CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On a team of U.S. stars, Kevin Kisner tied for the fewest points earned, but he believes his impact was felt in other ways.
“I got half a point,” he said Sunday night, “but I brought the fun.”
At 38, Kisner was – by far – the oldest player on what was the youngest U.S. team in history. On a big, brawny Quail Hollow layout, he played only two of the four team sessions, tying a fourballs match with partner Cameron Young and then losing one with Tony Finau.
Kisner was sent off last in Sunday singles, a move, captain Davis Love III said, that was made because of Kisner’s experience as one of the best match-play performers of the past decade. He wound up losing, 2 and 1, to the Internationals’ Christiaan Bezuidenhout once the final outcome had long been decided.
Kisner didn’t need long to get over the disappointment.
At the beginning of winning team press conference, Kisner tossed an empty shooter of Fireball whiskey into the crowd and was on the receiving end of a couple of digs by his teammates. Asked about his favorite memories from his debut, Max Homa said: “Getting to bond with these guys, we’ve all played against each other forever – except Kiz, because he’s been playing forever.”
Given the youthful direction of the American squad, it’s possible this was Kisner’s second and final team appearance. That’s why he sounded keen to live it up in the team room on Sunday night.
“There is nothing that any one of these can do that can hang with me tonight, I promise you,” Kisner said. “I have never seen a better display of golfers and a worse display of partiers, and I am the best partier. That’s why they picked me.”