Keep your eye on Kyle Reifers, future PGA Tour star

Probably you’ve never heard of Kyle Reifers. He’s a 25-year-old rookie on the PGA Tour and has made four of his first seven cuts with two top 25 finishes, earning about $200,000 so far this season. That’s not enough to raise the interest of even the most intense pro golf fan, but - and you read it here first - Reifers will be a name you’ll get to know.

Maybe you saw he shot 64 on the first day of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He didn’t finish too strongly on the weekend, carding three rounds in the 70s. But it was the first indication that Reifers can compete with the big boys. He’s been doing it all his life.

I’ve been watching Reifers since he was a little kid growing up in Columbus, Ohio. His mother and father, Alison and Randy, are both outstanding amateur golfers, both having won state championships and competed in USGA events. As a kid, Reifers was one of many talented players in this area, but no more than any other. The outstanding junior of the day was Ben Curtis, who’s four years older than Reifers. But like Curtis and Reifers’ father, Randy, Reifers won the Ohio Golf Association’s Amateur Championship before he turned pro.

Reifers really started to shine while an upper classman at Wake Forest University, where he was a two-time All-American. He began to win tournaments (the Monroe and Northeast Amateur) on the major amateur circuit during his senior year. He was runner-up at the NCAA championship in 2005 and played on America’s Walker Cup team, and after he finished school, he turned pro. In his first pro tournament (on the Tar Heel tour), he won. The next day, he was a Monday qualifier for the Nationwide Tour’s Chattanooga Classic, and he shot a 61 that weekend to win there, too. So he bullied his way onto the Nationwide, where finished 44th on the money list and had four top 25 finishes. Then, with a clutch putt on the final hole, he earned his playing privileges on the PGA Tour in Q-School last fall.

Which brings us to now. Reifers is learning the ropes and beginning to shine. If his performance up to now is an indication, he’ll surprise more people in the near future. Sure, it’s the biggest stage in the golfing world, but with his bloodlines and cool demeanor, he’s perfectly suited to be one of America’s young stars.