Rookie Reifers could be a rising star on TOUR  PGATOUR.com Correspondent AVONDALE, La. -- The victories -- one on the Nationwide Tour and one on the Tar Heel Tour -- carry little weight at golf's highest level. But if one were to delve a little deeper into the circumstances surrounding the wins, the name Kyle Reifers might pop up on golf's radar screen. Reifers won the Charlotte National Open on the Tar Heel Tour in his first start as a professional. And he did it in style, firing a course-record-tying 64 in the final round.  Kyle Reifers had a course-record 64 in the first round. (Rogash/WireImage)
Less than a week later Reifers, who turned professional after graduating from Wake Forest, Monday qualified for the Chattanooga Classic by making birdie on four of his last six holes. He then made it two-for-two as a pro. And he did it in style, firing a course-record 61 in the final round to get into a playoff, where he defeated Brandt Snedeker with a birdie on the first hole. "That win got everything rolling and everything changed,'' Reifers said of his Chattanooga success. So there was Reifers on Thursday, playing in the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, just his seventh start on the PGA TOUR less than a year into his first professional season. And he played it in style, making eight birdies without so much as one bogey hiccup. When Reifers signed his scorecard, it was for a course-record 64 and the 18-hole lead at the Tournament Players Club of Louisiana. Get the drift here? Catch a rising star, someone who has an affinity for winning when he sets or equals course records. And catch him on the outskirts of the Crescent City where its PGA TOUR pit stop breeds first-time champions like a Louisiana marsh breeds mosquitoes. Nine of the last 16 winners in New Orleans -- including Ian Woosnam, Lee Westwood, Carlos Franco, K.J. Choi and defending Zurich champion Chris Couch -- have broken through here. "I'm ready,'' Reifers said when the spate of first-timers was mentioned. There's no doubt Reifers, 23, has been in training for that moment for long, long time. Just check his golf pedigree. His dad, Randy, has won the state amateur, mid-am and senior amateur titles in Ohio. His mother, Alison, is a former Ohio Women's Amateur champ. Reifers grew up caddying Muirfield Village Golf Club when he wasn't playing golf or going to school. He attended Wake Forest on a golf scholarship, received helping hands from former Demon Deacons Arnold Palmer and Jay Haas along the way, came within a whisker of winning the NCAA individual title as a senior, played on the 2005 Walker Cup team and rose to No. 1 in the amateur ranks before he started playing for pay. Besides winning those first two tournaments, he also maneuvered through the mine field that is the PGA TOUR Qualifying School in his first attempt. Reifers' rookie season starts have been limited because he qualified on the number at Q-School. He traveled the West Coast, itching to play at the outset of 2007. He attempted to four-spot on Mondays, but was successful only once, at the Buick Invitational. He missed the cut there as well in his next two events before finally playing the weekend at the Honda Classic, where he beat just two players. Enter Palmer. Reifers works with noted teacher Jim McLean, who just happened to drop his name to Palmer in an effort to secure a sponsor's exemption to the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Palmer stopped what he was doing and telephoned the tournament office. Reifers had an invite and made the most of it. "That was absolutely huge,'' Reifers said. "I played with Ernie Els on Sunday. That was kinda cool, playing with a guy who has won three majors.'' Even better, Reifers shot 70, beat Els by two shots and finished tied for 12th to make his first significant check on the PGA TOUR. "That was a huge confidence boost,'' he said. "The money helped me in the re-shuffle and I could feel my game turning around.''
Jay Haas, whose son Bill was Reifers' more celebrated teammate at Wake Forest, helped Reifers more than he ever could have imagined three years earlier by allowing Reifers to caddy for him at the Memorial. Reifers said he learned enough in that week to fill up several notebooks, but the primary lessons were never lose focus and try on every shot. "He made a double bogey on the second hole on Friday and that put him five-over for the tournament,'' Reifers said, figuring Haas might pack it in for the weekend. Not a chance. Haas made five birdies in his final 16 holes, made the cut and then passed more than 30 players with a hard-fought 71 in the cold and windswept third round. "I'll never forget the way he held it together,'' he said. "You look at that and you know why he has had some much longevity in the game.'' Reifers, who also has made two starts on the Nationwide Tour in '07 to remain competitively fresh, would love to emulate Haas' staying power. But first things first, he understands Thursday's start will mean little if he doesn't back it up with solid play over the final 54 holes in this $6.1 million event. "It's a good start and I'm really pleased,'' he said. "But I had a good start in Houston and that didn't work out too well (he tied for 49th). You have to play well when you have the opportunity. Do that and everything will work out. "You just have these days like today, hopefully I can finish it off and run.'' |
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