NAPA, Calif.– Three years ago last month, Kevin Kisner was headed into a record-tying six-man playoff at the 2021 Wyndham Championship. Kisner was winless in five previous playoffs, but his caddie Duane Bock knew how to marshal his talents.
“Dewey reminds me that I won a playoff to get into match play against Ian Poulter the year I won (the 2019 WGC Dell Match Play), so he says that I’m 1-5,” Kisner said.
In his self-deprecating fashion, Kisner had the perfect response: “We’re not really increasing our odds to win in this playoff too much with six guys going at it.”
And what did Bock say after his boss made birdie on the second extra hole to claim victory?
“You beat five guys in this one so I think you’re 6-5 now,” Bock deadpanned.
Kisner’s victory nearly earned him a captain’s pick on the U.S. Ryder Cup team a few weeks later but Steve Stricker opted to go with an unproven, then winless pro named Scottie Scheffler instead. But Kisner, who thrived at the WGC Match Play, did get selected to the 2022 U.S. Presidents Cup team by Captain Davis Love III. In two weeks, he will be part of the team again but in a non-playing role as an assistant captain to Jim Furyk. In the last two years, Kisner’s game has slipped precipitously, dropping to No. 723 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and No. 198 in the FedEx Cup heading into the fall.
It’s a far cry from the gritty competitor who spent nearly eight consecutive years beginning in June 2015 inside the top 50 in the world (minus three weeks), winning four Tour titles, playing on two Presidents Cup teams and earning nearly $30 million under the tutelage of instructor John Tillery. Beginning in 2014, he helped Kisner get wider at the top with his transition and quiet his legs. Kisner jumped from outside the Tour’s top 100 to 38th in driving accuracy in 2015.
Of course, it’s that level of precision that has abandoned him in recent years. Even a victory at the Wyndham Championship, the final regular season FedEx Cup event, wouldn’t have been enough to lift Kisner, 40, into the FedEx Cup playoffs, which is why he agreed to serve as NBC’s lead analyst for the three playoff events. He’s been a popular fill-in this season for Paul Azinger as an analyst, working events in Hawaii, Phoenix, and the Players Championship previously to great fanfare. A guaranteed paycheck to do TV — albeit much smaller than he could possibly make between the ropes — is ripe for the taking if Kisner accepts being a part-time player. But he still lives to compete and doesn’t appear willing to walk away without going down swinging.
Still, it’s hard to ignore the writing on the wall: it’s becoming rare for any of the 40-somethings on Tour to hang with the modern-day bombers. Kisner still relishes the challenge of proving he belongs. To borrow one of his signature phrases, “This ain’t no hobby.”
Perhaps it’s a sign of his comfort level in the lead analyst chair that Kisner can explain with ease his own skid from Presidents Cup participant to falling outside the top 700 in the world. In fact, he can identify the moment when his game took a turn for the worse. Playing in a pro-am in Detroit ahead of the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic, Kisner headed straight to the tee without any warm-up and flared a ball way right. “About 200 yards right and I had the craziest feeling when I hit it that I never had before and I didn’t figure out why for a long time,” said Kisner, who placed a glove under his right arm pit on the Silverado Resort range on Tuesday in search of his once-dependable draw. “We’ve got crazy minds. I was steep. I’m still trying to get rid of that two years later.”
Under Tillery’s watchful eye, Kisner had driven it on a string, hitting 69.39 percent of fairways in 2018-19, which ranked 15th on Tour in accuracy. He wasn’t outside the top 33 in that category in a six-year span until he dipped to 56.94 percent in 2022-23. His confidence sagged and he sought a second opinion before splitting with Tillery. He bounced between instructors but things only got worse and he took an extended break last season to decompress.
“Standing on the tee not wanting to hit in front of people, that’s no way to play this Tour, that’s for sure,” he said. “And that’s what I felt.”
Playing the Tour suddenly felt like a job that was keeping him away from his wife and three kids. He and Tillery reunited but the magic was gone. After a decade-long run of success, Kisner and Tillery parted ways again this summer. As Tillery put it, “We decided to be friends before one of us killed the other one.”
Short and crooked is no way to make a living in the big leagues. Kisner began working with Andy Plummer, who is best known for Stack and Tilt, and Marian Dantzler, an old friend from his mini-tour days, but it is still to be determined if he’s turned a corner. Kisner said he hit rock bottom in Lexington, Kentucky at the Isco Championship, an opposite-field event played the same week as the Genesis Scottish Open in July. Kisner shot 77 in the third round and was sent off in last place of those who made the cut as a single on Sunday.
“I basically just said, Who cares? This is gonna be the round where I either start seeing it or I don’t.’ And I did,” said Kisner, who carded a 69 and followed it up with three more rounds in the 60s and a T-33 at the 3M Open, his best result of the season and best finish since the 2022 RSM Classic. “I couldn’t hit it very good for two years. I’m starting to see some really good ball striking, especially in practice. You know, I still have some scar tissue from so many bad shots here.”
Tillery witnessed enough glimpses of good golf that he’s convinced Kisner still has better days ahead of him. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he figures it out,” Tillery said.
But time is of the essence. He made just five cuts in 18 starts this season and banked a measly $132,930. With his full exempt status running out this season, Kisner has a lot at stake this fall and he said he plans to play in all the FedEx Fall events except for the Sanderson Farms Championship. He needs to improve into the top 125 to retain his privileges; otherwise, he could use a one-time top 50 career money list exemption – that is if he stays in it. He’s No. 50 heading into the fall. And if that doesn’t work out? His level of interest in doing TV may suddenly increase. This means this fall slate of tournaments may determine the direction of his career.
“Still want to play,” he said. “I’m really starting to hit them on the face again, which makes it fun. Golf can be fun when you’re not missing greens and always putting for par.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Kevin Kisner is at a crossroad: The reluctant TV star doesn’t want golf to become his hobby
