Australian Open golf: Matt Kuchar cuts it fine to make Sydney start

Matt Kuchar’s chances of arriving in Sydney well rested for the Australian Open are slim, at best.

Matt Kuchar in action in the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico, from where he faces a dash to make his flight to Sydney for this week’s Australian Open. Picture: Getty Images

Matt Kuchar will check out of his Mexican hotel in the morning. Stroke his final putt at the El Camaleon Golf Club in the afternoon. Slide his flatstick into his bag. Sign his scorecard. Bid adios to the US PGA Tour. Grab a lift to Cancun International Airport for a marathon 11,000km journey designed to plonk him on The Lakes Golf Course in Sydney in the nick of time for this week’s Australian Open. That’s the plan, anyway.

Kuchar’s booked on a flight scheduled to leave Cancun at 6.10pm local time after today’s final round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic. The high-profile American and primary Open drawcard entered this morning’s final round with a four-shot lead and serious time constraints.

If he sprinted through the airport and got to the departure gate in time, he’d be due to land in Sydney at 8.35am tomorrow. If he was held up or missed the flight altogether, as seemed likely, he would be unlikely to arrive until Wednesday — a day before the start of the Open.

As of last night, he was still booked on the 6.10pm flight out of Cancun. And yet it appeared nearly impossible for him to leave until the following day. He was playing in the final group on the Greg Norman-designed course.

The life and times of a golfer

His starting time was the unusually early slot of 11.05am but still, if you gave him five hours for his round, he would have only two hours to make his flight. The drive from the course to Cancun International Airport is one hour. He would appear to have one chance. Buckley’s. Especially if he had commitments to the presentation ceremony, plus media interviews.

You’d peg him as more likely to arrive in Sydney on Wednesday morning and then tee it up in the pro-am on the same afternoon. He wouldn’t be too displeased if a trophy ceremony needed his involvement. When he woke this morning in the coastal resort town of Playa del Carmen, he had not won a tournament for four years.

Defending Open champion Cam Davis was believed to be booked on the same 6.10pm flight as Kuchar. He was more likely to make it. Teeing off at 10.05am, he could be out of there at 3pm. He could be down the 307 Highway and checking in at 4pm. The flight was due to land at Los Angeles at 8.30pm before a two-hour layover and the customary retrieval and re-checking of bags, including their clubs. Total travel time: 28 hours and five minutes.

Americans Brandt Snedeker, Keegan Bradley and Brendan Steele were all due to arrive today. India’s Aniban Lahiri was tied for eighth after three rounds in Mexico, teeing off half an hour before Kuchar, but he’d already given up on the 6.10pm flight. He was slated to get to Sydney from Cancun, via Houston, at 7am on Wednesday. His first ball in the pro-am? The crack of 1pm.