Trip Kuehne
Encyclopedia
Ernest W. "Trip" Kuehne III (born June 20, 1972) is an American
amateur
golf
er. He is most remembered for his life-changing defeat at the hands of Tiger Woods
in the 1994 U.S. Amateur, and his subsequent steadfast refusal to turn professional
in favor of a successful amateur career.
. As a pupil at Highland Park High School
in Dallas, he was coached by Hank Haney
, who later gained renown as Tiger Woods' swing coach after Woods and Butch Harmon
split in 2002. 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
. 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-America
n from 1994 to 1996. But following his defeat at the 1994 U.S. Amateur, 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.
, 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. However, Woods then staged the greatest turnaround in the tournament's 94-year history, 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". 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.
Kuehne played in three Walker Cup
teams for the United States, in 1995, 2003, and 2007. He also played in four U.S. Open
s, where he was the lowest scoring amateur in 2003 at Olympia Fields Country Club
. Thirteen years after his Masters Tournament debut as runner-up to Woods, he returned to the Augusta National Golf Club
in 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. 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.
championships, a unique feat in the organization's history. His sister Kelli
scored back-to-back victories at the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1995 and 1996 before turning pro in 1998, while brother Hank
, before joining the PGA Tour in 1999, won the 1998 U.S. Amateur with Trip as his caddy
.
He lives with wife Dusti and son Will in Irving, Texas
, and owns his own Dallas-based investment management
company, 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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
amateur
Amateur sports
Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. Sporting amateurism was a zealously guarded ideal in the 19th century, especially among the upper classes, but faced steady erosion throughout the 20th century with the continuing growth of pro sports...
golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er. He is most remembered for his life-changing defeat at the hands of Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...
in the 1994 U.S. Amateur, and his subsequent steadfast refusal to turn professional
Professional golfer
In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...
in favor of a successful amateur career.
Early achievements
Kuehne was born in Dallas, TexasDallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. As a pupil at Highland Park High School
Highland Park High School (University Park, Texas)
Highland Park High School is located in University Park, Texas.Highland Park is a part of the Highland Park Independent School District. It serves all of the city of University Park, most of the town of Highland Park, and portions of Dallas.-History:...
in Dallas, he was coached by Hank Haney
Hank Haney
Hank Haney is an American professional golf instructor best known for coaching Tiger Woods and two-time major championship winner Mark O'Meara...
, who later gained renown as Tiger Woods' swing coach after Woods and Butch Harmon
Butch Harmon
Claude "Butch" Harmon, Jr. is an American golf instructor and former professional player. He is the son of 1948 Masters Tournament champion Claude Harmon, Sr. and has been in the golf industry since 1965.-Early life:...
split in 2002. Under Haney's tutelage he won back-to-back Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
high school golf championships, an achievement shared with Justin Leonard
Justin Leonard
Justin Charles Garrett Leonard is an American professional golfer.Leonard was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. He attended Lake Highlands High School and graduated in 1990. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and was the individual NCAA champion in 1994. He was a two-time All-American...
, Ben Crenshaw
Ben Crenshaw
Ben Daniel Crenshaw is an American professional golfer.Crenshaw was born in Austin, Texas. He attended and played golf at Austin High School and the University of Texas, where he won three NCAA Championships from 1971 to 1973...
and Tom Kite
Tom Kite
Thomas Oliver Kite, Jr. is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings between 1989 and 1994....
. At college, he enrolled at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
, where he was the roommate of Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson
Philip Alfred Mickelson is an American professional golfer. He has won four major championships and a total of 39 events on the PGA Tour. He has reached a career high world ranking of 2nd in multiple years. He is nicknamed "Lefty" for his left-handed swing, even though he is otherwise right-handed...
. He then transferred to Oklahoma State University, where he was All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n from 1994 to 1996. But following his defeat at the 1994 U.S. Amateur, 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.
1994 U.S. Amateur and subsequent career
In 1994, Kuehne reached the final of the U.S. Amateur at the TPC at SawgrassTPC at Sawgrass
The Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass, colloquially known as TPC at Sawgrass, is a well-known golf course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a suburb of Jacksonville. Opened in 1980, it was the first of several Tournament Players Clubs to be built...
