ORLANDO, Fla. – Golf really entered the Kuchar household one Christmas when Meg decided to upgrade her membership at Sweetwater Golf and Country Club near Orlando. Her husband Peter, an accomplished tennis player, was a little surprised at how much this gift would cost.
What followed, of course, was his son Matt following him out to the golf course, a gift that has been passed down through the decades, and their already close relationship took on a whole new dimension.
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When Matt, 47, stood on the podium at the PNC Championship on Sunday with his 18-year-old son Cameron, championship belt slung over his shoulder, Peter was the one thinking most of all. Peter died suddenly in February while on vacation with his wife of 50 years off the coast of St. Barths.
Cameron and Matt Kuchar celebrate teaming up to win the 2025 PNC Championship.
This was Matt’s first PNC without his father, who was also his partner and caddy, in a family event. Cameron, 18, and his father had gotten off to a good start before at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, but couldn’t find a way to finish.
It all ended on Sunday, when the pair shot a final round of 54, setting a new final round score record of 33 under. That was five shots better than the mark set last year by 2025 champion Berhard Langer and his son Jason, as well as Tiger and Charlie Woods.
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What did his father say?
“I think people have told me that over time, you stop thinking about the nostalgic things and start thinking about the things you’re grateful for and the good times you had,” Kuchar said, adding, “There was definitely a big fist pump and a lot of pride.”
Matt Kuchar and his father Peter discuss putts on the 10th green during the third round of the 1998 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.
Kuchards set new standards for 18-hole, 36-hole and winning margins in the tournament, finishing seven strokes ahead of Davis Love III and his son Drew, as well as John Daly and Little John.
“It’s supposed to be a fun family event, but you better get a birdie on every hole or you’ll lose,” Love said.
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Kuchars had two eagles and 14 birdies on the day, but had only five pars in the entire tournament.
“I think I only made about three putts,” Matt said of the round in which his grown son took control of the tournament.
“I didn’t have as much track today as I did yesterday, but I probably got five or six solo birdies,” Cameron said. “Sometimes I’d tell him, okay, I made that one myself. But he also made some solos, and he’d come right back and say, ‘I was the only one there.'”
Matt said Cameron, who will be a freshman at TCU in the fall, played the best golf he had ever seen while the network television cameras were rolling.
Matt Kuchar and his son Cameron celebrate their win at the PNC Championship on the 18th.
In 2025, the high school senior finished in the AJGA top 20 five times and finished runner-up at Western Juniors in the summer. This will be Cameron’s fourth time playing alongside his father in this event. His younger brother Carson, a tennis player, is also participating, but this time he served as a caddy.
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As for the coveted victory belt, Kuchar said he has a perfect “awful” coat that he wore to a game on the Hilton Head tour and pulls out every Christmas.
The coat goes well with a red belt.
“Whether you believe in karma, whether you believe in destiny, whatever you believe in, there’s something magical about it. I believe in God, and to have my dad up there and look down and that — which happened on the 18th — I could barely stand up and take a shot. To be able to hit it to a foot for me made me think there must be something more to it,” Kuchar said through tears.
“I feel a little nostalgic… Mr. Pops.”
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Most of his trophies have family photos next to them, and he said it’s fun to look back at how his children have grown up during his career. He fought back tears again as he thought about one special face missing from this week’s family photo.
Matt Kuchar and son Cameron celebrate PNC victory with family.
When asked by his father what is the most important thing he would pass on to his sons, Matt said it was the value of hard work. He noted that his father’s parents were window cleaners who immigrated from Ukraine during the Bolshevik Revolution.
They couldn’t understand why he took a week off from touring, he said with a smile, saying there was nothing left to watch.
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This week at PNC has been a heavenly feast for generations of Kuchar people.
“It was surreal and magical, and knowing that my husband was with them every step of the way,” Meg, 18, said through tears from the back of her car.th green.
“I think it was fate.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PNC Championship Matt Kuchar, son Cameron wins 2025 title
