2011 U.S. Amateur champ secures PGA Tour status

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: May 30, 2015

2011 U.S. Amateur champ secures PGA Tour status

Kelly Kraft hopes to play in 2017 U.S. Open


By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

Even though it’s been almost four years, Kelly Kraft remembers winning the 2011 U.S. Amateur Men’s Golf Championship at Erin Hills like it was yesterday.

“It’s the biggest amateur golf tournament you can win,” Kraft said Tuesday. “I remember it like it was yesterday. The course was in incredible shape. I remember it being really long.”

In two years, Kraft hopes to get another shot at Erin Hills and the 26-year-old Texan may get his wish.

Recently, Kraft earned his PGA Tour card for the 2016 season and if he can finish the season in the top 125 in the FedEx Cup points standings, he’ll maintain the card and be eligible to compete in the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills.

“I’m pretty excited,” Kraft said. “It’s a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to play on the PGA Tour.

“I’m pretty pumped about it.”

This week, Kraft is competing in the Byron Nelson Classic at TPC Four Seasons outside of Dallas. He received a sponsors exemption to participate in the championship.

Play was suspended Friday because of darkness. On Thursday, Kraft shot a 3-over-par 73. He didn’t complete his second round, but was 1 under after four holes.

It’s his 11th career start in a PGA Tour event, with his best finish being 40th at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in 2013.

He is one of a handful players in the field who played in the 2011 U.S. Amateur at Erin Hills, one of whom is reigning Masters champion Jordan Spieth.

Also in the tournament this weekend is Russell Henley, Harris English and Patrick Rodgers.

“It’s been interesting to watch a lot of those guys,” Kraft said. “But Jordan didn’t waste any time once he turned pro.”

Kraft and Spieth are also frequent practice partners as they’re both from the Dallas area. Kraft has beaten Spieth in some rounds, including making an albatross in a round.

Kraft defeated Patrick Cantlay, 2 up, for the 2011 U.S. Amateur championship. At the time, Cantlay was a heavy favorite to win the tournament.

Cantlay entered the tournament as the No. 2-ranked golfer in the world amateur rankings.

Kraft, on the other hand, was ranked outside the top 50 going into the U.S. Amateur.
“It was cool, because I was the underdog,” Kraft said of beating Cantlay and winning the U.S. Amateur. “I wasn’t a bad amateur, but that’s all everybody was talking about was Patrick Cantlay and how he was going to beat me. It was pretty cool.”

As part of winning the tournament, Kraft got an invite to play in The Masters.

“It was a special experience,” he said. A few weeks later, Kraft turned pro. When he did, he forfeited his invitations to participate in the U.S. Open and the Open Championship, which was also part of the package for winning the U.S. Amateur.

“I was done with school,” said Kraft, a Southern Methodist University graduate. “I would’ve had to wait another four or five months to play in the U.S. Open and British Open. I was just ready to get out and play in golf tournaments. I was excited about the next chapter of my career.”

For the next three years, it was an up-and-down ride for Kraft.

“I think I picked up a couple bad habits that wasn’t right for my body type,” Kraft said. “I was fighting my body that didn’t want to do certain things.”

After about two years, Kraft changed coaches and started to return to the type of golfer he remembered being in 2011.

“I did it at the right time,” Kraft said when asked if he ever wondered if he turned pro too soon. “I was 23 years old at the time. I think I got out to a slow start because I did wait so long.”

In March, he won his first professional event with the Web.com Tour, formerly the Nationwide Tour. Kraft edged Lee Dong-hwan by one stroke to win the Chitimacha Louisiana Open in Broussard, Louisiana.

The victory assured him full status for the Web.com Tour for the remainder of 2015 and for the 2016 seasons — a year after he barely held onto that tour card, finishing 75th on the money list.

Then last month, he finished second at the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corp. in Greer, South Carolina, to move him into second place on the Web.com Tour money list and clinch a spot on the PGA Tour for 2016.

Kraft lives in Dallas with his wife, Tia. They were dating at the time of the U.S. Amateur.

“We’re loving it,” Kelly Kraft said.

Kraft wants another shot at Erin Hills.

“I haven’t been back since I won,” he said. “I would love to play in the U.S. Open there.”