Ben Kohles had the ball. Then a lake did.
Jordan Spieth would say that’s part of the bargain.
By now, you’ve likely come across what went down with Kohles at the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic, though it’s quite possible you quickly covered your eyes. Kohles is a 36-year-old pro. He’s won five times on the Korn Ferry Tour, including once early last month, and he’s never won on the PGA Tour, though two years ago, he came as close as you can get. On the 72nd hole at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson event, he led by a stroke, only to fall short by that margin after he bogeyed and Taylor Pendrith birdied. Then came late Sunday afternoon. This time, Kohles co-led at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.
And he tied for third, the result of a swing from the center of the fairway that hooked left, took a couple of bounces and cannonballed into the water left of the green. Kohles said he’d been between clubs. A 9-iron would have been too little; an 8 too much. He said he hit a three-quarter punch shot with his 8, tugged it and double-bogeyed, and Chris Gotterup won and Kohles didn’t.
For Gotterup, there was elation and emotion. He’d won again — Sunday was his third victory of the year and fifth on the PGA Tour overall. But he also seemingly recalled where he’d been just four years ago, when he’d been handed a sponsor exemption to the John Deere after writing a letter, and in a post-tournament interview during CBS’ broadcast, he cried. Meanwhile, Kohles admirably answered some questions, then was off to do it all over again, this week at the ISCO Championship in Kentucky.
It was if they were enacting what Spieth had talked about just five days earlier.
Ahead of the John Deere, he’d been asked for a peek into the idea of having results in professional golf tied directly to the player, and Spieth laid out what that’s like in pretty raw terms.
“Well, golf — I mean, if you choose to do what I do for a living, you’re choosing to have the ball in your hands for the last shot from the get-go,” he said. “That obviously can bring you — that risk can defeat you, and it can also bring you to the highest of highs in sport.
“We chose to be there. We choose to do this. If you want to do it at the highest level, you choose to have failure, heartbreak, and on the other side, you get so much more reward from the good, and that risk is worth it to me.”
To Kohles, too.
Still.
Should you be wondering where his thoughts were, on Monday morning, he logged onto Instagram. He posted a few photos, including one of the fateful moment where his 8-iron’s clubface closed ever so slightly. He also wrote a few words.
Give him the damn ball, he said.
“It was a disappointing finish, there’s no sugarcoating that,” he wrote. “But if this game has taught me anything, it’s that you don’t get to choose how the story unfolds, you only get to choose how you respond.
“I’m extremely proud of how we played all week. And, while this one stings, it’s not going to define who we are. We’re going to learn from it, get better because of it, and keep putting ourselves in positions to succeed.
“I want to thank everyone who has reached out. The support from my family, friends and those who have been along for this crazy journey means the world.
“Although it wasn’t quite my time, I know that day is going to come, and everything we’ve been through is going to make it that much sweeter.
“Looking forward to getting after it again this week in Kentucky!”
