Kevin Kisner won his first European Tour title at the 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play where he defeated fellow American Matt Kuchar 3&2 in the final match. He turned professional in 2006 and went on to become a three-time winner on the famous PGA Tour. Outside of golf, he and his wife formed the Kevin and Brittany Kisner Foundation to help encourage children to keep fit and play sports in Aiken, South Carolina. Here are some other cool facts:
Kevin Kisner: 14 Surprising Things You Didn’t Know
1. Quick facts:
Height: 5’10” (1.78 m)
Weight: 165 (75 kg)
Age: 37 (February 15, 1984)
Birthplace: Aiken, South Carolina
Residence: Aiken, South Carolina
Family: Wife, Brittany; Kathleen, Henry, Steven
Education: University of Georgia (2006, Business Management)
Special Interests: Hunting, fishing, enjoying friends and family
Turned Professional: 2006
City plays from: Aiken, SC, United States
2. Fun facts:
- His first car was a Chevrolet Blazer.
- His favorite college team is the Georgia Bulldogs, and his favorite professional team is the Carolina Panthers.
- The golfer always uses the head side of a coin to mark his golf ball.
- He puts Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, and his dad in his dream foursome.
- The golfer was involved with The First Tee.
- He co-formed the Kevin and Brittany Kisner Foundation to assist organizations in the Aiken, South Carolina-area that promote children’s fitness, health, education, and opportunities to participate in sports.
- If it were up to him, he would be joined by Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, and his father in his dream fourball.
3. Childhood and parents:
Kisner came into this world on February 15, 1984 to his parents Christy Kisner and Steve Kisner.
According to the Charlotte Observer:
Kevin’s parents, Steve and Christy, were high school sweethearts as they both attended the same high school ( Harding High School in Charlotte, North Carolina). They moved to Aiken, South Carolina, when Steve Kisner took a job there, and that is where Kevin was raised.
His mom Christy Kisner is a Duke graduate and Steve Kisner attended North Carolina State. Steve started working in the construction business while Christy commenced working in sales.
Kisner is the youngest of three children. He has an older brother, Kris Kisner, who is 44, and a sister, Stephanie, who is 39 who grew up with him in South Carolina.
According to the Aiken Standard, His sister, Stephanie, said that she has been one of his biggest fans since his days in junior golf, when she would at times drive him to matches. She told the newspaper she is proud that her brother has stayed himself during his ascent through the golf rank, and also said that he is a “fun spirit” who likes playing practical jokes. The proud elder sister also said he is a “go-getter,” who will chase down whatever he wants.
According to the Observer, his grandmother, Fern Kisner, still lives in Charlotte and is a big golf fan, “She’s doing good. Phil (Mickelson) is still her favorite golfer, though,” Kevin Kisner told a certain newspaper in August 2017.
4. Kevin almost joined his father’s construction business:
This was following a rough 2009 season in which he failed to qualify for the PGA Tour. Kevin almost quit but after a conversation with the family’s minister, at his mother’s urging, he stuck with the game.
“(The minister) said, ‘Do you think your daddy gets up every day and thinks, ‘My purpose in life is to build a house?’’I don’t think that’s your daddy’s purpose. You need to think about what’s going on in your life besides golf,” Christy Kisner (his mother) told Augusta.com.
“I knew right away that construction and development was not going to be Kevin’s cup of tea,” his father also told the newspaper.
Aiken is about 30 minutes outside of Augusta, Georgia, and the youngest of three children, Kevin grew up dreaming about playing there at The Masters. He promised his mother he would get there. “We’ve never had tickets, and I always love going. He said ‘Mom, don’t worry about it, I’ll get you there.’ That’s when I (his mom) said, ‘Get me there while I can still walk it,’” Christy Kisner (Kevin’s mother) told Augusta.com.
Thankfully, Kevin made his first Masters in 2016.
5. Earlier Golf Influence and Education:
The Carolina native completed his high school from South Aiken High School. Later, as he shifted to Georgia, the American golfer completed his further studies at the University of Georgia.
Kevin Kisner spent from 1998-2002 in the South Aiken, where he was a school’s golf team member. To go a little back, Kisner got his inspiration to play golf from his father; after trying various sports, Kisner landed to golf. Thus, the Carolina native has been playing it since junior high. Later, during his senior years, Kisner had won six individual titles, which included the Joe Wyatt Memorial at Houndslake and the Southern Cross at Palmetto.
“By the time I was old enough to be independent, I’d be at the golf course, and we had tons of juniors. And that’s all we did all summer was play golf. Basically, from the time you woke up until dark, you were at the golf course. That’s how we got into it” stated the golfer.
