Kristoffer Reitan’s initial plans for this week didn’t include teeing it up at the Cadillac Championship. In fact, his caddie, Tim Poyser, flew back home to Scotland early in the week, figuring his boss wouldn’t make it off the alternate list and into the $20 million, no-cut Signature Event.
But fate had different ideas.
When Patrick Cantlay withdrew early in the week with an illness, Reitan moved to first alternate. He made it into the field when Jake Knapp withdrew prior to his tee time on Thursday with a wrist injury. Reitan didn’t arrive at Trump National Doral until Wednesday and didn’t even get a look at the full 18 before making it into the field on Thursday. Poyser tried to hightail it from Scotland to Florida but had a flight issue and missed the first round. Reitan’s swing coach, Denny Lucas, subbed in on Thursday, and the Norwegian fired a 2-under 70. He backed that up with a bogey-free 68 on Friday to vault into contention. A Saturday 69 followed, and Reitan will enter Sunday’s final round tied for second place, but six shots back of lead Cameron Young.
“It’s been a little bit of a whirlwind, emotionally, this week,” Reitan said Saturday after his round. “Just mainly happy to be here and get a chance in one of the Signature Events. Yeah, I’ve been trying to look at it as whatever happens this week is a bonus, no matter what. Obviously, very, very pleased to be in the position I’m in. But that’s kind of the approach I’ve been taking this week.
“Thursday was very, very difficult mentally. I was just, I mean, half prepared, I would say, for playing a golf tournament. You just get tossed out into it, and I just tried to make the most of it. Yeah, obviously happy with how I dealt with that. As I said, just very, very pleased to get the opportunity to play a Signature Event.”
Poyser returned to Reitan’s bag on Friday, but not without his boss jabbing him for missing the first round of a Signature Event.
“I’ve been giving him just a little bit of stick for it, that he wasn’t here and prepared. But at the same time, he tried his best to get here a day in advance, but yeah, something happened with his flight. So it was a little bit out of his control.”
Reitan will arrive at Sunday’s final round just looking to put together a good 18 holes. Despite being in second place, a win is out of his control. If Young plays good golf, he’ll win the tournament. If he stumbles, the door will be open for Reitan and the other chases.
That’s a scenario that Reitan has succeeded in before.
Last year, Reitan claimed his first DP World Tour victory in dramatic fashion at the Soudal Open. He started the final round nine shots off the lead, but fired a final-round 9-under 62 to set a course record and get into a playoff that he eventually won.
After the win, Reitan recalled the time he almost gave up golf a few years back when the game wasn’t loving him back. He even thought about dipping a toe in the YouTube golf waters. He set the clubs down for a bit, and then his love for the game returned when he picked them back up to play for fun and hit the shots he wanted. A few years after his near breakup with golf, Reitan won in Belgium, which helped punch his ticket to the PGA Tour.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid,” Reitan said after the Soudal Open. “I keep thinking back to a few years ago when I was considering stopping playing because I didn’t find it enjoyable anymore, didn’t see progress, and to be able to turn it around the way I have been doing the last couple of years has been amazing — to seal it with victory here is ridiculous.”
He won the 2025 Nedbank Challenge later in the season and finished in the top 10 in the 2025 DP World Tour eligibility ranking to secure PGA Tour status. This year, as a PGA Tour rookie, Reitan’s best finishes have been a T10 at the Valero Texas Open and a T2 at last week’s team event, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He is grinding along on a rung below those who use the Signature Events to mold their schedule. He’s just trying to make the most of the opportunities presented to him and stay afloat on the top tour.
But that could change after tomorrow.
He is currently listed in next week’s Myrtle Beach Classic, an opposite-field event. However, his stellar play at Trump National Doral now has him inside the Aon Next 10 and ticketed for a spot in next week’s Signature Event, the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow. He entered the week ranked 57th in the FedEx Cup but is projected to jump into the top 30 if his T2 finish holds. That will likely mean not only a start at the Truist Championship but a good shot at starts at the Travelers Championship and Memorial — the remaining Signature Events — as well. That’s big money and a lot of points that will go a long way toward Reitan keeping his fully-exempt status on the PGA Tour and continuing to build on a dream that he almost gave up on a few years back.
Reitan planned to play a game at Panther National this week with Rasmus Højgaard, Marco Penge, and Kris Ventura. The thought was that he’d have the week off while the 72 players lucky enough to crack the no-cut field at Doral played for a $20 million purse.
Just as it did in Belgium last year, lightning struck for Reitan, who has made the most of his opportunity — one that could change the entire outlook of his rookie season on the PGA Tour.
