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 Georgia native Kuchar lacked the sharpness off the tee he had so
impressively delivered in the previous round and his challenge for a
maiden major victory ended as he carded a two-over-par 74 to tie for
fifth place.
Fowler, also hunting his first grand slam crown, finished level with
Kuchar at two under after hitting only four of 14 fairways on the
way to a closing 73.
"The driver was not near as sharp today," Kuchar told reporters,
having briefly moved into a tie for the lead with birdies at the
second and third before his challenge unraveled.
"I hit what I thought were a couple of decent drives. At nine, I
thought it was a decent drive, caught some trees. On 18, the same
thing. On 11, I missed the fairway.
"It seemed to miss the fairway just by little bits here and there.
My driving was not nearly as sharp as it was yesterday and hard to
play really good golf out here if you're not playing from the
fairway."
Kuchar, who won two big events on the PGA Tour last year, including
his first World Golf Championship (WGC) crown, never got back into
contention after four-putting to double-bogey the par-three fourth.
"It was a setback, but it wasn't too much to overcome. It put me
back to even par after three or four holes. It's not the worst thing
to be even par through four.
"I knew in golf you have ups and downs," the 35-year-old said after
a round that included three birdies, three bogeys and the double.
Those things happen.
"I can't recall the last time I four-putted. But if there was ever a
place to do it, it was there."
FINAL TAKE-AWAY
Asked what he would take away took from Sunday's final round, Kuchar
replied: "It's an exciting place to be, but it's a tough one. I
don't know how many opportunities you get at winning the Masters
tournament.
"And I've had two this far, and I don't know how many more I'll get.
It's one of those things you get in the situation and you hope to
take advantage but it's a lot better in this position than playing
early on Sunday, that's for sure."
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Fowler surprised himself that he was able to sign for a 73 after
struggling so badly off the tee.
"It was a rough driving day for me," said the 25-year-old whose only
PGA Tour victory came at Quail Hollow in 2012. "But I definitely got
a lot out of the round with how poorly I got it off the tee.
"I got off to a nice start and had a good look (for birdie) on two,
and had a tough break with a lip-out. Actually two good putts, and I
walked away with a bogey. Kind of a tough way to start.
"Yeah, just drove it poorly today, so that kind of kept me from
being able to attack the golf course."
While Fowler had to settle for a share of fifth place in the
season's opening major, he was delighted that his good friend, Bubba
Watson emerged triumphant at Augusta National for a second time in
three years.
"This place suits him perfectly," said Fowler. "He's able to hit
golf shots around here that some guys can't, so this place fits him
perfectly. It's fitting for him to win here."
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; editing by Julian Linden)
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