to within two a couple of times but could get no closer.
“I’m glad it didn’t catch up to me and nobody made birdies to catch up to me,” Putnam said. “It’s hard to make three or four birdies in the last five or six holes. I knew if I made some pars I’d probably be the winner.”
Putnam will have to put both his birthday and victory celebration on hold until Tuesday. He will be joining 121 other competitors in Monday’s 36-hole U.S. Open sectional qualifying at Woodmont Country Club in nearby Rockville, Maryland.
NOTES
-- Sunday weather: Mostly cloudy with very light afternoon rain showers. Wind S-SW 10-20 mph. High of 79.
-- Only nine players finished under par this week, the fewest on Tour since the 2012 Panama Claro Championship when Edward Loar’s winning score was 4 under and only six players were under par for the week.
With this victory, Putnam ...
-- Picks up a first-place cheque for $108,000
-- Increases his season total to $354,234
-- Maintains his place at No. 1 on the money list
-- Increases his lead on the money list to $132,876 over No. 2 Edward Loar, who missed the cut this week.
-- Joins a short list of players who have registered consecutive victories on Tour. Putnam is the eighth player in Tour history to do it in back-to-back weeks:
-- Chesson Hadley, a 25-year old rookie from Georgia Tech, chalked up his third straight top-6 finish with his runner-up effort this week. Hadley admitted that he was doing his best to chase down eventual winner Michael Putnam but he also knew what another solid week might mean in the long run.
“I think he (Putnam) was four up when I was on the 14th tee and this course is just too tough to catch somebody without some help,” he said. “It’s difficult to get too aggressive because the ultimate goal on this Tour is to advance. If I try too hard and make a stupid mistake on 17 and make double, maybe I finish seventh instead of second. The money means something out here so it’s tough to balance that sometimes. You do everything you can to win, but you also don’t take silly chances that could cost you a lot of money.”
Hadley birdied the 17th hole to close the gap on Putnam to two, but that’s where he remained.
His consolation prize was a solo second-place check for $64,800, which vaulted him up from No. 25 on the money list to No. 8.

NEWS FROM THE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONS' TOUR

NEWS FROM THE US CHAMPIONS' TOUR
Left-hander Russ Cochran outlasted Jay Don Blake for his fourth career victory on the Champions Tour, winning the weekend's Principal Charity Classic at Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa. 
After his victory, Cochran announced he was donating five special-needs bicycles to Variety – The Children’s Charity from his winnings. Each of the bikes cost up to $3,000.
Defending champion Jay Haas finished T7 in his bid to win a fourth Principal Charity Classic title. It marked the first time Haas recorded a top-10 finish in Des Moines and didn’t win the tournament.
Doug Garwood, who has made 95 starts on the Web.com Tour, turned 50 on March 31st this year and open qualified for The Principal Charity Classic, where he finished T7 and earned $45,281.
Welshman Ian Woosnam was the leading British player with a strong finish of 69-67 over the last two rounds to finish joint seventh on 209. He collected $45,281.
Roger Chapman earned £30,625 for a T15 finish on 210. Barry Lane $11,309 for T31 on 216 and Sandy Lyle picked up enough to cover his hotel and travel expenses, $6,475 for T44 on 218

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
Players from US unless stated
205 Russ Cochran 71 67 67
206 Jay Don Blake 71 656 69
207 Mark Calcavecchia 70 70 67, Kirk Triplett 72 68 67, Duffy Waldorf 69 67 71
208 Peter Senior (Australia) 74 65 69.
209 Ian Woosnam (Wales) 71 69 67, Joel Edwards 71 72 66

SELECTED TOTALS
210 Roger Chapman (England) 74 68 68 (T15)
216 Bernhard Langer (Germany) 72 75 69, Barry Lane (England) 71 70 75 (T31)
218 Sandy Lyle (Scotland) 75 69 74 (T44)

