Ben Kohles endured an absolute nightmare finish to his final round of the John Deere Classic on Sunday.
Kohles led the tournament throughout the entire final round after he made a quick start on Sunday.
The 36-year-old flew out of the blocks and shot five-under par on his front-nine to put himself in pole position to win at TPC Deere Run.
The John Deere Classic was Kohles’ 121st career start on the PGA Tour, and he is still awaiting his first victory.
Chris Gotterup shot a final-round 62 to win the John Deere Classic in the end.
However, Kohles only needed a par on the final hole to force a playoff with the 26-year-old.
Ben Kohles reacts after final hole costs him more than $1 million
Kohles hooked his approach shot into the water on the 18th and went on to make a double bogey, falling out of a tie for first and into a tie for third.
Gotterup received $1,584,000, while Kohles eventually pocketed a cheque worth $466,400.
Had the 36-year-old birdied the final hole, he would have won more than one million dollars more than he walked away with in the end.
Had he parred the final hole and lost the playoff to Gotterup, he would still have walked away with $959,200!
He must have been absolutely devastated after his final round, but he spoke with real poise and grace when asked by reporters to share his feelings.
“Yeah, just I was kind of a little in between. I mean, I didn’t want to — I hit an 8-iron and thought 9 was going to be too short and thought if I hit, you know, a full 8, it could have a chance of going over. So I was just trying to hit kind of a three-quarter punch shot. Yeah, just tugged it a little, and obviously ended up in the water,“ Kohles explained.
“Yeah, 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.
“Yeah, 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.
“You know, still not done yet. Going ten in a row playing next week at ISCO, so hopefully I can keep the momentum rolling and try to get it done next week.“
Ben Kohles says what caused back nine collapse at the John Deere
Kohles was asked if anything in particular caused him to follow up his front nine of 30 with a back nine of 38.
“No, nothing really. Really had kind of a really first short miss of the week on 11 when I three-putted. You know, really just misread the first one,“ he replied.
“Yeah, I mean, did everything pretty right other than, yeah, I mean, the bogey on 14. Just pulled the tee shot barely. Obviously was just a tough hanging lie. Would have liked obviously to have that one stay on the green.
“Like I said, some chip shots. I really didn’t chip very much all week, so it’s kind of one of those things on 15 you’re trying to judge the lie and thought I hit it pretty good. Just needed a little more energy to get it rolling down that hill.
“Yeah, I’m proud of the way I played and going to try to keep it rolling.“
Fair play to Ben Kohles for facing the media so gracefully after his nightmare finish at the John Deere Classic.
Many of his peers could learn a lot from how he behaved after his final round at TPC Deere Run.
