family business
Golf journeyman gets roasted by mom after qualifying for first PGA Tour event
David Berding
The Wyndham Championship is renowned for euphoria and heartbreak. In the last event of the PGA Tour regular season, some of the best golfers in the world will be hoping to sneak into the FedEx Cup Playoffs, with some greats (like Justin Thomas last year) inevitably missing out. That said, if anyone’s purely happy to be there, it’s George Kneiser, the 26-year-old who is set to make his PGA Tour debut after sharing low honors at Monday's open qualifying.
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay alum and Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Americas journeyman shot a 6-under 65 at Bermuda Run Country Club with the pressure on. He will now make the trek to Sedgefield Country Club in North Carolina to take on major winners like Jordan Spieth, Brian Harman, Shane Lowry and Keegan Bradley. Kneiser, of course, called his mom to tell her the good news and immediately got a bit of that good-natured family ribbing.
“Was it the caddie or the player?” is the perfect benevolent question with the slightest twist of the knife by Mama Kneiser.
“It was a little bit of both, but the caddie was great. The player did okay,” George responded with a sheepish grin on his face.
The rest of the call is pure joy starting with a literal “EEK!” followed by “Yay, George. What happens now?” and “I’m so happy for you, George. You’re going to get through. I’m just checking my flight reservation.”
Kneiser came into this event missing the cut at the Cedar Rapids Open, so this was a heck of a turnaround for the Wisconsin native. With one last chance for this year’s PGA Tour regular season, Kneiser shot one of the best rounds of his life, maybe the most important with what was on the line.
"It felt really good once I knew I was in," Kneiser told Wisconsin.Golf. "It’s a good sign of confirmation that I’m doing the right things, my hard work is starting to translate to results and my game is trending in the right direction!
“This is a good addition to the schedule.”