Franklin Templeton Shootout: Kuchar replaces hurting Faldo at Shootout

Matt Kuchar is cutting his honeymoon short to replace Nick Faldo in

this week's Templeton Shootout.

Kuchar and his bride, Sybi, were in New Zealand when they got

word that Faldo hurt his back and will not be able to compete in

the three-day event starting Friday at Tiburón Golf Club.

Kuchar said coming to Naples isn't an inconvenience but just an

appropriate extension of his honeymoon.

"This is actually a great way to end our honeymoon," Kuchar

said. "We officially started dating last year when she came to

Naples with me for the Franklin Templeton Shootout."

Kuchar will team with Fred Funk in his second appearance in the

event.

Last year, he and David Gossett finished tied for second and

were paired with eventual champions Rocco Mediate and Lee

Janzen.

Kuchar, a former Georgia Tech standout, struggled this season,

his third on the PGA Tour. He missed the cut in 14 of his 23

events, including the last seven.

He didn't record any top-10 finishes, which caused him to drop

to No. 182 on the money list with $176,047.

It was quite a contrast from last year when he made over $1

million and won the Honda Classic for his first career title.

Faldo was scheduled to make his first appearance in the

24-player field.

"We certainly are going to miss Nick and wish him a speedy

recovery," said tournament director Taylor Ives. "We were looking

forward to Nick joining us for the first time. However, we welcome

back Matt to the field.

Given last year's finish, Matt is excited to return to

Naples."

SHARK BITES: Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw was

planning to play in the two-day pro-am on Wednesday and Thursday

and was even trying to get his golf game in shape to do so.

That's were the former Pittsburgh Steelers standout got in

trouble. Bradshaw hurt his back while hitting balls in Scottsdale,

Ariz., and now will not be able to play.

Tournament organizers are still expecting Bradshaw to make an

appearance and emcee the tournament dinner Thursday night.

Bradshaw, 55, led the Steelers to four Super Bowl titles

(1975-76, 1979-80) and was Super Bowl MVP twice (1979-80). He was

the regular- season MVP in 1978.

Bradshaw is now one of the hosts of FOX's NFL pregame show.