Heartbreaks
Golfer misses out on PGA Tour card in most agonizing way imaginable
Mike Mulholland
A lifelong dream. An entire year of grinding on the golf course. It all came down to the final putt of the Korn Ferry Tour season. And all Alistair Docherty could do was watch.
Such was the agonizing finish for the 30-year-old tour pro at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. Docherty shot a clutch final-round 68 at the Pete Dye Course at Indiana's French Lick Golf Resort, and for most of the day, it looked like it would be enough to lock up his PGA Tour card for the first time.
Docherty needed at least a runner-up to move into the top 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list, but that runner-up came with another stipulation: He could only be tied with one other golfer. Still, he looked to be in solid shape with just one group out on the course. And with just two putts to go in the season.
First, Doc Redman, who suffered heartbreak of his own by letting the lead get away on the back nine, needed to hole an eagle chip to tie the lead and keep his PGA Tour dreams alive. His attempt ran by some seven feet, leaving him a birdie to tie Docherty for second. He made it, so now there was a three-way tie between Docherty, Redman and Brian Campbell, who was also in that final group.
Campbell, as it turned out, faced a similar putt for par as Redman's birdie to remain in that tie for second. And he made it as well, costing Docherty, who dropped to No. 31 in the season-long points standing. Rough.
Of course, with most heartbreaks, there's someone on the good side of things. And that person was Noah Goodwin, who grabbed that 30th and final spot as a result of those two putts dropping. And the Korn Ferry Tour captured his reaction:
Good for him. Tough for Docherty. But that's golf.
It's still been a great year for Docherty, who only got two PGA Tour starts, but had another runner-up in one at the Myrtle Beach Classic. And he's still got one more opportunity to earn that long-awaited PGA Tour card at the Q-School in December, when five spots (plus ties) will be up for grabs.
