By Mike Blum

Matt Kuchar began the Fall Series hoping to play well enough to move into the top 30 on the final PGA Tour money list for 2009 to earn a spot in the 2010 Masters.

Vaughn Taylor began the Fall Series simply hoping to improve his standing on the money list and finish in the top 125 to retain his exempt status for next year.

Both players achieved those aims in the Turning Stone Resort Championship, the first of five Fall Series events that wrapped up the PGA Tour schedule for 2009.

The two Georgians finished 72 holes tied for the lead at 17-under 271, and needed six holes and two days to break their deadlock. Kuchar finally won the next morning on the sixth playoff hole when Taylor hit his tee shot on the par-4 13^th into a hazard and made double bogey.

It was the first PGA Tour victory for Kuchar, the former Georgia Tech standout who now lives in Atlanta, in more than seven years. He won the 2002 Honda Classic in his first full season on Tour, but did not crack the top 100 on the money list again until last year.

After losing his exempt status, Kuchar spent most of the 2006 season on the Nationwide Tour, winning an event in Virginia to finish the year 10^th in earnings and regain his PGA Tour playing privileges. He enjoyed a solid season in 2008, and this was already his most consistently successful season prior to his victory, which vaulted him from 59 to 25 on the money list. He finished the year 25^th with almost $2.5 million.

While Kuchar’s career has been moving in a positive direction the past few seasons, Taylor has been heading in the opposite direction. After playing well enough early in his career to earn a spot on the 2006 Ryder Cup team, the Augusta resident has been dropping down the money list in each subsequent season. He slipped from 36 to 70 to 98 to 131 prior to his playoff loss at Turning Stone, which moved up back up to 72^nd in earnings and locked up his Tour card for 2010. He ended up 79^th in earnings.

Both players were contenders in the tournament from the opening round, when both shot 67 to end the day just one stroke off the lead. Another 67 gave Taylor a 1-stroke lead over Kuchar at the midway point, with Kuchar taking the lead after 54 holes with a third round 67.

Taylor began the final day three in back of Kuchar’s lead, but fired a 66 that included six birdies and an eagle on the par-5 12^th, which gave him the lead for the first time in the final round. A nervous bogey at the 15^th dropped Taylor out of the top spot, but he responded with birdies at 16 and 17 to reclaim the lead as he finished his round.

Kuchar birdied five of his first 10 holes the final day to remain in the lead, but also made three bogeys. A birdie at the par-3 16^th gained him a tie for the lead with Taylor, but his hopes of winning in regulation were dashed when he dumped a wedge from 65 yards on the par-5 18^th into a front bunker.

The bunker did not pose much of a problem for Kuchar, who ranks sixth on the PGA Tour in sand save percentage. He barely missed holing the shot, tapping in for par to force the playoff.

Taylor nearly holed his third shot on 18, the first playoff hole, but Kuchar matched his birdie. After both players parred the par-5 12^th, darkness halted play for the day, and the two returned the next morning.

The two matched bogeys on the par-4 13^th, birdies on the 18^th and pars on the 12^th before Taylor’s errant tee shot on the 13th decided matters.

“Just made a bad swing,” Taylor said after the playoff. “Nothing more than that. It’s very disappointing. I had a good chance to win a couple times and Matt made some awesome putts in the playoff and got a good up-and-down.”

As for Kuchar, his normally beaming smile was even broader than usual.

“It’s hard to describe what a great feeling it is to win a PGA Tour event. It’s so difficult to win.”

Kuchar admitted to a few nerves along the way, including the first playoff hole Monday morning, when he missed a short par putt that would have ended things after three holes.

“I can’t remember being so nervous. I missed a short putt and it was straight nerves. I putted great all week and don’t think I missed by maybe one of those all week and happened to miss it when it was for the win.”

For the week, Kuchar placed first and third in the two putting categories, and it’s been his short game that has carried him into a spot in the top 30 on the money list.

For the season, Kuchar ranked 29^th in one putting stat and 11^th in another. He was only 128 in ball striking, but finished 3^rd on Tour in scrambling, which enabled him to place 21^st in scoring average.

“My putting was fantastic this week. I made what felt like miles of putts. Seemed like everything inside of ten feet, I felt very confident, very comfortable with. Putting is the great equalizer. If you’re making those putts, you just have to get it within a certain zone, and I had that going this week.”

Prior to his victory, Kuchar had been enjoying his best season on the PGA Tour, posting seven top-15 finishes highlighted by a tie for sixth in Phoenix and a tie for fifth in the Memorial. He also played well in the final two FedExCup Playoffs events, but was not able to make it to East Lake, ending up 40^th on the points list.

