“Did so many good things this week, and I’m just going to keep reminding myself of that and try to get myself back in this position.”
That was Ben Kohles’ reaction two years ago after he melted down on the final hole of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson to hand Taylor Pendrith the title. That day, Kohles arrived at the final hole, a par-5, with a one-shot lead. He ended up making the only bogey on that hole of the day and wound up losing by one after Pendrith made a birdie.
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Two years later, the 36-year-old Kohles found himself in the position that he vowed to return to, this time at the John Deere Classic. After making birdie at the 16th hole at TPC Deere Run, Kohles found himself tied with Chris Gotterup — who posted 20 under after a sizzling Sunday 61 — with two holes to play. Kohles needed to play the final two holes, one of which was the par-5 17th, in one under to secure his first-ever PGA Tour title. Kohles made a sloppy par at the par-5 17th and arrived at the final hole of the tournament needing a birdie to win or a par to go to a playoff with Gotterup.
He striped his tee shot down the fairway. Then, everything unraveled. Playing partner Lucas Glover hit his approach shot, and just seconds after it landed, a sped-up Kohles sent his approach into the air. It immediately started drifting left, hit the fringe on the front left of the green, kicked further left and bounded into the water.
Kohles’ drop from the lateral hazard saw him take his stance on a sprinkler head. Relief from that allowed him to put his ball on the green and have a 45-foot putt for par and a playoff remaining. With Gotterup watching from the practice range, Kohles’ playoff-forcing attempt stayed to the right and drifted past the hole. He missed the comebacker to make a double bogey and finish in a tie for third.
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After suffering another gut-punch loss, Kohles explained the three-quarter punch-shot 8 iron he tried to play into the 18th green. He thought the 9-iron would come up too short, and a full 8 would fly over the green. In the end, he pulled it, and his fate lay at the bottom of the pond at TPC Deere Run.
“Tough way to finish, especially how I played all day,” Kohles said. “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.”
As Kohles explained his latest heartbreaking attempt to become a PGA Tour winner, Gotterup celebrated his third win of the season and fourth in the last calendar year. He started the day five shots back of the lead but made five birdies on the front nine and added circles at 10, 13, 14, and 17 to sign for a Sunday 61 and post 20 under with his brother on the bag for the week.
Four years ago, Gotterup wrote a letter to John Deere Classic tournament director Clair Peterson asking for a sponsor invite. Gotterup, who had recently turned pro, promised to make the tournament proud if they gave him a spot. They did, and Gotterup continues to come back on an annual basis to tee it up in a tournament that helped kickstart his PGA Tour career — one that continues to be on the rise.
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“I don’t even know,” Gotterup told CBS’ Amanda Balionis when asked how to describe his John Deere win. “I really like this tournament. They’ve been super nice to me. To come out here, to have Patrick [Gotterup], out here with me, it’s just so awesome.”
A year ago, Chris Gotterup stared down Rory McIlroy to win the Genesis Scottish Open. Since that point, he has won three more times and ascended to become a top-15 player in the world. It’s a journey that started when he was given a chance to peg it at the John Deere Classic four years ago; a tournament with a long history of great winners that he now shares.
“I just put in a lot of hard work and have a lot of people that put time into me and care about me,” a teary-eyed Gotterup said of his transformation over the past year. “I go out there, and even if I’m in 40th place, I give it everything I’ve got. When I come down the stretch, I like to think that I’m going to close it out, and I did a great job of that today.”
The newest John Deere Classic champion will jump on a plane tonight and head over to Scotland, where he will defend his title next week and hope to continue his ascent.
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As for Kohles, it has been a long month of golf. He won on the Korn Ferry Tour, qualified for the U.S. Open the next day, contended at the RBC Canadian Open and then played at Shinnecock Hills.
All that led him to this week in the Quad Cities, where he entered Sunday promising to “sack up” and win his first PGA Tour title. He stood on the 18th tee box on Sunday with the outcome in his hands. Win, lose or head to a playoff. A poorly executed three-quarter punch shot sunk his dreams.
But Kohles exited the John Deere determined that he’ll be in Gotterup’s shoes one day. He just has to keep following his path and believe it’ll eventually lead him to his dreams.
“This was my third final group on Sunday on the PGA Tour,” Kohles said. “Honestly, this was the best I’ve felt out of the first two. I felt good in Dallas a couple of years ago, as well. Just going to keep building from that and use it to go forward.”
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