Finishing oh-so-close will sting for one of South Carolina’s own at the British Open
This one is going to hurt for awhile.
For Kevin Kisner, but also for another half-dozen players who all came up short Sunday against a rock-steady Francesco Molinari, your Champion Golfer of the Year at the end of the 147th Open Championship at a wind-swept and brutally tough Carnoustie Golf Links.
Kisner, the eighth-year PGA Tour player from Aiken, finished in a four-way tie for second, a maddening two shots behind Molinari’s 8-under-par total. So did a couple of players you’ve likely heard of – Rory McIlroy and defending Open champion Jordan Spieth – and one you might not have, Xander Schauffele.
They weren’t alone in feeling frustration. There also was 2013 U.S. Open winner Justin Rose,who charged from five shots off the lead. There was Kevin Chappell, who played alongside Kisner the final round and finished with a 2-over 73, a shot better than Kisner’s 74.
Oh, and there was a guy with 14 majors in his resume but none the past 10 years. Moments after he birdied the par-5 sixth hole to get to 7-under, Tiger Woods was alone atop the leader board.
Probably the only one among this Almost-Magnificent Seven who had nothing to complain about was Englishman Eddie Pepperell. His 4-under 67 was the best score of the day – quite impressive considering, he said, “I was a little hung over. I won’t lie. I had too much to drink last night,” along with nothing to lose starting the day eight shots out.
Given Carnoustie’s demanding conditions, Molinari had the perfect game plan. While others were sliding up and down the leader board – four contenders made at least one double bogey and two managed eagles – the steady Italian, the first from his nation to claim one of golf’s majors, was bogey-free the final 37 holes.
But enough about the winner; let’s consider those who came so close, who held or shared the lead at least once during Sunday’s roller-coaster marathon.
This being a South Carolina newspaper, we’ll start with Kisner.
His round could hardly have started worse: a double bogey at the second hole and a bogey at the third, dropping him his third-round share of the lead. It would’ve been easy, given the conditions, to pack it in right then.
Kisner did not. He holed a bunker shot at the fifth for a thrilling birdie, but followed with back-to-back bogeys and made the turn in four-over 40 ... yet was only two shots off the lead. When he drained a 10-footer for birdie at the 10th, he shared the lead – again.
He stayed there most of the back nine and was a shot back after a birdie at the par-5 14th. But Molinari, one group ahead of Kisner’s, had birdied 14 to reach 7-under –the magic number, it turned out.
So what did Kisner think of his performance? Was he disappointed – no one likes to lose a major when he has a chance to win – or encouraged at hanging in after his start against an all-star lineup of competitors?
We don’t know. Kisner declined to be interviewed afterward. Understandable, you say? Absolutely. After all, a year ago at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, he missed a chance to win the PGA Championship when, he said earlier, “I only hit one bad shot coming down the stretch.”
So what about the others? Say, Woods. “A little ticked off at myself for sure,” he said. “I had a chance starting the back nine to do something and I didn’t do it.” That said,though, “it was a blast ... it’s going to sting a for a little bit, but given where I was to where I’m at now, I’m blessed.”
McIlroy? “Not really frustrated,” he said. “I’m happy with how I played. I hung in there and I battled back. Just sort of ran out of holes at the end.”
Spieth, the defending champion and co-leader at 9-under before a brutal closing 76? “I feel fine,” he said. “I’ve already gone through the frustration. When you put yourself in position enough times, it goes your way sometimes, it doesn’t go your way sometimes.”
Okay, some perspective here: Woods, McIlroy and Spieth have won a combined 21 majors. Justin Rose has one. Kisner has been close, and believes he has what it takes to win a major. I think so, too. But here’s the thing: If you want to play with the big boys, you’ve got to act like one first.
Not to be too harsh, because Kisner just posted his best-ever finish in a major. His career is in just its seventh full season; he’s won twice. He certainly has time to do it and at 34 he’s entering the prime years of that career.
So tell us how you feel, Kevin Kisner. Rotten? We get that. If it happens someday and he’s holding one of golf’s biggest trophies, all of this – including having to discuss your disappointments – will have been worth the wait. And the earlier pain.
This story was originally published July 22, 2018 at 4:06 PM.