Kuchar contended again in the next Fall Series event in Las Vegas, trailing by only one shot after 36 holes before finishing in a tie for 7^th.

Things have not gone nearly as well for Taylor, who had just one other top 10 this season. His stats are slightly better than Kuchar in most categories, with one notable exception.

While Kuchar placed 3^rd in scrambling, Taylor finished 156^th, even though he ranked 13^th and 41^st in the two putting categories and was 36^th in birdies. As a result, his scoring average is .7 strokes per round higher than Kuchar, which amounts to about 3 strokes per tournament.

Despite the disappointment of his near miss, Taylor left upstate New York with a nice consolation prize – a check for $648,000 that more than doubled his earnings for the season.

“It was a good week. I was trying to keep my card this Fall Series, and I think I locked it up. One goal accomplished. I would like to have gotten in the winner’s circle. Maybe next week.”

Unlike Kuchar, who has been something of a golf celebrity dating back to his stellar career at Georgia Tech, his U.S. Amateur title and strong showings as an amateur in both the Masters and U.S. Open, Taylor has been an under-the-radar kind of guy dating back to his junior days in Augusta, when he was overshadowed by a younger Charles Howell.

Taylor played his college golf in his hometown with little fanfare, and took a few years to make his mark as a professional. Taylor spent his early years as a tour pro jumping back and forth between the Hooters and Nationwide Tours before enjoying a breakthrough season in 2003, which began with Taylor having absolutely no status on the Nationwide Tour.

He played his way into the field in a tournament in Virginia Beach in a Monday qualifier and finished second. Taylor was second again the next week in Raleigh, and a month after that won in Knoxville, ending up 11^th on the money list after making his first start of the season on the tour in mid-May.

Taylor’s first two seasons on the PGA Tour were highlighted by back-to-back wins in the Reno-Tahoe Open. A string of strong showings in his third season earned him a spot on the 2006 Ryder Cup team, but U.S. captain Tom Lehman played him in only one of four team sessions, with Taylor earning a half with teammate Chad Campbell against the powerhouse team of Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood.

Since then, Taylor has contended for victory a handful of times, among them the Bay Hill Classic and Masters in 2007, where he played with eventual winner Zach Johnson in the final round.

Taylor entered last year’s Fall Series in a similar situation to this year, but a tie for second in a now-defunct Florida tournament the next to last week of the season lifted him from outside the top 125 into the top 100.

n the Fall Series hoping to play well enough to move into the top 30 on the final PGA Tour money list for 2009 to earn a spot in the 2010 Masters.

Vaughn Taylor began the Fall Series simply hoping to improve his standing on the money list and finish in the top 125 to retain his exempt status for next year.

Both players achieved those aims in the recent Turning Stone Resort Championship, the first of five Fall Series events that wrap up the PGA Tour schedule for 2009.

The two Georgians finished 72 holes tied for the lead at 17-under 271, and needed six holes and two days to break their deadlock. Kuchar finally won the next morning on the sixth playoff hole when Taylor hit his tee shot on the par-4 13^th into a hazard and made double bogey.

It was the first PGA Tour victory for Kuchar, the former Georgia Tech standout who now lives in Atlanta, in more than seven years. He won the 2002 Honda Classic in his first full season on Tour, but did not crack the top 100 on the money list again until last year.

After losing his exempt status, Kuchar spent most of the 2006 season on the Nationwide Tour, winning an event in Virginia to finish the year 10^th in earnings and regain his PGA Tour playing privileges. He enjoyed a solid season in 2008, and this was already his most consistently successful season prior to his victory, which vaulted him from 59 to 25 on the money list, likely assuring him of a top 30 finish.

While Kuchar’s career has been moving in a positive direction the past few seasons, Taylor has been heading in the opposite direction. After playing well enough early in his career to earn a spot on the 2006 Ryder Cup team, the Augusta resident has been dropping down the money list in each subsequent season. He slipped from 36 to 70 to 98 to 131 prior to his playoff loss at Turning Stone, which moved up back up to 72^nd in earnings and locked up his Tour card for 2010.

Both players were contenders in the tournament from the opening round, when both shot 67 to end the day just one stroke off the lead. Another 67 gave Taylor a 1-stroke lead over Kuchar at the midway point, with Kuchar taking the lead after 54 holes with a third round 67.

Taylor began the final day three in back of Kuchar’s lead, but fired a 66 that included six birdies and an eagle on the par-5 12^th, which gave him the lead for the first time in the final round. A nervous bogey at the 15^th dropped Taylor out of the top spot, but he responded with birdies at 16 and 17 to reclaim the lead as he finished his round.

