Remember Kevin Kisner playing the nightmare shot at TGL last year? At that time, part of Tiger Woods and his TGL team, Jupiter Links, Kisner bladed a shot out of a greenside bunker that ricocheted off the flagstick. People ducked for cover, but Woods laughed out loud. It went viral. But Kisner says Woods wanted more than viral, bladed shots out of him.

During the recent Jupiter Links match against Atlanta Drive (Feb 2), Kisner shared, “Tiger pretty much told me he’s kicking me off the team if I didn’t get my act together.” All this while, Woods laughed in the background. Then, Kisner added with a smile, “So a few text messages that are not made public, without those, I wouldn’t have got motivated. So all credit to him.”

But Kisner agreed he himself wasn’t satisfied with how he had played so far, saying, “I’ve been disappointed with my play lately. When you play badly for your teammates, it really stinks. I heard tonight I led in strokes gained, which is the first time I’ve done that in my career.”

Sounds harsh?

But there are a few moments that justify the team leader’s ‘threat’. Let’s talk about his second match at TGL last year. Playing against Rory McIlroy and team Boston Common Golf, Jupiter threw the hammer on the second hole, thinking they’d easily win and pull out two points. They didn’t. Kisner missed the putt, forcing Tom Kim to come to his rescue. The team eventually lost the hammer with Boston tying the hole.

At that time, Kisner took responsibility not only for his performance but also for his viral moments, saying, “I understand my role, and I’m well aware of it, and I’m not afraid to embrace it so I can be Tiger’s hype man anytime you want and I can be the mouth of TGL anytime they want. So that’s a bonus for me.” Although it’s another thing that people demanded that he be replaced by Charlie Woods at some point.

This season, though, Kisner was Jupiter’s hero in their upset over Atlanta. Heading in, Atlanta was on a seven-win streak; Jupiter had dropped five straight. After the former won the first two holes, it seemed like they would win again. But then Kisner unleashed a drive and a clutch approach on the next two, changing the ending of the game.

And although all team members, Max Homa, Kevin Kisner, and Akshay Bhatia, played key roles, it was Kisner who really made it all possible. One of the standout moments came on the 9th, with Jupiter up 5-2. Kisner’s drive plopped into a trap, so Atlanta threw the hammer, but its member, Chris Gotterup’s approach bunkered too. Meanwhile, Bhatia stuck it to 15 feet, prompting Jupiter to throw another hammer, which Atlanta accepted.

Suddenly, the hole was triple points. Jupiter eyeing 8-2 or risking a 5-5 tie. Atlanta’s Lucas Glover splashed a slick bunker save, leaving Homa a 15-footer for glory. Homa whooshed it 4 feet past, but Kisner drained his again, holding Jupiter’s three-point edge into singles.

It was also the first time Jupiter led entering singles, and made the second-longest streak in TGL history when it comes to straight holes won.  That’s just a few of many. It all eventually resulted in Jupiter’s comeback for a stunning 8-6 win over Atlanta. This also helped Jupiter snap its 371-day winless streak. And the team can barely hold itself back from celebration.

Top Stories

LIV Golf in Danger as Bryson DeChambeau Publicly Rejects Drastic Changes He ‘Didn’t Sign Up’ For

Nelly Korda & Co. Stopped From Teeing Up as $2.1M Tournament Faces Unexpected Disruption

Phil Mickelson Battles Family Emergency as He Delivers Bad News to LIV Golf

Jon Rahm Shows True Character With His Stance on Patrick Reed’s LIV Golf Exit

Patrick Reed Pays a Heavy Price for Exiting LIV Golf as Worrying Update Surfaces

Tiger Woods makes TGL comeback and so does Justin Thomas, Jupiter’s win, and some more

Max Homa, part of Jupiter, exclaimed following the win: “Where has this been for a year and a half?” Meanwhile, Tiger Woods said, “We were getting our butts beat early, but we made a run and kept the momentum. We finally made some putts, which is nice.” Woods announced that he had no set timetable for a possible return, but was present during the match to cheer up his team members. And what a game it was!

For example, let’s talk about another moment. Jupiter’s Akshay Bhatia’s win over Chris Gotterup on the 10th put Jupiter ahead 6-2. The 11th hole was halved, forcing Atlanta’s desperate hammer on the tee. Now, it was Horschel vs. Kevin Kisner. Kisner parred like a boss to seal it. Horschel had been Atlanta’s clutch hero in their last three wins, but not Monday night. The team lost the match to Jupiter.

Delighted, Kisner turned to Atlanta’s captain, Justin Thomas, and asked how many matches they’d won. Thomas, red-faced, answered, “Seven.” Laughing, Kisner replied, “How many you won now?” And yes, Thomas has returned weeks after his surgery. He is expected to return during the Tour’s Florida swing, anywhere between the Cognizant Classic and Valspar Championship. More details here.

On the other hand, expect Kisner to stick around in Jupiter for a while now.