Kisner played golf alongside his teammates Alex Hamilton, Dane Burkhart, and Patrick Cunning.Therefore, as he played golf, the South Aiken dominated the Palmetto State with their golf team, which gave him plenty of room to improve.
Altogether, the 3 of them bagged two high school state championships, which were back-to-back Class AAAA titles in 2000 and 2001.
6. College:
With his glorious high school days coming to an end, Kisner chose to commit to the University of Georgia as he played under coach Chris Haack.
For his college, Kisner spent his four years as he never missed a single qualifying season – he partook in the 2005 NCAA championship, where he claimed his foremost four-time All-American.
The American pro golfer played alongside Russell Henley and Brian Harman, and they all went to become the PGA Tour winners.
“We started a rule, after the second year, if you finished in the top 10 in the tournament, you got to get in the next one, so you didn’t have to qualify. And that was pretty cool because it incentivized you to play well in the tournament” said the golfer.
7. Professional career:
“I had success early, so I was never in the financial peril that most mini-tour players are in” he stated after claiming the Mylan Classic in the 2010 Nationwide Tour full-time and also earned the 2011 PGA Tour card’s money list title as he stood 11th.
Going back to his graduation days, Kevin Kisner played golf professionally in the mini-tours and became the regular of the NGA/Hooters, eGolf and Tarheel tours. However, Kisner did not have to indulge in the mini-tours for long because within the tenure of three years, he had won three titles. But in the year 2009, he said he had chosen to give up golf.
Later, in 2013, Kevin Kisner found his victory as he entered the 2013 Web.com Tour as he earned his 2014 PGA Tour card despite struggling with his accuracy; thus, he went for help with John Tillery (a former mini-tour player).
Consequently, Kevin Kisner did not have an easy success as, during 2014, he stood sixth at the Wells Fargo Championship. Advancing further, Kisner was eighth at the Wyndham Championship and ninth at the RBC Canadian Open.
Similarly, Kisner took part in the 2015 PGA Tour as he lost all three events with dead play-offs.
Moreover, he was also defeated at the 2015 RBC Heritage by Jim Furyk and even against Sergio García and Rickie Fowler at The Players Championship event. Simultaneously, during the Greenbrier Classic, Kisner was defeated cruelly in the very first round with a birdie. Overall, the year 2015 came with losses even in the McGladrey Classic, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, and the Memorial Tournament.
Therefore, beginning the year with no. 236 in world ranking did give him some determination to level up the game.
8. Kevin Kisner’s Caddie (Duane Bock):
Duane Bock serves as the caddie of Kevin Kisner because every player runs themselves with a caddie to help them either for strategies or for moral support.
Duane Bock has been a caddie since 2005. To illustrate, he has been the caddie for other golf players as Ken Duke and Doug LaBelle after he graduated from Campbell University,
Back in 2017, the golfer surprised his caddie, Bock, with a brand new Ford F-150 King Ranch pickup truck and the duo have a successful relationship going on with highs and lows.
9. Net Worth and Charity:
Kisner earns from every match he wins, and apart from it, he is endorsing quite a few brands like being the brand ambassador of Stansberry Research and Omni Hotels & Resorts. Not to mention, the American golfer lives in a 1950s era house off the 17th fairway at Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, South Carolina. As of 2020, the man is reported to have a net worth of $10 million with a bonus earning of $466,000. Furthermore, Kevin Kisner built a foundation alongside his wife to give back to the community with loads of achievements throughout life. He and his wife founded the Kisner Foundation around his hometown of Aiken, South Carolina.
Prior to this, his wife Brittany DeJarnett, has worked with special-needs children at a hospital in Augusta, Georgia. She also worked with children in the Aiken, South Carolina, area.
According to the Aiken Standard, Brittany Kisner has also been involved with the PGA Tour Wives Association and currently sits on its board of directors as vice president of membership, She told the newspaper that her work as a speech pathologist with children in the Aiken area inspired her and her husband to start the charity organization.
She said: “Kevin and I have always had a heart for children. As our family has grown we have become even more committed to providing opportunities for children to build a strong foundation for success in life. We are excited to partner with deserving organizations that are focused on early learning and physical and emotional health. Together we can make a difference for our youth and our community”
They made the Kevin & Brittany Kisner Foundation to provide children with better opportunities so that they grow up to be responsible adults. Aside from this, they have donors covering the Central Savannah River Area, expanding their horizons.
“Golf has given me a lot. I want to use this platform to give kids the same chance I had to grow, learn, and play” states Kisner.
According to the charity’s website, “The Kevin & Brittany Kisner Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to creating a positive environment for children to grow into responsible adults. Charitable Funding is provided for organizations that promote children’s fitness, health, education and opportunities to participate in sports.” The charity’s board is made up of friends, family members and community leaders. ” We are committed to making a difference in the lives of children in the CSRA”.