Kuchar birdied five of his first 10 holes the final day to remain in the lead, but also made three bogeys. A birdie at the par-3 16^th gained him a tie for the lead with Taylor, but his hopes of winning in regulation were dashed when he dumped a wedge from 65 yards on the par-5 18^th into a front bunker.

The bunker did not pose much of a problem for Kuchar, who ranks sixth on the PGA Tour in sand save percentage. He barely missed holing the shot, tapping in for par to force the playoff.

Taylor nearly holed his third shot on 18, the first playoff hole, but Kuchar matched his birdie. After both players parred the par-5 12^th, darkness halted play for the day, and the two returned the next morning.

The two matched bogeys on the par-4 13^th, birdies on the 18^th and pars on the 12^th before Taylor’s errant tee shot on the 13th decided matters.

“Just made a bad swing,” Taylor said after the playoff. “Nothing more than that. It’s very disappointing. I had a good chance to win a couple times and Matt made some awesome putts in the playoff and got a good up-and-down.”

As for Kuchar, his normally beaming smile was even broader than usual.

“It’s hard to describe what a great feeling it is to win a PGA Tour event. It’s so difficult to win.”

Kuchar admitted to a few nerves along the way, including the first playoff hole Monday morning, when he missed a short par putt that would have ended things after three holes.

“I can’t remember being so nervous. I missed a short putt and it was straight nerves. I putted great all week and don’t think I missed by maybe one of those all week and happened to miss it when it was for the win.”

For the week, Kuchar placed first and third in the two putting categories, and it’s been his short game that has carried him into a spot in the top 30 on the money list with more than $2.375 million.

Kuchar stands 30^th in one putting stat and 16^th in another, and is 7^th in the Tour’s total putting category. He ranks only 135 in ball striking, but is 3rd on Tour in scrambling, which has him in the top 25 in scoring average.

“My putting was fantastic this week. I made what felt like miles of putts. Seemed like everything inside of ten feet, I felt very confident, very comfortable with. Putting is the great equalizer. If you’re making those putts, you just have to get it within a certain zone, and I had that going this week.”

Prior to his victory, Kuchar had been enjoying his best season on the PGA Tour, posting seven top-15 finishes highlighted by a tie for sixth in Phoenix and a tie for fifth in the Memorial. He also played well in the final two FedExCup Playoffs events, but was not able to make it to East Lake, ending up 40^th on the points list.

Kuchar contended again in the next Fall Series event in Las Vegas, traioling by only one shot after 36 holes before finishing in a tie for 7^th.

Things have not gone nearly as well for Taylor, who had just one other top 10 this season. His stats are slightly better than Kuchar in most categories, with one notable exception.

While Kuchar is third in scrambling, Taylor is 162^nd, even though he ranks 8^th and 37^th in the two putting categories and is in the top 30 in birdies. As a result, his scoring average is .6 strokes per round higher than Kuchar, which amounts to about 2 ½ strokes per tournament.

Despite the disappointment of his near miss, Taylor left upstate New York with a nice consolation prize – a check for $648,000 that more than doubled his earnings for the season.

“It was a good week. I was trying to keep my card this Fall Series, and I think I locked it up. One goal accomplished. I would like to have gotten in the winner’s circle. Maybe next week.”

Unlike Kuchar, who has been something of a golf celebrity dating back to his stellar career at Georgia Tech, his U.S. Amateur title and strong showings as an amateur in both the Masters and U.S. Open, Taylor has been an under-the-radar kind of guy dating back to his junior days in Augusta, when he was overshadowed by a younger Charles Howell.

Taylor played his college golf in his hometown with little fanfare, and took a few years to make his mark as a professional. Taylor spent his early years as a tour pro jumping back and forth between the Hooters and Nationwide Tours before enjoying a breakthrough season in 2003, which began with Taylor having absolutely no status on the Nationwide Tour.

He played his way into the field in a tournament in Virginia Beach in a Monday qualifier and finished second. Taylor was second again the next week in Raleigh, and a month after that won in Knoxville, ending up 11^th on the money list after making his first start of the season on the tour in mid-May.

Taylor’s first two seasons on the PGA Tour were highlighted by back-to-back wins in the Reno-Tahoe Open. A string of strong showings in his third season earned him a spot on the 2006 Ryder Cup team, but U.S. captain Tom Lehman played him in only one of four team sessions, with Taylor earning a half with teammate Chad Campbell against the powerhouse team of Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood.

Since then, Taylor has contended for victory a handful of times, among them the Bay Hill Classic and Masters in 2007, where he played with eventual winner Zach Johnson in the final round.

Taylor entered last year’s Fall Series in a similar situation to this year, but a tie for second in a now-defunct Florida tournament the next to last week of the season lifted him from outside the top 125 into the top 100.

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