Kevin Kisner Sounds Like All of Us When Explaining His Struggles Off the Tee

Kevin Kisner is one of the most beloved characters on the PGA Tour, and he reminded us exactly why that is on Friday at the Masters. 

Kisner, 39, has made just three cuts in his 7 starts on Tour this calendar year, his best finish being a T31 at the WGC-Dell Match Play, which he won in 2019. 

The Aiken, S.C. native has struggled off the tee lately, and the issue is making it increasingly difficult for him to contend. For the 2022-2023 PGA Tour season, Kisner is ranked 204th in strokes gained off the tee. 

At the Masters, Kisner fired off a first round 72—a solid start at the long and challenging major championship venue considering his recent play. But on Friday, things took a turn for the worse, as Kisner struggled to hit fairways. He walked away with a 5-over 77 and missed the cut by 2 shots. 

When asked about how he’ll evaluate his performance at Augusta, Kisner offered an honest response.

“Just struggling off the tee, man. If I could drive it a little bit better, I could compete. I've been struggling for like a year, so fighting it out there,” he said.

Then, when a reporter followed up by asking how he’ll combat those driver woes, Kisner rattled off perhaps the most relatable quote of the week. 

“How do you go about fixing it?,” the reporter asked. 

“Man, I go hit 8,000 drivers after this round and stripe every one of them and then push cut it in the right bunker on 1 and get pissed off for the rest of the day. That's pretty much how it goes,” Kisner replied. 

Every golfer has been there: You stripe it on the driving range and you’re suddenly a different person when it’s time to tee it up. Maybe the average golfer isn’t “striping” 8,000 drives in a row, but Kisner’s point came across—the video went viral on several platforms as golf fans praised Kisner’s honesty.