Friday's second round was just what we needed. Teeing off early, Kevin was able to take advantage of the conditions and shot a great round of three under (68). For the day, there were only six rounds better and his round moved us well inside the cut line to t-40th after two rounds.
Today's third round started right where we left off on Friday; hitting fairways and greens. Unfortunately, two early birdies were voided by two early three putts and we were even par through five holes. A hooked 8 iron into the par five 6th put us in a bad spot and then two missed up and downs later, we walked off with a double bogey. Making the turn at two over, things didn't get much better on the back nine putting up three 6's on the card. The first 6 (double) came on 11 after a hooked tee shot led to a chip out. From there, we missed the green with an 8 iron and failed to get that up and down. The next 6 (bogey) came on the par 5 - 16th. After laying it up in the rough, we couldn't find the green. Another missed up and down led to another six. The final 6 (double) came on 18. The second shot (another 8 iron) hooked into the water hazard and another missed up and down after the drop near the green. The final nine (40) left us at seven over par for the day (78) and backing up all the way to 74th place.
Although we were ten shots higher today, we hit the same amount of fairways (8/14) and only two less greens (11/18) from Fridays second round. The biggest difference today was on and around the greens. Those two early three putts along with the missed up and downs throughout the day was the difference. After the round, we spent our entire practice session chipping and putting. We have nothing to loss tomorrow (74th out of 75 players) but know a good solid round will still go a long way. Every FedEx point matters and every position we can move up will help get those extra valuable FedEx points needed to secure his card for next year. I'm looking forward to getting out there early and seeing what we can do. We tee off tomorrow at 8:36 with Jason Bohn.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Quicken Loans National - First Round
We just didn't have it today. Only hitting half the fairways 7/14) and half the greens (9/18) it was a tough day to score. Congressional is playing long with high, thick rough so ball striking is at a premium. Sitting at five over par through 11 holes, the ball striking started to turn around as Kevin hit the last five fairways and five of his last seven greens. We managed to finish the round at four over (75) and we were only a few putts away from shooting a respectable score. But, as bad as the score may sound, we are still in the tournament with a solid round tomorrow. With the course playing difficult, two over par (73) is tied for 62nd place. Anything under par tomorrow will have us playing the weekend.
After the round, we had a range session and then called it a day. We tee off tomorrow morning at 7:12 so it will be an early wake up call. Good night all.
After the round, we had a range session and then called it a day. We tee off tomorrow morning at 7:12 so it will be an early wake up call. Good night all.
Update - Memphis, US Open, Baby Kate
Once again, I've failed to blog for an entire month and it has been an exciting month. After qualifying for the US Open on the Monday of Memphis, we had a long week filled with weather delays. Kevin played well considering having so much on his mind that week. With weather delays threatening to push the tournament into a Monday finish, it was hard to maintain focus not knowing how it would all work out. A few loose shots finishing our round on Sunday led to a couple doubles but, all in all, it was a solid week. Happy we were done, Kevin hopped on a plane and headed home for the birth of their child.
Kathleen Grace "Kate" was born Monday afternoon (June 9th) at 2:49pm. Everything went well and everyone was doing fine. Kevin stayed in Aiken until Tuesday night and then drove over to Pinehurst for the US Open. We met up Wednesday morning and worked a little with JT on the range before our practice round. I rolled into town Tuesday morning and spent the day doing course work. The golf course was playing extremely firm and fast and shots landing on the front edge to five yards onto the green were releasing all the way to the middle of the greens. Our keys for the week was all about where we wanted to land each shot on the green, patience, and a solid short game. Unfortunately, an afternoon storm rolled in on Wednesday and we were called off the course after only 12 holes.
We ended up missing the cut but it was still a solid experience. I feel Kevin learned a lot of competing in his first US Open and the experience will only help him in his future major championships. The US Open was our fifth week in a row on the road and with a new baby, he decided to take Hartford off. It was nice to get away from the game and he had a great week being a dad.
This week we are at the Congressional in Washington, DC for the Quicken Loans National. We met Tuesday and had two solid days of practice. We tee off today at 12:12 with Russell Knox and Robert Streb.
Kathleen Grace "Kate" was born Monday afternoon (June 9th) at 2:49pm. Everything went well and everyone was doing fine. Kevin stayed in Aiken until Tuesday night and then drove over to Pinehurst for the US Open. We met up Wednesday morning and worked a little with JT on the range before our practice round. I rolled into town Tuesday morning and spent the day doing course work. The golf course was playing extremely firm and fast and shots landing on the front edge to five yards onto the green were releasing all the way to the middle of the greens. Our keys for the week was all about where we wanted to land each shot on the green, patience, and a solid short game. Unfortunately, an afternoon storm rolled in on Wednesday and we were called off the course after only 12 holes.
We ended up missing the cut but it was still a solid experience. I feel Kevin learned a lot of competing in his first US Open and the experience will only help him in his future major championships. The US Open was our fifth week in a row on the road and with a new baby, he decided to take Hartford off. It was nice to get away from the game and he had a great week being a dad.
This week we are at the Congressional in Washington, DC for the Quicken Loans National. We met Tuesday and had two solid days of practice. We tee off today at 12:12 with Russell Knox and Robert Streb.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
The Memorial - Final Round / US Open Qualifier
It has been a great couple of days. Kevin worked through the bad feeling he had with his golf swing on Saturday and had a few great rounds on the golf course both Sunday and Monday. Muirfield was playing firm and fast on Sunday but once again he showed patience and a solid short game. Both of these were tested late in the day as his wedge flew into the flagstick on the par five 15th and ricocheted off the green, down a slope, 15 yards away into a difficult position. But he was able to get it up and down to save par. The very next hole, par three 16th, our tee shot found the water but he walks up to the drop zone and was able to get that up and down from 120 yards to save the bogey. As most players would have just packed it in after those two shots, Kevin once again showed his maturity and grind it out. We finished the day with a birdie on 17 and shot a nice round of three under (69) finishing T-46th. But more important, his finish gained us those extra valuable FedEx points and we moved up two spots on the list to 103rd.