Kohki Idoki is the Champions Tour Player of the Month for May. Although Esteban Toledo earned his first Champions Tour victory at last month’s Insperity Championship, Kohki Idoki followed with a win at the season’s first major, the Senior PGA Championship, on his first visit to the United States from his native Japan. It was Idoki’s first start on the Champions Tour and the victory earned him 756 points and vaulted to No. 2 on the Charles Schwab Cup standings.
Fred Couples finished T50 at the Memorial Tournament on the US PGA Tour at the weekend.
The Champions Tour fan favorite will return to Muirfield Village later this year to captain the U.S. Presidents Cup team. Nick Price is the International team captain.
Tournament officials announced that Pittsburgh-based Heinz will sponsor two military initiatives at the 2013 Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship later this month. Military members will receive complimentary tournament admission all week, as well as access to the Heinz Birdies for the Brave Patriots’ Outpost Thursday-Sunday, all courtesy of Heinz.
COMING UP
The 25th annual Regions Tradition will be the second of five major championships on the 2013 Champions Tour season, with a history dating to 1989 when Don Bies won the first Tradition at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz. After 14 years in the Grand Canyon state, the Tradition relocated to Oregon for the next eight years before finding a home at Shoal Creek in 2011. Some of the biggest names in golf, including World Golf Hall of Fame members Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Raymond Floyd, Tom Kite and Tom Watson, are past Tradition champions.
The Champions Tour has a long history in the Birmingham area, having staged an event in the area since 1992. This will mark the 22nd year the Champions Tour has competed in the area.
On Tuesday of tournament week, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Honorary Chair of the Regions Tradition, and two-time defending champion Tom Lehman, along with executives from Regions Financial and Children’s of Alabama, will tour the new Russell Building and visit patients at the facility. Children’s of Alabama is the primary charitable beneficiary of the Regions Tradition.
Tom Lehman will be looking to etch his name in the Champions Tour record book as he seeks his third consecutive win at the Regions Tradition. Should he prevail, he’d be just the second player to win a major championship on the Champions Tour three years in succession, joining Hale Irwin. Of the six players who have won three straight in a single event, Irwin was the only one to have done so in a major championship when he won the PGA Seniors’ Championship between 1996 and 1998.
In the two years of the Regions Tradition at Shoal Creek, only two players have finished in the top-10 both years. They are Tom Lehman (won in 2011 and 2012) and Michael Allen (fourth in 2011; tied for ninth in 2012).
CHARLES SCHWAB CUP
 
Russ Cochran earned 263 Charles Schwab Cup points for his win at last week’s Principal Charity Classic and jumped from 15th to 6th in the standings. Bernhard Langer maintains his 172 point lead over Kohki Idoki.
With double points awarded to all top-10 finishers in Champions Tour major championships, the Regions Tradition will have an impact on the season-long Charles Schwab Cup race. The winner will earn 660 points based on the first-place check for $330,000.
NUMBERS
18 – The number of consecutive starts by Hale Irwin in the Regions Tradition when he tees it up at this week’s tournament. He will be the oldest competitor in this field, at 68 years, 3 days when the event begins.
ON THIS DATE
6/9/02 – Fuzzy Zoeller wins a major championship for his first victory on the Champions Tour. Zoeller ends a victory drought of 15 years, 10 months and 27 days when he wins at Firestone by two strokes over Hale Irwin and Bobby Wadkins. Zoeller is the lone player in the field to finish under par (2-under) after 72 holes.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“It’s very difficult to do what I did. Will it be a record that lasts? I don’t know. Is it something I’m very proud of? Absolutely, simply because I know what went into it, the effort I put forth to get it. Others will judge, but I know it’s a special deal few if any will approach.” – Hale Irwin tells Bill Fields of GolfWorld how he feels about his all-time record 45 Champions Tour victories.

KYLE GODSMAN FLIES BACK FROM US COLLEGE TO WIN NORTH DISTRICT TITLE

By ROBIN WILSON

Robert McKerron, President of the North District, gave up his place in the draw to allow 22-year-old Kyle Godsman (Moray),  just home earlier in the week at the end of his third year at the  University of South Carolina-Aiken, to compte in the North District Championship at Royal Dornoch on Sunday.

When the field of 75 completed the 36-hole tournament,  McKerron presented Godsman with the Association Cup.

The first-time winner broke par by two shots with a 68 (32-36)  to lead after the morning round from former champion and Scottish international Bryan Fotheringham (Inverness) 35-35.

Lyle McAlpine, from the host club, also had a first-round 70 and Carnegie Shield holder John Forbes (Invernesss) a 71.

Inverness's Cameron Nelson, after a first-round 72, took the clubhouse lead with a second-round 71 for 143 before Fotheringham took over with a second-round 72 to eventually finish in second place on 142.

Godsman had a run of bogeys on his second-round outward half but came back with a birdie on the eighth hole for an outward 37. A three-birdie inward card over the second eight holes allowed him to take 5 up the last after he drove into the rough to sign off with 34 and 71 for a total of 139 and a three-shot margin. 