10. Golf Products:
Kevin Kisner is an aggressive player with interesting golf products, he uses the Callaways’ bags with Titleist balls and his putter is Odyssey EXO #7, which he calls a “money maker,” while his ball is Titleist Pro V1. He also uses wedges of Titleist Vokey Design SM8 and Titleist SM8 WedgeWorks with Nippon Pro Modus3 125.
Prior to this, he was also seen using the Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero; however, Kevin is back to using Callaway’s Great Big Bertha model.
11. First PGA Tour and Onward:
After Kisner became the runner-up at the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shangai, China he had his first PGA win. Despite his ongoing struggle, everyone had faith in Kevin Kisner who started to earn success slowly in late 2015.
In November, during the 2015 PGA Tour event, Kisner claimed the event with the final round shot of 64 and dominated with six strokes over Kevin Chappell. Therefore, as he won the RSM Classic, he stood in 20th place on the world ranking.
“I played great, obviously got outrun a little bit. It’s what I practice for and why I hit all those balls and put and practiced all that time to be in that position. I love having the nerves and excitement of trying to pull it off under pressure” Kisner stated.
Kisner had success for the rest of the season as he completed in the top-10 at Colonial and the Memorial and even started 2016 with top standings at the early FedEx Cup.
Ever since Kisner was getting more media coverage and more into the limelight, he starred at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational and was victorious in his second PGA Tour title with a one-stroke victory.
Furthermore, Kevin played in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play ( lost to Bubba Watson), the 2018 Open Championship (tied for second), and the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (winner).
Kevin Kisner has posted 9 professional wins to date, here are his career wins:
PGA Tour (three times)
European Tour (one time)
Web.com Tour (two times)
2007 Tarheel Tour Match Play (Tarheel Tour)
2008 Bermuda Run Open (Tarheel Tour), Savannah Lakes Resort Classic (NGA Hooters Tour)
2013 Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational
Presidents Cup: 2017 (winner)
12. Kisner who started golf thanks to his dad, once surprised his father on Fathers Day:
According to the Aiken Standard, Kisner’s dad, Steve Kisner said that his son picked up golf from him as a young kid. “I played golf a lot, and Kevin started playing with me. It didn’t take long for him to reach a point where he was beating me, so I decided to give it up and watch him play,” his father told the newspaper in 2014.
His mother Christy Kisner told the newspaper, “From an early age you can tell that he was very competitive. The question was, would he ever reach a point to where he could compete at this level. There were some ups and downs, but he’s had a breakout year, so now I think the confidence level is such that he knows he can compete with the best of them.”
So, in 2014, the golfer pulled him from the gallery to caddy for him at the US Open on Father’s Day.
Just before the 17th hole at Pinehurst, in his father’s home state of North Carolina, Kisner’s actual caddie, Duane Bock, came up to Steve and gave him his son’s bag, telling him to take over. After trying to turn it down out of respect to Bock, Steve Kisner (Kevin’s dad) relented and came onto the course.
“At first I was a little concerned about interfering with the group,” Steve Kisner stated PGA.com. “One of the guys still had a chance to make the cut and I didn’t want to change the flow. But Kevin insisted, and once he insisted I was glad to do it.”
“Walking up 18 I choked up,” Steve Kisner, his father, told Golfweek. The father said he had caddied for his son before he made it to the PGA Tour. Kevin had hoped to surprise his dad on Sunday, but he wasn’t going to make the cut, so they had an early Father’s Day moment.
“But we’ll still have a good Father’s Day. We’ll go to church and have lunch with the family. That’ll be just as special,” the golfer told GolfWeek. That moment with his father came just days after his daughter, his first child, was born.
The golfer’s mother, Christy, also had a memorable moment on the golf course. In 2015, she was in the gallery when an errant shot by Graeme McDowell hit her hard in the ankle and then bounced onto the fairway. She was pictured on social media icing her ankle, but wasn’t seriously injured.
The ricochet off her ankle did help out her son’s opponent, as the ball bounced back onto the fairway and McDowell was able to par the hole. It didn’t end up costing her son anything though, as he went on to be victorious during that tournament, the RSM Classic, by six, for his first win on the PGA Tour.
She told Augusta.com, “Kevin (jokingly) said, ‘Mom, nice assist. Next time, put it in the junk.’”
13. Falling in Love in College, Wife and Marriage:
Currently, Kevin Kisner is a happily married man to his wife Brittany Anne DeJarnett as the duo shares a daughter named Kathleen Kisner and a son named Henry James. Their story dates back to 2006, and Kevin Kisner met his wife, Brittany DeJarnett Kisner in 2006 when they were both students. Enrolled at the University of Georgia, they were at a country concert, featuring the band Kinchafoonee Cowboys, according to The Island Packet.