Because we had to be in Memphis for the 36 hole US Open qualifier in just over 12 hours; Kevin decided to fly private using his new sponsor, Wheels Up, and brought me along for the ride. I do have to say it was one of the coolest experiences in my 44 year life. Little did I know, it was only about to get better!!
I met Kevin at the golf course about 7am Monday morning. I was joking with Kiz telling him it was a bit of an anniversary for us because it was here in Memphis at Colonial Country club in 2008 where we first met. I was caddying for Doug LaBelle and we showed up to play a practice round. We went to the first tee and Kevin was standing there with his good friend Mike Hostilo waiting to play their practice round. We ended up playing two rounds together, striking up a good friendship, and now six years later, I'm back carrying his bag. Can you say fate???
Since I save all my old yardage books, without any practice rounds and not being back here since 2008, all we had to lean on were my old notes from those books. We started on the "tougher" South course with some on and off drizzling rain. With 145 players trying for 13 spots, I knew if we just managed our way around and gave Kevin plenty of birdie looks, we would do fine. An early three putt bogey was washed away with three straight birdies on 7, 8 and 9 making the turn at two under. One more bogey and two birdies on the back had us shooting three under (69) for the first round. We had only 20 minutes before round two so we had a quick lunch. When I took a look at the scores, I saw that there was only one score better then ours on the South course. With all the other low scores on the North course, I knew we where in perfect position. Starting on 10, Kevin birdied 10, 12 and 16 getting us to six under through 27 holes. Another nice birdie on the par three 2nd as the rain started and then another birdie during a torrential downpour on the very next hole put us in the drivers seat. The rain finally stopped and the winds laid down for the final five holes but now we had to deal with mud balls. One more birdie with a bogey coming in had us shooting five under (66) for an eight under total for 36 holes. Eight under was good enough for T-3rd and a trip to THE US OPEN.
Completely worn out, it took awhile for it all to sink in. Having one of my biggest accomplishments in my playing career occurring at Pinehurst #2, winning the 1992 North South Amateur, I am excited to be heading back to a place that means so much to me. Having to play nine rounds of golf in six days during that week in 1992, I leaned on my bother/caddy, Darrell, to get me through. I would have never won that Championship without his help. Now, to be going back as a caddy, I just hope I can do as good of a job as he did 22 years ago.
As for Baby Kiz, Brittany and Kevin had a plan in place just in case we qualified for the US Open. Brittany and the baby are doing well, so if Baby Kiz does not arrive this week, they have scheduled an appointment to induce Monday morning. If Baby Kiz decides to come this week, Kevin and I have our plan worked out and we will get him home. It's definitely an exciting time for the Kisner family. Please keep them in your prayers.
Because we had to be in Memphis for the 36 hole US Open qualifier in just over 12 hours; Kevin decided to fly private using his new sponsor, Wheels Up, and brought me along for the ride. I do have to say it was one of the coolest experiences in my 44 year life. Little did I know, it was only about to get better!!
I met Kevin at the golf course about 7am Monday morning. I was joking with Kiz telling him it was a bit of an anniversary for us because it was here in Memphis at Colonial Country club in 2008 where we first met. I was caddying for Doug LaBelle and we showed up to play a practice round. We went to the first tee and Kevin was standing there with his good friend Mike Hostilo waiting to play their practice round. We ended up playing two rounds together, striking up a good friendship, and now six years later, I'm back carrying his bag. Can you say fate???
Since I save all my old yardage books, without any practice rounds and not being back here since 2008, all we had to lean on were my old notes from those books. We started on the "tougher" South course with some on and off drizzling rain. With 145 players trying for 13 spots, I knew if we just managed our way around and gave Kevin plenty of birdie looks, we would do fine. An early three putt bogey was washed away with three straight birdies on 7, 8 and 9 making the turn at two under. One more bogey and two birdies on the back had us shooting three under (69) for the first round. We had only 20 minutes before round two so we had a quick lunch. When I took a look at the scores, I saw that there was only one score better then ours on the South course. With all the other low scores on the North course, I knew we where in perfect position. Starting on 10, Kevin birdied 10, 12 and 16 getting us to six under through 27 holes. Another nice birdie on the par three 2nd as the rain started and then another birdie during a torrential downpour on the very next hole put us in the drivers seat. The rain finally stopped and the winds laid down for the final five holes but now we had to deal with mud balls. One more birdie with a bogey coming in had us shooting five under (66) for an eight under total for 36 holes. Eight under was good enough for T-3rd and a trip to THE US OPEN.
Completely worn out, it took awhile for it all to sink in. Having one of my biggest accomplishments in my playing career occurring at Pinehurst #2, winning the 1992 North South Amateur, I am excited to be heading back to a place that means so much to me. Having to play nine rounds of golf in six days during that week in 1992, I leaned on my bother/caddy, Darrell, to get me through. I would have never won that Championship without his help. Now, to be going back as a caddy, I just hope I can do as good of a job as he did 22 years ago.
As for Baby Kiz, Brittany and Kevin had a plan in place just in case we qualified for the US Open. Brittany and the baby are doing well, so if Baby Kiz does not arrive this week, they have scheduled an appointment to induce Monday morning. If Baby Kiz decides to come this week, Kevin and I have our plan worked out and we will get him home. It's definitely an exciting time for the Kisner family. Please keep them in your prayers.
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