Lyle McAlpine (Royal Dornoch) won the Under-21 youths title for the Murray Trophy  with rounds of 70-74 for 144, one shot ahead of Jeff Wright (Forres).

The best net not was returned by David Grindell (Inverness) with 143 (72-71) off eight of a handicap.

LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP TOTALS

Par 140 (2x70) CSS 74 74

139 Kyle Godsman (Moray) 68 71.

142 Bryan Fotheringham (Inverness) 70 72.

143 Scott Dingwall (Grantown on Spey) 73 70, Cameron Nelson (The Nairn) 72 71, John Forbes (Inverness) 71 72.

148 Jordan Milne (Elgin) 75 73, Bruce Thomson (The Nairn) 73 75.

150 Neil Hampton (Royal Dornoch) 76 74, Daniel Holden (Royal Dornoch) 77 73, Graham Burnett (Nairn Dunbar) 75 75.

151 Allan Cameron (Fortrose and Rosemarkie) 77 74, Douglas Thorburn (Tain) 72 79, David  Grindell (Inverness) 76 75.

152 Ewan Forbes (Inverness) 74 78, Darren Leith (Garmouth and Kingston) 76 76.

153 Ian Rennie (Royal Dornoch) 79 74, Chris Gaittens (Fortrose and Rosemarkie) 77 76, Darren Hexley (Golspie) 78 75, Nail McWilliam (Elgin) 78 75.

154 Cameron Franssen (Inverness) 79 75, Jordan Shaw (Kingussie) 83 71, Ewan Barras) Loch Ness) 79 75, Euan Chancellor (Inverness) 74 80.

155 Munro Ferries (Tain) 74 81, Mike MacDonald (Fortreose and Rosemarkie) 73 82, Neil Munro (Royal Dornoch) 78 77, Ross Coupland (Torvean) 78 77.

156 Kevin Matheson(Royal Dornoch)78 78.

157 Malcolm MacLeman (Moray) 79 78, Ali Begg (Muir of Ord) 78 79, Graeme Anderson (Nairn Dunbar0 80 77.

158 Rory Franssen (Inverness) 77 81, Ross Munro (Reay) 81 77 Colin MacRitchie (Stornoway) 79 79, Jamie Treasurer (Inverness) 80 78, Ian Geddes (Moray) 80 78, Kieron MacKay (Inverness) 78 80, Michael Schinkel (Orkney) 80 78.

159 David Pearson (Royal Dornoch) 81 78, Ross Proctor (Forr3es) 83 76.

160 Malcolm M MacLeman (Moray) 77 83, Lewis Reid (Forres) 76 84, Colin Taylor (Elgin) 84 76. 

UNDER-21 YOUTHS CHAMPIONSHIP

144 Lyle McAlpine (Royal Dornoch) 70 74.

145 Jeff Wright (Forres) 72 73.

149 Mark Dingwall (Nairn Dunbar0 78 71.

150 Sean Burgess (The Nairn) 76 74.

LEADING HANDICAP

143 David Grindell (Inverness) (4) 72 71.

144 Daniel Holden (Royal Dornoch) (3) 74 70, Euan Barras (Inveness) (5) 74 70.       

   

MEMORIAL WIN HOISTS KUCHAR TO NO. 4 IN WORLD RANKINGS

    Matt Kuchar and Jack Nicklaus at the end of it all. Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c)

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE

DUBLIN, Ohio -- Most of the perks from winning the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance were evident to Matt Kuchar soon after his 20-foot birdie putt tumbled into the final hole Sunday.

