Last Major of the year has been capped off in South Carolina, Rock Hill.
Kyle Klein came entering the fourth and final round with an agressive mindset despite his three stroke lead to Bradley Williams. But this season has shown that no lead is safe and especially on a course like Winthrop Gold, the tides can turn with an blink of an eye, if you’re not able to execute.
“All gas, no brakes,” Klein said about his gutsy approach shot over the water on the par 5.
“I had a gameplan coming in. I was pretty aggressive and I knew if I just stick to that and throw the shots I’ve thrown all week, then I can get a pretty sizable lead.”
Bradley Williams was able to throw an extremely aggressive and great approach shot as well on the par 5, but Williams’ birdie effort ended up in the water. While Klein was playing red hot golf, 9 under through the first 11 holes, Williams was able to grab a couple of strokes along the back-nine, which resulted in a 5 stroke lead for Klein going in to hole 18.
What looked to be a clear-cut victory ended up being a little to close for comfort for Mr. Klein. Kyle went OB two times, while Williams had made short process of the hole with the tap-in birdie. But even a triple bogey for Klein was enough to hold off a push for a playoff.
Kyle Klein managed to hold on and redeemed himself in a big way, losing to Mr. McBeth back in 2021, where Klein had a missed tournament-winning putt from manageable range.
“I’ve been too close too many times at this tournament to not have pulled that off.” Klein speaking with sight of relief, finally getting a win at this tournament where his play has been so consistent over the years.
Congratulations Mr. Kyle Klein.