PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - With a few more strokes to complete before the biggest win of a PGA Tour career that probably hadn’t lived up to its potential, Matt Kuchar wanted his mind to be on anything but the task at hand between shots, because those were going to be laced with enough pressure already.

So Kuchar and caddie Lance Bennett talked team sports, not golf, as they walked up the 18th fairway Sunday at the Players Championship. Baseball, the Stanley Cup playoffs, even the Celtics’ series-opening victory over Philadelphia Saturday night was discussed. Anything to distract Kuchar from thinking too much about the work left to do, at least until it was time for him to clock in.

Once clocked in, he was locked in.

A Sunday that started with a family tennis match ended with a family celebration on the 18th green of the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Kuchar won by two shots over a quartet of dogged pursuers, shooting a final-round 70 to finish at 13-under-par 275. Martin Laird (67), Zach Johnson (68), Ben Curtis (68), and Rickie Fowler (70) shared second. Kuchar’s fourth career tour victory is certainly the sweetest, both in prize money ($1.7 million) and prestige.

That it came on Mother’s Day, in front of his family - his parents live near TPC Sawgrass, and Kuchar grew up in Ponte Vedra Beach - made it a day he’ll never forget. Because of the roster of champions he’s joining, he couldn’t, even if he tried.

“You think of this as one of the strongest fields in golf,’’ Kuchar said. “To come out as the champion is just an amazing feeling.

“One of the things that strikes me is walking every day through the champions’ tunnel. Every player does it. And for me, I can’t help but stop and gaze at all the photos, and to think I’m going to be a part of that with Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino and Raymond Floyd and Phil Mickelson and David Duval and Tiger Woods, it’s all the best of the best.

“To feel like I’m going to see my picture up there next year is pretty cool.’’

The victory could be viewed as a just reward for Kuchar’s recent consistency. Since the start of the 2008 PGA Tour season, Kuchar has 35 top-10 finishes, including two wins. Someone who has been in contention so frequently sure knew how to handle it when he worked his way there at the Players. On a windy day, on a hard golf course, Kuchar had only two missteps, one early and one late. He survived both.

“I’ve played some great golf, some consistent golf,’’ said Kuchar, who has made 17 straight cuts, the longest active streak on the PGA Tour. “I never wanted to be the guy that won once a year and missed 10 cuts a year. There are a lot of people that play good golf for a week and then miss a couple cuts.

“I’d like to show up, be playing good, have a chance to win tournaments, and it’s gone that way.’’

It did at the Players, with Kuchar never sitting worse than a tie for sixth at the end of any of the four rounds. He shared the lead after the second round, and was in second after three.

He worked for it Sunday. A bogey on No. 1 dropped him two shots behind third-round leader Kevin Na, but he remained steady and actually took the lead with a birdie on No. 4 and a string of front-nine pars. Four front-nine bogeys by Na helped - Kuchar assumed the lead when Na bogeyed No. 8 - but Kuchar added a birdie at the ninth, and another at the 12th, which pushed his lead to two.

When Kuchar curled in a 15-footer for birdie on the par-5 16th, his lead was three. But he three-putted the 17th for only his second bogey, opening the door for Fowler, who was trying to win for the second straight week.

Kuchar’s bogey at the 17th left Fowler, Laird, Curtis, and Johnson two shots back, but Fowler was staring down a 7-foot birdie putt on No. 18 that would bring him within one of Kuchar, who had just missed his par putt at the 17th. Fowler’s bid slid right, though, ending his chance.

“Just pushed the putt a little bit,’’ Fowler said. “Hardest putt to have is straight in, so it would have been nice to have some kind of break.’’

Fowler’s miss gave Kuchar a nice two-shot cushion, which made the walk up the 18th slightly easier. A crisp approach to the middle of the green followed, then two putts for a routine par.

In the immediate aftermath, Kuchar got to share the win with his family. An hour later, the former Georgia Tech All-American and 1997 US Amateur champion could appreciate the journey his career has taken: An early win after turning pro, a few years of struggle, and now a victory that is viewed as a big notch - just below the four majors - but still big.

“I’m very happy with what I’ve become as a golfer,’’ Kuchar said. “I try not to think too much [about] being an elite player, being considered a top-10 player, that sort of thing. I just try to go out and play the best I can. I’m a golf junkie.

“It’s exciting to win tournaments, to be in this position, to have this trophy.’’

Michael Whitmer can be reached at mwhitmer@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeWhitmer.