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In the finals he channeled a career's
worth of experience into a near-perfect
performance, winning four of the first
six holes against Dan Whitaker. Ernie
was the only family member who had
roadtripped to Bandon, leaving everyone
else to watch the scores slowly update on
the Internet.
"We were all dying," Kelli
says. "I was pacing around my house in
Dallas, Henry was pacing around his
in Florida. We were acting like lunatics!"
Kuehne didn't make a bogey en route
to a 9-and-7 victory, and his father did cry,
right on the final green. If achievement has
always been the defining family trait
then Trip's inability to win a USGA event
surely nettled Ernie more than any other
Kuehne.
Says Kelli, "Trip didn't need
that trophy to validate his career. We all
know what a great champion he is. But
it completed my dad."
Back at Bandon Dunes, Trip, too,
was overwhelmed with a sense of
closure. During the trophy ceremony he
whispered to Ernie, "I've got one more big
tournament to play, and then I'm done."
Ask Trip about his
first Masters, in 1995, and he
says with a laugh, "I played
great in the practice rounds."
The highlight of the week came on
Tuesday. After a morning 18 he found
himself hitting range balls with Tiger
Woods. They were friendly even before
their epic tussle at the Amateur the year
before, and they couldn't resist a rematch.
"It was supposed to be nine holes, but it
got pretty intense," says Kuehne, "so we
kept going."
The course was all but
deserted that afternoon. By the back
nine a fleet of mowers zoomed around the
duo as they played their grudge match.
"We weren't saying the score out loud,
but both of us knew exactly what was
happening," says Kuehne. "We were
both playing great, and it
was back-and-forth the
whole way — he was 1-up,
I was 1-up. There were
about 25 people following
us and they started calling
out the score."
They played
the 18th hole in the twilight,
with Woods' birdie taking
the match. "You got me
again, dog," Kuehne told
him as they shook hands.
Kuehne shot a 43 to
start the tournament and
missed the cut. In 2002,
when he decided to
rededicate himself to amateur golf and
wrote out his goals, returning to Augusta
topped the list. Yet now that another
drive down Magnolia Lane nears,
Kuehne says, "Sometimes after work
my car doesn't want to go to the
course. It wants to point
home. If I'm having
any trouble motivating
(myself) to practice for
the Masters, I know I've
made the right decision."
Waiting for him at
home is Ernest William
Kuehne IV, a bright,
athletic kid with a
mischievous streak. Says
Trip, "I have been very
fortunate to have so many
people support me. Now
it's time for me to give
Will the same kind of
opportunity to succeed."
Of his parents,
who divorced last year, Trip says, "The
game of golf took a huge personal toll
on them. For 20 years they devoted
themselves completely to our careers.
One day they looked up and didn't know
who the other person was. That's one
reason I'm ready to stop playing — I don't
want that to ever happen to Dusti and me."
The Kuehnes have already rented two
houses in Augusta for what Kelli says will
be a "big ol' party." Even as Trip exits
stage right his influence will endure
through his brother and sister. Kelli was
so inspired by the Mid-Am that last fall
she started grinding on her game again,
reclaiming her LPGA card with a gutsy
final-round 67 at Q School.
Hank, too, has
cited Trip's renaissance as motivation
to return to his former glory.
"I hope they get back to where they
were," Trip says. "I don't want them to be
beaten down by golf. I'd like to see them
leave the game on their own terms."
Just
as he is about to do. At long last.