Who is Kevin Kisner’s wife?
Brittany DeJarnett, Kevin Kisner’s wife, grew up in small town Madison, Georgia, where her father was the school district’s superintendent. According to The Island Packet, Brittany graduated in 2007 and attended the Medical University of South Carolina, where she obtained her master’s degree in speech-language pathology. After getting her degree, Brittany worked as a pediatric speech-language pathologist, which she gave up after marriage to travel with Kisner.
In May 2012, six years after their first meeting, the couple took vows in Athens, Georgia. Ever since Brittany has been her husband’s biggest supporter looking over the household and taking on the role of the vice president of the PGA Tour Wives Association.
She told The Island Packet that she’s been by her husband’s side throughout his career, and knew what she was getting into saying: “I don’t think people realize what a grind golf is,” Brittany Kisner also said she watched as her husband struggled on the smaller tours as he made his way to the PGA Tour.
“I wouldn’t trade those years for anything. It gives perspective. Golf brings the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It’s just a fickle game. You have to be prepared for that,” she told The Island Packet. “I think he will win many more tournaments, but whether he does or not, we as a family will be fine.”
14. Children:
Kevin Kisner and his wife, Brittany, share two children, a daughter, Kate, and a son, Henry. His daughter was born in June 2015, just before he played in his first major tournament in the U.S. Open, according to The State newspaper.
Brittany told The State in 2015: “Our first child, his first major (tournament) and a big step in his career all at the same time. I didn’t know what was going on,” Brittany Kisner told the newspaper. Kisner has had his best years in golf since his daughter’s birth, and his wife said there might be a correlation “I don’t know; he has put a lot of hard work into his golf game. But things are good. He has a happy, loving family waiting for him no matter how he plays”
“He’s very hands-on. He’s pretty good at diaper duty, and it’s so nice that we can be together. So much revolves around his schedule, and Kate is a great little traveler. The way he comes home from the golf course really puts things in perspective.”
Kevin Kisner also told the newspaper:
“They have traveled a lot with me, and it’s cool to have them waiting for me after I finish. If you think about it, I’m a typical dad. I go to work, get the job done the best I can, and come home to the family. It’s just that my job is a professional golfer and different from most”.
Their son, Henry, was born in September 2017 and the golfer took a long fall break to spend some time with his young family, according to Golfweek.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Who is Kevin Kisner?
Kevin Kisner is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
What is Kevin Kisner Famous for?
- The South Carolina native played on mini-tours in 2007-2008 and won three times.
- Kevin Kisner played in six Nationwide tour events in 2009. He also earned the 2011 PGA Tour card and 2014 PGA Tour card.
- The golfer also became the runner-up three times in the 2015 PGA Tour. He finished as runner-up at the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai. On November 22, 2015, Kevin Kisner earned his first PGA Tour victory and won six strokes.
- Kevin Kisner finished runner-up in WGC-Match Play in Austin, Texas in March 2018.
What pants does Kevin Kisner wear?
The American golfer dons a pair of AG Green Label pants, which are often labeled as jeans. Interestingly, they are made up of cotton rather than denim.
What’s in his golf bag?
- An Odyssey EXO #7 putter.
- Titleist Pro V1 ball.
- Two Callaway fairway blocks of wood, both of which are Mavrik models.
- Two Callaway Apex UT models’ iron starts.
- Pair of FootJoy’s Tour X shoes.
What are Kevin Kisner Body Features?
The American golfer is a medium built man, standing at 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) while weighing 165 lb (75 kg). Furthermore, Kisner is fair-complexioned and has a small oval face, with a slight hint of a beard. With his small features, Kevin Kisner has a hazel set of eyes with black-brown hair.
Is Kevin Kisner Married?
Yes, the golfer is a married man to his wife Brittany Anne DeJarnett on March 12, 2012, in Athens. The duo has a daughter and a son.
How much is Kevin Kisner’s Net Worth?
American pro golfer Kevin Kisner’s estimated net worth is around $15 million.
Where did Kevin Kisner grow up?
Kevin Kisner is a South Carolina native as he was born on February 15, 1984, in Aiken.
The golfer graduated from the University of Georgia and played golf there and holds an American nationality.
Who is Kevin Kisner’s Family?
Kevin Kisner was born to his father Steve Kisner and a mother named Christy Kisner.
What is Kevin Kisner doing today?
The golfer reached the championship round of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and won the tournament (3 & 2) over fellow American Matt Kuchar.