Promise to wife will have to wait a day
Kisner tied for second but owes spouse a 65
This is what pro golfers do when their wife or girlfriend has a birthday that happens to fall on a tournament day.
They don’t have time to buy a gift . Instead, they promise they’ll months.
“I said, ‘Maybe I can shoot a 65 for your birthday,’ ” Kisner recalled.
Kisner shot an even-par 70 on a wind-blown day, putting him in a six-way tie for second place behind co -leaders Nick O’Hern, Davis Love III and John Merrick heading into today’s final round.
“I’ll absolutely take the 70,” said a smiling Brittany, who calmly han-
The expectation of afternoon rain has prompted the PGA Tour to move final-round tee times to the morning. Three-player groupings, as opposed to the normal two-player pairings, will go off on both the No. 1 and No. 10 tees beginning at 7 a.m. and running through 9 a.m. That means the finish will likely come around 2 p.m.
dled her husband’s rollercoaster round. “I’ll still take a 65 (today).”
Her husband’s 70 on Saturday could have easily been a 65 or it could have been a 75. Swirling winds around TPC Southwind had the effect of restrictor plates in a NASCAR race — suddenly the field became tightly bunched and there was no margin of error.
“When you got it right, you looked like a genius,” said Kisner, 28, a native of Aiken, S.C., who turned pro in 2006 after becoming the first four-time All-American in University of Georgia history and captain of the Bulldogs’ 2005 national championship team. “When you got it wrong, you looked like you never played golf before. It was just a total guess.
“I hit some good ones that didn’t turn out good, and I had some bad ones that turned out better than I thought. You just have to roll with the punches.”
After starting the day sinking birdie putts of 18 feet and four feet on holes No. 1 and No. 4 to move to 7 under, he was 4 under by the time he reached the par-3 14th.
Kisner birdied No. 14 and the 395-yard par-4 15th to become a co -leader at 6 under. But he inexplicably bogeyed the par-4, 490-yard 17th after he launched a 339-yard drive, his longest of the day. He left his second shot short of the green, and then scuffed a chip that left him a 31-foot par putt from the fringe. He slid that by the hole, and then nailed a three -foot bogey putt.
“I don’t know what happened (on his second shot at No, 17),” Kisner said. “It was 137 yards to the front (of the green) and I thought it (the wind) was helping. Seemed like the wind just ate it up as soon as I made contact. When the wind is like it was, you’ve got to stay patient and take what it gives you.”
Even with his break- even day, Kisner, whose only pro win came two years ago on the Nationwide Tour, is in his best position yet to get his first PGA Tour win. His best finish in his previous 36 PGA Tour events is a tie for 12th last October in the Chil- dren’s Miracle Network Hospital Classic.
He’s been a good closer before. For instance, after attending Georgia for four years, he went back to school one extra semester so he could graduate. That’s when he met his future wife.
“Going back to school got me a degree and it got me a wife,” Kisner said. “I don’t know how I missed meeting her for four years. But going back to school pays off.”
— Ron Higgins: (901) 529-2525