Ben Kohles suffered a heartbreaking finish at the John Deere Classic. Despite the disappointment, the 36-year-old found reason to stay optimistic.

It was all going well for Kohles on Sunday. That’s when he hit his approach shot and found the water. His chances of a breakthrough win were gone in a flash. Despite that, Kohles has kept a positive outlook.

“It was a disappointing finish, there’s no sugarcoating that. But if this game has taught me anything, it’s that you don’t get to choose how the story unfolds, you only get to choose how you respond,” Kohles wrote in the caption of his Instagram post.

After finding the water, Kohles could have kept his chances alive with a par save. However, he failed to make a 45-foot par putt and then a 3-foot bogey putt, resulting in a double bogey.

Kohles dropped into a tie for third, capping a disappointing finish. It might not have ended the way he wished, but the American was proud of his efforts throughout the week.

“I’m extremely proud of how we played all week. And, while this one stings, it’s not going to define who we are. We’re going to learn from it, get better because of it, and keep putting ourselves in positions to succeed,” he added.

Kohles opened the event with an impressive 65 and closed with a 68. He was just three strokes short of a win and two short of a playoff against winner Chris Gotterup. The American knew his time to lift a title was around the corner.

“Although it wasn’t quite my time, I know that day is going to come, and everything we’ve been through is going to make it that much sweeter,” Kohles wrote.

While the missed putt proved costly for Kohles, it unexpectedly opened the door for another player.

Kohles’ disappointing finish leads to a new opportunity

Kohles suffered immensely from the missed putt.

Kohles lost about $318,200 in earnings and 100 FedEx Cup points. As a result, he missed the opportunity to climb to No. 83 in the World Rankings.

However, his missed chances turned out to be beneficial for Max Homa, who finished solo second at TPC Deere Run.

With the runner-up finish, Homa moved to No. 73 in the World Rankings and was notified Monday morning that he had secured a spot at Royal Birkdale next week, as reported by Golf Channel.

Had Kohles made that putt, Homa would have finished tied for second, and that would not have been enough to secure a spot in The Open.

What are your thoughts on Kohles’ finish at the John Deere Classic? Share them in the comments.

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Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav