Dad's support propels Kevin Roy in chase of TOUR dreams

Kevin Roy made his dad, Jim, a promise.

If he managed to sneak into the top 10 at the Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics, then the son would come watch the dad at the U.S. Senior Open.

It was mission accomplished for the younger Roy, and his runner-up result in Kansas has him in a prime position to earn a PGA TOUR card via The 25 – plus the ability to cheer on dad this week.

“I’m a patron this week,” said Roy with a smile. “It’s going to be nice.”

The elder Roy is an accomplished player in his own right and member of the Greater Syracuse (New York) Sports Hall of Fame. This is his third U.S. Senior Open. The championship kicks off Thursday at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Kevin Roy said there’s going to be “a bunch” of family coming to watch.

“It should be a fun week,” said Roy. “My older brother is going to be on the bag. I think it’s a good course for him. If his driver keeps in play, then I think he’ll have a good week.”

Roy will be cheering on his dad after a good week of his own.

After coming out of the gate hot Thursday in Kansas, firing an 8-under 62, he held on tight through the weekend and finished at 21 under. That result has been part of his best stretch of the season and came after he made an impromptu purchase off Instagram.

For the rest of the season, Roy will be wearing a hat that says, ‘Have More Fun.’ He missed five cuts in a row earlier this year and he admits he couldn’t help but start thinking about whether he needed to work on a few things. He got into a “dark place” mentally.

But Jim came to caddie for his son at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation in Nashville and assured Kevin that he wasn’t that far off. Kevin agreed, thinking his ball-striking was solid, he was just struggling around the greens. A friend of his jumped on the bag starting the next week; he scrolled by an ad for the hat and scooped it up.

It has become a summertime mantra of sorts.

“I’m just trying to have as much fun on the golf course and it’s been working lately,” he said. “It popped up on Instagram and I was like, ‘I’m buying that and I’m wearing it the rest of the season.’ We’re just trying to keep it light out there, have some fun, have some laughs and just play golf.”

Roy, whose father played a handful of events on the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Champions, was inspirational enough while he was growing up. But he played a few different sports as a youngster including high-level basketball in the winter. He went to Long Beach State University in California and had a solid season as both a junior and senior. He moved to Tampa, Florida, after school was finished – an ideal spot for year-round pursuit of golf at the highest level – and has been based there ever since.

“(After college) I figured, ‘Let’s give this crazy game a shot,’ and I’ve been at it ever since,” said Roy.

Now he’s on the cusp of earning a TOUR card for the first time.

More than halfway through the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season, he sits 32nd on the Points List. His initial goal was to arrive at next week’s The Ascendant presented by Blue with a cemented place in the top-75 on the Regular Season Points List – and resultant job security for 2023. That job is done.

And now with plenty of momentum on his side – plus a ton of fun and familial support – he’s hoping to take that next big step.

“If you told me I was going to be No. 32 (on the Points List) two months ago, I probably would have laughed at you,” said Roy. “Now we’re trying to close in on one of those 25 TOUR cards. I’ve seen all the courses we have coming up, and most importantly I’m just going to keep trying to have as much fun and keep laughing out there.”

Dad, no doubt, would be proud.