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A Trip of a Lifetime
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© Charles Ford
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After fulfilling a long-held goal by winning a USGA championship, which was stolen from him 14 years ago, Trip Kuehne returns to the Masters for what could be his final rounds
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By
Merrell Noden
Trip Kuehne is planning quite a party for Masters week, a sort of
this-is-your-life gathering of friends, family and business associates. There
will be some 30 people in all—everyone, it seems, who has ever helped him get
where he is.
He expects to play a practice round with Phil Mickelson, his
roommate as a freshman at Arizona State, and another with Charles Howell III,
whom he helped recruit to Oklahoma State after transferring there himself.
Flying in for the festivities will be old buddies like hedge fund manager Kyle
Bass, with whom Kuehne worked at Legg Mason before starting his own firm, Double
Eagle Capital, three years ago.
Kuehne, who qualified for the Masters by
winning last year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes Resort in
Oregon, will be joined by his wife, Dusti, and 8-year-old son, Will, along with
his parents, Ernie and Pam. Not to mention his siblings, who also have won U.S.
Golf Association championships—an unprecedented feat. His sister, Kelli, won the
1994 U.S. Girls’ Junior as well as the ’95 and ’96 U.S. Women’s Amateurs; his
brother, Henry, the ’98 U.S. Amateur champ, will be on his bag at Augusta
National, just as Trip caddied for Hank in the ’99 Masters.
And if he feels
his game is really sharp, Trip just might seek out a practice round with Tiger
Woods, who also plays a part in this story.
Yet for all their delight
at being a part of this celebration, Kuehne’s guests are sure to have mixed
feelings. This is a retirement party. Having finally won a USGA title, Kuehne,
35, is planning to make the Masters the last serious tournament of his
impressive amateur career.
“It’s hard for all of us to believe,” says Kelli.
“I don’t think it’s hit any of us that he’s done.”
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Masters:
A Trip of a Lifetime
|
 By
Merrell Noden
After fulfilling a long-held goal by winning a USGA championship, which was stolen from him 14 years ago, Trip Kuehne returns to the Masters for what could be his final rounds
read more » |
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