The year 2025 started with a heavy cloud for Matt Kuchar. His beloved father, Peter, passed away suddenly of a heart attack while swimming while celebrating his wife, Meg’s, birthday. This loss left a giant hole in the heart of the nine-time PGA Tour winner and his family. However, December brought something magical for the Kuchar family at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in sunny Florida. And from the ‘ family element’ that makes the PNC Championship separate from other tours and the old ‘ Father -Son’ emotion, it couldn’t be a better ending.

Matt and his son, Cameron, played like golf gods to win the PNC Championship, crushing the old record by five shots with a stunning 33-under-par total, seven shots ahead of the second-place team Love. And after the final putt, the PGA Tour shared a video that showed a tearful Kuchar hugging his family while fans cheered their success. Matt could not stop his tears as he thought about his father watching them.

“It’s certainly been tough for me. Dad missed,” Matt said. “I definitely got very emotional there coming in, thinking about this moment and how much it would mean to Dad if he was here. So I know Pop’s giving big fist pumps up in the sky.”

The golf star also added, “I don’t know if you believe in karma, if you believe in fate, whatever you believe in, there’s something … something magical that does exist. I’m a believer in God, that dad is up above looking down, and what happened on 18, I could hardly stand up and hit a shot. For me to hit it to a foot [on the final hole], makes me think there’s something more out there. [I] just miss … miss pops.”

Peter Kuchar first became visible in golf course when he caddied for his son in the U.S. Amateur in 1997, and at the Masters and U.S. Open the next year. And he paired three times with Matt Kuchar at the PNC Championship.

Matt also thanked Rob Reilly and the PNC team for making this event possible, and the emotional victory felt like a warm hug from heaven for the entire family. The victory felt extra special because of the funny memories shared on this course. “Kooch” laughed through his tears while remembering his father’s silly golf mistakes.

And nobody got close to the Kuchars on Sunday, and the eagle at the 18th hole in the second round gave them a whooping seven-shot lead over the runner-up and for Matt’s son Cameron, who had wanted those famous red Willie Park belts for many years and set to play for the men’s golf team at Texas Christian University finally has the trophy his grandfather would have loved.  Team Kuchar ended the final round with an 18-hole tournament record, which included two eagles, 14 birdies, and just two pars, totaling a 33-under.

“This is something we’ve had our sights on for many years, since Cameron got started. I played my first year with Dad, [Cameron] has some great memories,” Matt Kuchar said. “The classic memories of Dad, and Cameron was caddying and we were just shy of the green in two, close to the water’s edge, and his chipping was never his strong suit and he completely whiffed the chip. I don’t think Cameron could see all the way down the hill. Dad is smiling from above.”

Top Stories

Johnson Wagner Admits Guilt for Making Jordan Spieth Miss Out on Rare PGA Tour Record

Amanda Balionis Receives Wake-Up Call That She Didn’t Expect to Face at 39

Scottie Scheffler Delivers Bad News to Tiger Woods After Sparking TGL Rumors

Wishes Pour In From Phil Mickelson and Fans as Akshay Bhatia Ties Knot With Presleigh Schultz

LIV Golf Pro Hit by Alarming Online ‘Abuse’ as He Sends Public Message to PGA Tour

How the rest of the field played

The Wild Thing, John Daly, and his son, John Daly II, put up a massive fight to defend their honor. They started the final day only two shots behind the leaders after a great 59 on Saturday. However, even their second 59 on Sunday could not bridge the massive gap the Kuchar family created. Team Love also joined them at 26-under-par to share the second-place spot on the final 2025 leaderboard. Davis Love III and Dru birdied their last three holes to finish the year with huge smiles and a second-place finish.

The former No. 1 and current No. 2 Nelly Korda played very steady golf all weekend to finish in a tie for fourth place at 25-under alongside her father, Petr. Steve Stricker and his daughter, Izzi, also shared that spot after matching the Kordas on the fast greens. Both teams entered the tournament in great form, but could not catch the Kuchars on Sunday afternoon.

And with all this the PNC Championship event marks the final big celebration for the 2025 golf season before everyone takes a break. The men’s PGA Tour will return a little later than the previous season, as the PGA already cancelled the Sentry in Maui, Hawaii. But the LPGA will begin its new season shortly after at the Hilton Grand Vacations event. And fans must wait until next December to see the families return to Orlando for another PNC Championship battle.