Trip Kuehne

Ernest W. "Trip" Kuehne III (born June 20 1972) is an American amateur golfer. He is most remembered for his life-changing defeat at the hands of Tiger Woods in the 1994 U.S. Amateur Championship, [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-7684073_ITM "Woods' birdie vs. Trip Kuehne in '94 changed fate for both"] , Bill Nichols, "Dallas Morning News", March 24 2004] [http://www.newsday.com/sports/golf/ny-sppow115646081apr11,0,3853894.column "Beaten by Tiger, Kuehne took a different path"] , Shaun Powell, Newsday.com, April 11 2008] and his subsequent steadfast refusal to turn professional in favor of a successful amateur career. [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3340682 "Amateur Kuehne a throwback in need of a break"] , Gene Wojciechowski, ESPN, April 11 2008]

Early achievements

Kuehne was born in Dallas, Texas. As a pupil at Highland Park High School in Dallas, he was coached by Hank Haney, [http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1718776-0,00.html "Kuehne prepares for final Masters"] , Alan Shipnuck, "Sports Illustrated", April 1 2008] who later gained renown as Tiger Woods' swing coach after Woods and Butch Harmon split in 2002. [http://www.golfdigest.com/golfworld/columnists/2007/10/20071026hawkins "Woods-Haney Remains Solid"] , John Hawkins, "GolfWorld", October 26 2007] Under Haney's tutelage he won back-to-back Texas high school golf championships, an achievement shared with Justin Leonard, Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite. [http://www.linksmagazine.com/best_of_golf/masters_2008/trip_kuehne_masters_golf_tournament_amateur.aspx "A Trip of a Lifetime"] , Merrell Noden, "Links Magazine"] At college, he enrolled at Arizona State University, where he was the roommate of Phil Mickelson. He then transferred to Oklahoma State University, where he was All-American from 1994 to 1996. [http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,206,00.html "Chasing the Dream"] , Jeff Williams, "Cigar Aficionado", May/June 2001] But following his defeat at the 1994 U.S. Amateur Championship, Kuehne found he was unwilling to make the sacrifices demanded in a professional golfer's life, and concentrated instead on a career in finance after graduating with an MBA in 1997. [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/golf/stories/040908dnsponichols.3173634.html "Trip Kuehne following his own course"] , Bill Nichols, "Dallas Morning News", April 9 2008]

1994 U.S. Amateur and subsequent career

In 1994, Kuehne reached the final of the U.S. Amateur Championship at the TPC at Sawgrass, where his opponent was a heavily hyped eighteen-year-old Tiger Woods. After shooting 66 in the morning round, Kuehne had a six-hole advantage, and was still five up with only twelve holes remaining. [http://www.golfweek.com/amateur/men/story/kuehne-feature-040908 "Kuehne's loss a blessing in disguise"] , Paul Newberry, "GolfWeek", April 9 2008] However, Woods then staged the greatest turnaround in the tournament's 94-year history, [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15781610.html "Tiger Woods becomes youngest winner of U.S. Amateur Golf Championship"] , John Strege, "The Orange County Register", August 29 1994] winning five of the next ten holes before sinking a fifteen-foot putt on the seventeenth to win the event in what was described as "one of golf's great performances". [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-2271623.html "Woods Sitting Pretty After U.S. Amateur Golf Triumph"] , Barry Cooper, "New Pittsburgh Courier", September 3 1994] The defeat had a cataclysmic effect on Kuehne, who found himself questioning his own commitment to the sport and whether he really was good enough to compete. He has since come to view the result as a blessing in disguise, although he confesses that he still will not watch footage of the match. [http://www.usamateur.org/2003/results/trip-kuehne-8-20.html "An Interview With: Trip Kuehne"] , Craig Smith, U.S. Amateur Championship, Oakmont, 2003]

Kuehne played in three Walker Cup teams for the United States, in 1995, 2003, [http://www.walkercup.org/2003/players/index.html# Player Bios, 2003 Walker Cup Match] ] and 2007. [http://www.walkercup.org/2007/news/usprofiles.html 2007 USA Walker Cup Team Profiles] ] He also played in four U.S. Opens, where he was the lowest scoring amateur in 2003 at Olympia Fields Country Club. [http://www.usopen.com/2003/scoring/amateur.htm 103rd U.S. Open Championship - Round 4 Amateur Players] ] Thirteen years after his Masters Tournament debut as runner-up to Woods, he returned to the Augusta National Golf Club in 2008, [http://www.ocregister.com/articles/kuehne-amateur-woods-2015256-trip-mickelson "The run ends at the Masters"] , Mark Whicker, "The Orange County Register", April 9 2008] this time by beating Dan Whitaker 9&7 at the 2007 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon to qualify. [http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3049662 "Kuehne routs Whitaker to win U.S. Mid-Amateur title"] , Associated Press/ESPN, October 5 2007] The fulfillment of his ambition to "take my boy to the Masters", along with his other 2007 successes—he was on the winning Walker Cup team for the first time, and helped Texas retain the USGA state team title—led him to make Augusta the scene of his final competitive tournament before retirement. [http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1730349,00.html "With plenty of support, Trip Kuehne ends a brilliant career"] , Alan Shipnuck, Golf.com, April 11 2008]

Personal life

Kuehne was the eldest child of Ernie Kuehne (in full Ernest W. Kuehne, Jr.), [From [http://www.texasbar.com/Template.cfm?Section=Member_Directory&template=/Customsource/MemberDirectory/MemberDirectoryDetail.cfm&ContactID=224127 the record for the elder Kuehne] in the [http://www.texasbar.com/Template.cfm?Section=Member_Directory&Template=/CustomSource/MemberDirectory/Search_Form_Client_Main.cfm member directory] of the State Bar of Texas.] a successful lawyer and businessman who admits to being a hard-driving parent, saying "I don't think my kids are competitive by accident." All three children have won US Golf Association championships, a unique feat in the organization's history. [http://www.usga.org/news/2008/march/kuehne.html "The Kuehne Triple Crown"] , David Shefter, USGA, April 3 2008] His sister Kelli scored back-to-back victories at the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1995 and 1996 before turning pro in 1998, [http://www.lpga.com/content/2008PlayerBiosPDF/Kuehne-08.pdf LPGA Tour biography for Kelli Kuehne] ] while brother Hank, before joining the PGA Tour in 1999, [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3DAF8E3C9158F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10 "Hank Kuehne figures short week will go long way"] , Brad Townsend, "Dallas Morning News", September 30 1998] won the 1998 U.S. Amateur Championship with Trip as his caddy.

He lives with wife Dusti and son Will in Irving, Texas, [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/golf/stories/041208dnspomasterssider.32b65a4.html "Kuehne falls short in bid to make weekend"] , Bill Nichols, "Dallas Morning News", April 11 2008] and owns his own Dallas-based investment management company, Double Eagle Capital, [http://www.doubleeaglecapital.com/ Homepage, Double Eagle Capital] ] which he started in 2005 after working as a hedge fund manager for Legg Mason. His home club is the Sports Club at Las Colinas, Texas.

References

External links

* [http://www.pgatour.com/players/01/00/27/ Results and stats on PGA Tour's official site]
* [http://www.usopen.com/2007/players/bios/011.html Player biography, 2007 U.S. Open Championship]