PGA Tour golfer Ben Kohles praised for classy reaction to disaster finish at John Deere Classic
Ben Kohles came up agonisingly short of securing his maiden PGA Tour title at TPC Deere Run.
Ben Kohles insisted his maiden PGA Tour victory is just around the corner despite a dramatic late collapse at the John Deere Classic.
The American was in control of his own destiny as he came down the stretch at TPC Deere Run.
Kohles, 36, was in a share of the lead and it looked as though he was headed for extra holes with Chris Gotterup after his compatriot raced to the top of the leaderboard with a scintillating nine-under 62.
But Kohles hit his approach on the par-four 18th into the water and couldn't save par, handing Gotterup his fifth PGA Tour title.
Making masters worse for Kohles, he then missed a three-footer for bogey that cost him $318,000 in prize money.
Kohles, who won on the developmental Korn Ferry Tour last month, has now made 120 PGA Tour starts without a victory.
Despite the near miss, he was praised by golf fans for speaking openly and honestly with reporters.
"It is what it is," Kohles said. "Golf is a tough game. I've just got to keep putting myself in these positions.
"Obviously was able to get it done a month ago on the Korn Ferry and it wasn't quite my time yet out here, but I know that day is going to come.”
He added: “Honestly, I felt really good. Of course I was feeling a little extra nerves coming down the stretch, but yeah, I knew I just needed to play solid and obviously not have that happen on 18, and it would have been fine.”
Position | Player Name | Score |
1 | Chris Gotterup | -20 |
2 | Max Homa | -19 |
3 | Ben Kohles | -18 |
3 | Lee Hodges | -18 |
3 | Lucas Glover | -18 |
6 | Jackson Suber | -17 |
6 | Mac Meissner | -17 |
6 | Doug Ghim | -17 |
9 | Zach Johnson | -16 |
9 | Ryo Hisatsune | -16 |
9 | Zachary Blair | -16 |
12 | Tyler Duncan | -15 |
12 | Blades Brown | -15 |
12 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout | -15 |
15 | Chun-An Yu | -14 |
15 | Preston Stout | -14 |
15 | Chandler Phillips | -14 |
15 | Matt Kuchar | -14 |
15 | Stephan Jaeger | -14 |
15 | Rickie Fowler | -14 |
21 | Troy Merritt | -13 |
21 | David Lipsky | -13 |
21 | Harry Higgs | -13 |
21 | Ben Griffin | -13 |
21 | Zecheng Dou | -13 |
26 | Erik van Rooyen | -12 |
26 | Davis Thompson | -12 |
26 | Pontus Nyholm | -12 |
26 | William Mouw | -12 |
26 | Emiliano Grillo | -12 |
26 | Jacob Bridgeman | -12 |
26 | Keegan Bradley | -12 |
33 | Matt Wallace | -11 |
33 | David Skinns | -11 |
33 | Tom Hoge | -11 |
33 | Nick Dunlap | -11 |
33 | Davis Chatfield | -11 |
33 | Michael Brennan | -11 |
39 | Aaron Wise | -10 |
39 | Karl Vilips | -10 |
39 | Beau Hossler | -10 |
39 | Lanto Griffin | -10 |
39 | Trace Crowe | -10 |
39 | Pierceson Coody | -10 |
39 | Eric Cole | -10 |
46 | Keita Nakajima | -9 |
46 | Joo-Hyung Kim | -9 |
46 | Mackenzie Hughes | -9 |
46 | Mark Hubbard | -9 |
46 | Joel Dahmen | -9 |
51 | Luke Gutschewski | -8 |
51 | Andrew Putnam | -8 |
51 | J. T. Poston | -8 |
51 | Keith Mitchell | -8 |
51 | Max McGreevy | -8 |
51 | Chan Kim | -8 |
51 | Adrien Dumont | -8 |
58 | Hayden Springer | -7 |
58 | Jordan Spieth | -7 |
58 | Austin Smotherman | -7 |
58 | Peter Malnati | -7 |
58 | Tony Finau | -7 |
58 | Austin Eckroat | -7 |
64 | Will Gordon | -6 |
65 | Camilo Villegas | -5 |
65 | Davis Riley | -5 |
67 | Steven Fisk | -4 |
67 | Patrick Fishburn | -4 |
67 | Rafael Campos | -4 |
67 | Zachary Bauchou | -4 |
71 | Sung-Jae Im | -3 |
71 | A.J. Ewart | -3 |
71 | Jonathan Byrd | -3 |
74 | Michael Feagles | -2 |
74 | Nicholas Lindheim | -2 |
74 | Fabian Gomez | -2 |
77 | Ryan Voois | E |
78 | Gordon Sargent | +2 |
79 | Ryan Brehm | +4 |
Kohles said he was a little in between clubs on the 18th. His approach started on line, but veered left and found a watery grave.
"I was just trying to hit kind of a three-quarter punch shot," he said. "Yeah, just tugged it a little, and obviously ended up in the water.
"Tough way to finish, especially how I played all day. Even on the back nine, letting a few holes get away, but bounced right back and made birdies right after.
"I mean, I'm proud of the way I played. I played awesome all week. You know, obviously sucks to just have that happen on the last hole, but hey, you know, learned a lot about myself.
"Me and my caddie are doing such a good job, and it's only going to make me better going forward."
Kohles has split his time between the PGA and Korn Ferry Tour this season.
His victory at the BMW Charity Pro-Am last month came with the benefit of essentially locking up his playing rights on the developmental circuit next season.
A win at the John Deere Classic would've seen him clinch a spot in this year's FedEx Cup playoffs.
It is the second time he has recorded a bogey or worse on his final hole to lose a PGA Tour event.
Kohles let the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson slip through his hands.
Still, he believes last Sunday was the best he felt in contention.
"[I am] just going to keep building from that and use it to go forward," he said.
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