Kevin Kisner back on track at the Travelers Championship

CROMWELL, Conn. – Kevin Kisner wasn’t surprised to see his fellow Georgia Bulldog, Russell Henley, shake off the disappointment of last Sunday’s final round of the U.S. Open and get right back into contention here at the Travelers Championship.

“(Even though he didn’t win), he knew he was playing well and when you know that you go with it,” said Kisner, noting that Henley backed up an opening 67 with a 66.

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As for when you know you’re not playing well, it’s not so easy to go with it. Kisner can presently offer expert analysis. His stretch of play entering this week’s Travelers Championship is a stunning set of numbers for an elite competitor. Since March, he has played 26 rounds, shot in the 60s just four times, and he has not had a top 10 since last November when he lost in a playoff at the RSM Classic.

“I haven’t hit the ball very well and (haven’t had) much confidence,” he said. “Even when you do, you feel like you won’t make the putt.

“You know how it is.”

So, when Kisner caught a little bit of fire on his back nine Friday morning – birdies at the par-3 11th, par-4 12th, and par-5 13th, then a 31-foot eagle roll at the par-4 15th, he could be excused for taking a huge sigh of relief.

Yes, even a bogey at the par-4 18th couldn’t spoil his day.

“Yeah, for a long time,” Kisner said, when asked if he’d been wondering when this day would come. He signed for 63 and at 7-under 133 through 36 holes. The 37-year-old was just one behind Bubba Watson’s clubhouse lead.

“I’ve just been waiting for things to seem somewhat easy. I feel like all my rounds lately have been stressful. Even when I’m playing decent it’s not been easy all year. Hopefully, this continues and is the start of a new trend.”

Case in point: Thursday’s opening round of the Travelers Championship when Kisner authored what is usually a gold-star day for a PGA TOUR competitor – a bogey-free round. Only Kisner’s featured 18 consecutive pars and while “I wasn’t mad about it,” he was frustrated.

“I hit it to 12 feet three times and that was it. I told my caddie, I probably had the most feet of putts all day, because I was so far from the hole.”

Kisner shrugged, but he doesn’t hang his head. He pushes forth because that’s how he’s wired. “You got to hang in there, even though it’s not going great.”

This is a world, after all, where the switch can go on at any time, often when least expected. Sure enough, Kisner caught fire on a day of cool, misty weather – three birdies going out, three birdies and an eagle coming in.

The stunning turn-around is easily painted in numbers. Whereas in Round 1, Kisner was marked down for making a paltry 42-feet-8-inches of putts. Friday, he was credited with 142-feet-9-inches. He came into the week 138th in greens-in-regulation, Kisner has hit 29 of 36 thus far to rank T-10.

He is not, however, getting ahead of himself. It’s nice to be in contention, especially since he hasn’t been since November. “But I still didn’t feel that confident with the ball-striking,” said Kisner.

“Yeah, it’s weird. I hit a lot of good shots, but I don’t have the mentality that I need to have to compete all four days. So, I need to continue to work on it.”