Knoxville Open - Final Round

It rained heavy through the night but it was not raining when we arrived at the course. We were able to get through our warm up and made it to the first tee before it started raining again. Kevin was able to make a great par save on the first after his opening tee shot found the bunker and all we could go was advance it down the fairway. A nice wedge to 8 feet and made putt settled him down and we were able to get right into the round. He pared the first three holes and then after the tee shot on four, the rain can down in buckets. By the time we reached our drive, the fairway and greens had standing water and play was suspended.

The delay lasted about two hours and we headed back out. The course was already soaked from the overnight rain but now it was under water. We had to move almost 20 yards to find a spot without standing water in the fourth fairway. Kevin continued hitting solid shots and we made the turn at even par with nine straight pars. On the par five, 10th, Kevin hit two great shots and got the ball just short of the green in two. His eagle chipped 180'ed out of the hole and tapped it in for his first birdie for the day. He followed that birdie up with two more on number 12 and 14 which pulled us into a tie for the lead with four to play. 

Solid swings and great looks at birdie on 15, 16 and 17 but not able to convert the birdies left us tied for the lead standing on the 18th tee. Kevin split the fairway and left us with 241 to the pin on the par five. By the time we reached our tee shot, Peter Malnati birdied the final hole to take a one shot lead. With a perfect yardage for the three wood, we aimed at the left edge of the green took a go at the green. Kevin hit it solid but just blocked it. The ball landed just right of the green and bounced off the slope into the water hazard. With the pin cut to the right, only 4 yards from the right edge, Kevin's ball was actually only about 6 yards right of the pin when it landed. Even though we were aiming left, one of the hardest things to do it commit to aiming it so far away from the pin. I've always said, "some of my best cut shots where blocks straight at the pin". 

Finishing with a bogey dropped us down to a tie for sixth. I've had a lot of phone calls, voice mails and text messages over the last few days saying sorry about the finish and how disappointed I must be. The truth is, I'm not disappointed at all. We had a great week and it was FUN. Kevin is hitting it great, he is working on the correct things and we are working well together. I would be disappointed if I didn't think we would have another opportunity but we are going to have plenty of more opportunities to win golf tournaments. We don't live and die with one golf shot. One of the coolest things Kevin has ever said to me over the last four years that I have worked for him happened on the final green. Just after missing his final putt that dropped us down to sixth, Kevin walked over to me and said, "man, I wanted to make that for you". Knowing the monetary difference of what just happened on the final hole, he wasn't thinking about himself. He was thinking about me. We don't play and do our jobs thinking about money, but this shows how we have each others back. 

Because of the rain delay, it was fairly late when we finished, I decided to spend one to spend one more night in Knoxville with the family. I am driving the 14 hour trip to Omaha and Kevin is flying in about noon on Tuesday. Since I'm in no rush, I left Knoxville yesterday and drove 12 hours before stopping. I have about another two hours this morning and will meet Kevin after lunch some some practice. This is the last event before the final four playoff events.