He looked just beyond the 18th green to where 3-year-old son Carson was giving a high-five to tournament host Jack Nicklaus. He had the first multiple-win season of his US PGA Tour career. 
Kuchar moved to second in the FedExCup standings and to a career-best No. 4 in the world ranking. He is all but assured of returning to Muirfield Village in October as part of the Presidents Cup team.
"To walk off the green and to greet Mr. Nicklaus and have him congratulate me, that's something I'll certainly never forget," he said.
Perhaps the greatest benefit was one only Kuchar could feel -- confidence. And that's a big deal with the U.S. Open approaching.
Kuchar missed only one fairway and held off a hard-charging Kevin Chappell over the last three holes to close with a 4-under 68 for a two-shot victory. The win came one week after he was runner-up by one shot at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
"Great golf breeds more great golf," Kuchar said. "Winning tournaments breeds winning more tournaments. Anytime you can get comfortable playing in that final group, finishing off a tournament, winning a tournament is a huge amount of confidence. Heading into Merion, I'll have a lot of confidence.
"I'm looking forward to my chances there at Merion."
He sure played the kind of golf that goes a long way at the U.S. Open, which starts June 13 at Merion Golf Club outside Philadelphia.
Muirfield Village was such a demanding test that Tiger Woods had two triple bogeys in the same tournament for the first time since 1997 and wound up with the second-highest tournament score in his career at 8-over 296.
"It happens. It happens to us all," Woods said. "Go home next week and practise."
Not having Woods around didn't make the task any easier for Kuchar.
Right when he thought the tournament was in hand, Chappell birdied three of his last four holes. Two shots behind going to the 18th, Chappell stuffed his approach to tap-in range for birdie. Kuchar needed only two putts from 20 feet for the win, and instead he rolled the birdie putt into the hole and thrust his fist into the air as he smiled.

He's always smiling, and he had good reason on this day. He joined Woods as the only players to win more than once this year on TOUR -- Kuchar also won the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in February -- and his game is peaking heading into a summer of majors, the one missing piece for the 35-year-old American.
"His bad shots hit greens. And he's really good with the putter," Chappell said. "And he just doesn't make very many mistakes."
Chappell, who missed four birdie attempts inside 10 feet on the front nine, still closed with a 68. He played his last 25 holes without a bogey.
Kyle Stanley ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch to end the front nine and pull within one shot, but he fell back with a bogey on the par-5 11th and never caught up. Stanley fell out of a tie for second on the 17th hole, and it was costly. A runner-up finish would have put him inside the top 50 and allowed him to skip 36 holes of U.S. Open qualifying on Monday. He closed with a 71 and finished alone in third, which will move him to just inside the top 60.
The top 60 after next week are exempt to the U.S. Open.
"Mentally, I'm pretty drained right now," Stanley said. "I would have shot a million this week if I didn't make putts. So I'm really happy about that."
Kuchar finished at 12-under 276 and will be looked upon as one of the favorites in two weeks at the U.S. Open.
"There are a couple of things I thought were missing from my pedigree," Kuchar said. "A major championship is on the list, and a multiple-win season was on the list. That's something that at the beginning of the year when I set goals, I wanted to have a multiple-win year. And making the Presidents Cup team was on the list. ... To have kind of sealed the deal with winning this tournament feels really good.
"Having a multiple-win season is nice to be able to check that one off the list."
Nicklaus offered some help on that other item."If Matt would ask me, `What would you do coming up with Merion?' I would only," Nicklaus said before Kuchar leaned into his microphone and interrupted him.
"What would you do coming up with Merion?" Kuchar said.
Nicklaus suggested going a week early, as he always did in winning his record 18 majors. By the time Nicklaus was done talking, Kuchar was making plans to go to Merion early this week.
Woods already has been to Merion, a course he had not seen. Muirfield Village was a course he knows well, with a record five wins. What followed can only be written off as a most peculiar week.
Woods had won three of his last four tournaments -- the exception was a tie for fourth at the Masters -- and then he turned in some shocking scores. Woods had a 44 on the back nine Saturday, the worst 9-hole score of his pro career. He tied for 65th and was 20 shots behind, the largest deficit in a full-field event. He was 30 shots behind at Firestone in 2010 at the depth of his struggles, and he was 20 shots behind in the 1996 TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola at age 20. Both those tournaments have limited fields without a cut.
He attributed this week to his putting, and it was hard to argue. Woods is leading the TOUR in the key putting statistic – strokes gained-putting -- and he was 71st out of 73 players this week. He had a pair of three-putts from inside 5 feet.
Rory McIlroy closed with a 72 and finished 18 shots behind.
Kuchar was at his best off the tee. He didn't miss a fairway until the 17th hole, when he found a bunker to the right of the fairway. Chappell, coming off a 10-foot par save on the 16th hole, made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th to get within two shots. Kuchar had to make a 5-foot par putt to keep the two-shot margin, and Chappell kept coming at him. He started walking after his approach to the 18th when he hit it.
"There at the end, it got scary," Kuchar said. "He made a great run at the end."
Kuchar never looks as though he is under much stress, and for so much of Sunday, he wasn't.
Starting the final round with a two-shot lead, he made a 15-foot birdie putt on the opening hole and led by at least two shots for all but two holes.

TO VIEW ALL THE FINAL TOTALS

CLICK HERE