The final round of the 1986 Honda Classic was something that I had worked for my entire life. It’s not often that someone gets the opportunity to actually fulfill their wildest dream. For as long as I could remember, my life was about this day. When I was just a kid growing up in Columbus, Georgia, I would practice into the night pretending to be the next great champion. Usually I would make three footers on the putting green to beat my heroes by one shot in a really big tournament.

I woke up that Sunday morning to a beautifully sunny but cold and breezy day. I was in fourth place and a couple of shots out of the lead. To be honest with you, my thought process had changed a little bit. My focus was no longer on winning the golf tournament. A fourth place finish would have been great with me. It paid really well and a top ten would have gotten me in the next PGA Tour event down I-95 in Miami. All I had to do was go out and play my game and see if I could hold my own against these seasoned veterans.

When I shot 80 in the third round, no one expected me to actually compete for the championship. After my third round collapse, the local newspaper had pretty much written me off along with all my new sympathetic fans. Sure, most everyone wanted me to win but hardly anybody gave me a snowballs chance.

A funny thing happened to me on the way to the practice tee that day. The great Chi Chi Rodriguez stopped me and offered words of encouragement. He looked me in the eye and said to me like only Chi Chi could, “Hey pards, you can still win this thing.” Wow! What an unexpected pleasure to receive such a vote of confidence from someone whom I respected so much. I was very pleased as I hit practice balls and realized that my swing felt as good as it had all week. My confidence began to grow and my mindset started to change. I got a little bounce in my step as I moved over to the practice putting green.

When I reached the green another great champion was waiting for me. Hubert Green, a multiple “Major Champion” with a Hall of Fame career to his credit, approached me and continued to build my confidence by reminding me that I could still win the tournament. When I went to the first tee I had a new attitude. I was fired up. This was my tournament to win. I had nothing to lose, and I didn’t care who I had to beat. I was determined to play like a champion and let the chips fall where they may.

The starter announced my name, and I proceeded to rip it down the middle of the first fairway. I began that final round with a couple of solid pars and then the fireworks started. I had a chip in birdie on the third hole. On the fourth hole I made a long double breaking putt for another birdie. Now the crowd was starting to make some noise. The word was getting around the golf course that the Monday qualifier was making a move on the leaders.

When I made my putt for birdie on number five the electricity in the air was unmistakable. The spectators were pulling for the underdog. What a great feeling it was to have so many people pulling for me. Fans were coming up and telling me that I had recaptured the lead. My confidence was soaring and my adrenaline was pumping.

I lipped out from eight feet on the sixth green and made par. Number seven was known as the most difficult par three on the course. The water hazard starts at the tee box and goes all the way to the green. The water guards the front and wraps around the left side of the green. The green is shallow from front to back with sand bunkers behind and to the right. There was no good place to miss the green.

As I stood on the tee box I contemplated my options. I decided to stay true to my game plan and go straight at the flag stick. The hole was playing 187 yards and the wind was blowing directly in my face. I selected a four iron and stared directly at my target. I knew that I had to hit it solid or my ball would find a watery grave. I felt like I made my best swing of the week as the ball flew straight toward the flag. My excitement grew until the ball sailed over the green and buried into the back bunker. It was a shame because I had hit such a beautiful shot. The only thing that I could figure is that the wind must have laid down while the ball was still in the air. There is no way a four iron could have gone that far otherwise. Now I had to deal with an extremely difficult bunker shot under the most pressure that I had ever felt.

Will Kenny make the shot or succumb to the pressure? Tune in to his next article for the rest of the story!

Keep it down the middle and stay out of the hazards.