After the playoff-winning 40-foot eagle, Doc Redman’s emotions flowed

Doc Redman had already taken his eyes off. His Sunday at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Visit Knoxville Open had not gone according to plan. Redman caught it and passed 54-hole leader Cooper Dosseybut Hunter Eichhorn shot a career-low 10-under 61 to tie it and send the tournament into a playoff.

A win would give Redman two on the KFT season and put him in a prime position to earn a PGA Tour card after a decline in his game saw him lose his premier circuit privileges after the 2023 season. But golf hasn’t been easy for the former Clemson standout of late. So when he rolled his 40-foot eagle attempt on the first playoff hole Sunday, he quickly looked away and started walking, believing he had missed. But the ball kept rolling and then stopped at the rim.

He hung there for a few seconds, the crowd asked him to fall. Then golf gave something back to Doc Redman.

That playoff winning eagle has now ranked Redman second in Korn Ferry Tour season points list. The top 20 at the end of the year receive PGA Tour cards for the 2027 season.

Golf he has not been kind to Doc Redman recently.

After missing a cut at the 2023 RSM Classic, Redman, a former college star at Clemson, came down to the Korn Ferry Tour and struggled. At KFT, the courses are easier, and the scores are low. You have to be able to hit the gas pedal in order to win. In 2024, Redman needed to win the Korn Ferry Tour Finals to return to the PGA Tour. He led with four holes to play but made a double bogey on 15 and a bogey on 17 to miss a playoff by one. After blessing him early for years, golf has hit Doc Redman of late. Last spring, he took some time off from the game to be with his family and think about his future. He loved golf and wanted to continue to pursue his dream, but he knew he wouldn’t find success without enjoying the grind.

On Sunday in Knoxville, trophy in hand, Doc Redman became emotional as he talked about that break and the perspective he found as he left to be with his wife and newborn son.

“I just wasn’t happy playing golf,” Redman said. “I think the hard thing about golf is, especially out here, everybody’s so good, and if you’re not enjoying it, you’re not going to get the best out of your game. Then there’s almost no reason to be out here just spinning your wheels. And we just had my son, and I think I was just struggling with all the sacrifice I had to make to be away here. Rekindle some kind of love for him. So I eventually figured it out, but it took a while.

“It’s always hard and it’s always going to be hard to be away. And golf doesn’t always go your way,” Redman said later. “I think it’s easy to eat away at your confidence, your self-belief and your image. So I think I did a much better job than whatever happened today wasn’t going to change my opinion of myself or the way I’m playing and that’s made a big difference.”

Redman FaceTimed his wife and son after the win, tears welling up in his eyes. Tears of happiness and sacrifice – the price of the faith needed to stick to your dreams even when they seem so far away.

“They are my biggest supporters and I love them so much. I miss them but we will see them soon,” said an emotional Redman.

Redman reflected on the break he took and how his wife’s support enabled him to recalibrate and move on. Professional golf is a challenge for everyone involved, and Redman is able to continue his ascent because of the support he has around him – one that won’t let him buckle down.

“Maybe it became clear that I didn’t have a lot of other qualifications and that’s what I’m best at,” Redman said, when asked if he thought about other pursuits during his time off. “So it’s one
blessing to be able to pursue what you are best at and get paid to do it and that is pretty awesome. She makes a lot of sacrifices and so do I, and it’s not easy, but to be able to do that is really cool.”

What Redman found during his golf break was the realization that success, especially in golf, is not linear. It’s a constant ebb and flow. Often, players don’t reach their peak until later. Redman pointed to Brooks Koepka, who created the European Tour rankings before moving on to the PGA Tour and becoming one of the great champions of his generation.

Success in golf is found in persistence – in returning time and time again, even when you don’t want to. Water breaks a rock not because of its strength, but because of its durability.

“I think that’s something that would be great for me to reflect on and think about a lot and just give myself cues to stick with,” Redman said. “I think I try to remind myself all the time of all the great players who are playing late in their years and don’t hit it until they’re probably in their mid-30s, you know, especially at the PGA Tour level. I think that’s the beauty of golf is there’s no rush, you just have to stick with it.”

Doc Redman never gave up and now, after an improbable 40-foot eagle in Knoxville, he can finally see his return to the PGA Tour on the horizon.