Kisner contending for FedExCup while awaiting second child

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Any pain Kevin Kisner felt from his inability to win last week’s PGA Championship was quickly erased when he got in the car Sunday evening for the 2 ½-hour drive home to Aiken, South Carolina. “The best part about having a family is they don’t really care,â€� Kisner said. “It was on to watching ‘Beauty And The Beast’ about 30 minutes after that 18th hole. We watched ‘Beauty And The Beast’ and ate (fast food) in the car.â€� Kisner led the first three rounds of last week’s PGA Championship. He was one shot ahead entering Sunday, but a final-round 74 dropped him into a tie for seventh. Kisner reached 7 under, one shot behind Justin Thomas’ winning score, after birdies at 14 and 15, but he played the final three holes in 3 over, including a double-bogey at the last hole. Kisner is getting right back in the saddle, though. He’ll tee off at 1 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. Kisner is paired with two former FedExCup champions, Henrik Stenson and Bill Haas. Kisner is No. 9 in the FedExCup standings. He’s all but guaranteed a spot in the TOUR Championship, which would be his seventh event in an eight-week span. He’ll make his Presidents Cup debut the following week. It would be a busy stretch for Kisner under normal circumstances. That same family that helped Kisner forget his painful finish at Quail Hollow will soon be growing, though. His wife, Brittany, is expecting the couple’s second child Sept. 16. That’s the third round of the third event of the FedExCup Playoffs, the BMW Championship. Kisner said they’ll induce labor Sept. 11, three days before the BMW, though. They have not learned the child’s gender. The Kisners have a 3-year-old daughter named Kathleen. Kisner is playing this week because the Donald Ross-designed Sedgefield Country Club is a good fit for the South Carolina native, and the Wyndham offers him another opportunity to climb the standings before the FedExCup Playoffs begin. Kisner won this season’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational and lost a playoff with partner Scott Brown at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He’s the highest-ranked player in the FedExCup standings in this week’s field, and could move to No. 5 with a win. The top five players in the FedExCup at the TOUR Championship can “control their destinyâ€� by clinching the Cup with a win at East Lake. “It’s a tight race all the way to the end,â€� Kisner said. “We felt as good as this golf course is for me, it will be a great way to catapult up the standings and have a better chance to win the FedExCup. Obviously that’s a goal of ours to start the year, not only get to East Lake (site of the TOUR Championship), but to have a chance to win the FedExCup.â€� Kisner didn’t arrive at Sedgefield until Wednesday afternoon, shortly before his 3:30 p.m. press conference because his wife, who’s 35 weeks pregnant, had a check-up. He’ll tee off Thursday without having seen the golf course this week, but he can rely on good memories here. He’s finished in the top 10 in his past two starts at Sedgefield, shooting a final-round 63 last year to finish T10. His T7 last week at the PGA Championship was his first top-10 in a major. “I’m excited where we’re headed,â€� Kisner said. “If I can keep playing the way I’m playing, I’ll have plenty of chances to win.â€�

Click here to read the full article…