Kevin Kisner sets sights on new golf season with this in mind: Stick to the plan
Kevin Kisner took to heart the advice in the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” adage in planning his PGA Tour season, which is why he begins his 2019-20 year in earnest in the schedule’s 11th tournament.
The Aiken pro, currently 35th in the world rankings, is following the same pattern he used a year ago on his way to ninth place in the season-long FedEx Cup standings.
“I took eight or nine weeks off in the fall of ’18, and that made me fresher later in the season, and I had my best FedEx finish,” he said prior to heading to Hawaii with Brittany and the kids for two weeks of golf and family time.
The Tour schedule creates a dilemma for players. The September-to-August grind leaves a myriad of options of tournaments to play and for time off.
Kisner took two months off before teeing up competitively in October, and, he said, “the rust showed.” He made four Tour starts and played in two limited field events before Christmas to prepare for the portion of the schedule with the top tournaments, then “had a blast” on a hunting trip before getting back to business in the Sentry Tournament of Champions that begins Thursday.
“I know the courses that suit my game, add the majors and the Players and the WGC events, and that’s a lot of high-level golf,” said Kisner, who will be 36 in February. “Taking time off in the fall is beneficial later.”
The Tour’s revamped schedule that moved the PGA Championship to May provides a major for four straight months, April-July. Add three WGC tournaments plus the Players in March and the three FedEx playoff events in August, and the schedule can be exhausting. The Olympics and the Ryder Cup are on the agenda this year, too.
Kisner’s 2018-19 season included his third career PGA Tour win, this one in the World Golf Championship’s Dell Match-Play, and T12, T9 and T9 in the playoffs.
“I played seven out of eight weeks at one stretch last spring, and I’ll do that again this year,” he said. “They’re tournaments I like plus the Masters and the Players, and I needed the time off (in the fall) for that.”
Kisner gives away distance off the tee to the Tour’s heavy hitters, but his accuracy off the tee and his magic touch on the greens are great equalizers in firm and fast course conditions. Proof is found in the Match-Play; he finished second in 2018 and won a year ago.
“Places like Augusta (for the Masters) are so dependent on how the golf course plays,” he said. “If it’s wet and playing long, I’ve got no chance. If it’s firm and fast and puts a premium on accurate iron shots, I can get in the game.”
The Players event comes first, and he loved how the course played a year ago after the tournament moved back to March. The U.S. Open at Winged Foot, which demands accuracy off the tee, suits his game, and he’s familiar with the layout. “But you never know about the weather,” he said.
The pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow would be a berth on the Ryder Cup team. He got a taste of representing the U.S. in the 2017 President’s Cup.
“There are so many good players,” Kisner said. “You’ve really got to play your butt of the finish in the top eight (automatic selections), and that’s obviously a goal.”
He heads to Hawaii No. 10 in points for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, but first things first. He wants to get his season rolling in earnest beginning this week.
Chip shots. The Midlands Golf Course Owners Association’s 2020 VIP Value Books, which offer special rates at 25 area courses, are available for $70. In addition to the golf course rates, the book includes specials at Hemingway’s Grill and Express Oil Change and Tire Engineers. Part of the proceeds benefit the South Carolina Junior Golf Association. The books can be purchased at both Koosa Golf locations, the SCGA office, the Spur at Northwoods, Par Tee Golf Center and online at www.scmidlandsgolf.org.