, 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. However, Woods then staged the greatest turnaround in the tournament's 94-year history, 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". 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.
Kuehne played in three Walker Cup
Walker Cup
The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested biennially in odd numbered years between teams comprising the leading amateur golfers of the United States and Great Britain and Ireland...
teams for the United States, in 1995, 2003, and 2007. He also played in four U.S. Open
U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
s, where he was the lowest scoring amateur in 2003 at Olympia Fields Country Club
Olympia Fields Country Club
Olympia Fields Country Club is a golf club in Olympia Fields, Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago, about 25 miles south of The Loop. It is a private club with two eighteen-hole courses, the North and the South. The North Course is considered one of the top three courses in the Chicago area, and...
. Thirteen years after his Masters Tournament debut as runner-up to Woods, he returned to the Augusta National Golf Club
Augusta National Golf Club
Augusta National Golf Club, located in Augusta, Georgia, is a famous men's golf club. Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts and designed by Alister MacKenzie on the site of a former indigo plantation, the club opened for play in January 1933. Since 1934, it has played host to the annual...
in 2008, this time by beating Dan Whitaker 9&7 at the 2007 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort is a complex of four golf courses located just north of the city of Bandon, Oregon, United States.-Courses:The first course at the resort, Bandon Dunes, opened on May 19, 1999. Bandon Dunes was designed by Scotsman David McLay Kidd, and it instantly garnered high praise. ...
in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
to qualify. 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.
Personal life
Kuehne is the eldest child of Ernie Kuehne (in full Ernest W. Kuehne, Jr.) and ex-wife Pam Kuehne. His father is 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 U.S. Golf AssociationUnited States Golf Association
The United States Golf Association is the United States' national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the Rules of Golf. The USGA also provides a national handicap system...
championships, a unique feat in the organization's history. His sister Kelli
Kelli Kuehne
-Amateur career:Kuehne was born in Dallas, Texas. In 1994 she won the U.S. Girls' Junior. The following year she won the U.S. Women's Amateur and in 1996 repeated as the U.S. Women's Amateur champion while also winning the British Ladies Amateur. She played college golf at the University of Texas...
scored back-to-back victories at the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1995 and 1996 before turning pro in 1998, while brother Hank
Hank Kuehne
Henry August "Hank" Kuehne II is an American former U.S. Amateur champion and professional golfer who enjoyed some success on the PGA Tour....
, before joining the PGA Tour in 1999, won the 1998 U.S. Amateur with Trip as his caddy
Caddy
In golf, a caddy is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives insightful advice and moral support. A good caddy is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the best strategy in playing it. This includes knowing overall yardage, pin...
.
He lives with wife Dusti and son Will in Irving, Texas
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated...
, and owns his own Dallas-based investment management
Investment management
Investment management is the professional management of various securities and assets in order to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investors...
company, Double Eagle Capital, which he started in 2005 after working as a hedge fund
Hedge fund
A hedge fund is a private pool of capital actively managed by an investment adviser. Hedge funds are only open for investment to a limited number of accredited or qualified investors who meet criteria set by regulators. These investors can be institutions, such as pension funds, university...
manager for Legg Mason
Legg Mason
Legg Mason, Inc. is an American-based global investment management firm with a focus on asset management. The company’s business is divided in two divisions: Americas and International...
. His home club is the Sports Club at Las Colinas, Texas.
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur- Walker CupWalker CupThe Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested biennially in odd numbered years between teams comprising the leading amateur golfers of the United States and Great Britain and Ireland...
: 1995, 20032003 Walker CupThe 2003 Walker Cup, the 39th Walker Cup Match, was played on 6 and 7 September, 2003, at Ganton Golf Club in North Yorkshire, England. The event was won by Great Britain and Ireland 12 ½ to 11 ½, marking the first time that Great Britain & Ireland had three consecutive wins.-Format:The format for...
, 20072007 Walker CupThe 41st Walker Cup Match was held between September 8 and September 9, 2007 at the Royal County Down Golf Club in Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland. Team United States won 12½ to 11½. The United States won by the same score in 2005.-Format:...
(winners)