Kevin Kisner’s Last Stand: Emotional Reunion With Caddie Duane Bock at RSM Classic”
⛳ Kevin Kisner is standing at the edge of a career-defining moment — and he’s bringing back the one man he trusts most.
Ahead of the 2025 RSM Classic, Kisner has reunited with longtime caddie and close friend Duane Bock, ending their 14-year partnership “just like an old married couple” for one last high-pressure week. They won Kisner’s first-ever PGA Tour title here in 2015, and now a decade later, they’re fighting for his PGA Tour future.
🔥 The stakes are massive:
• Kisner sits 194th in the standings
• PGA Tour exempt list has shrunk from 125 to just 100 players
• He MUST win to keep his full-time PGA Tour status
• Anything else, and he becomes a Past Champion
But injuries, missed cuts, and a lost season have pushed Kisner to the brink. After a shoulder and neck issue sidelined him for months, he barely touched a club all fall. Yet somehow, the pain has eased — and Kisner believes he has one final run left in him.
That’s where Duane Bock comes in. Their reunion is emotional, unexpected, and perfectly timed. With Sepp Straka skipping the event to be with his newborn son, Bock and Kisner are back together just like old times — for the 15th RSM Classic, where everything is on the line.
Meanwhile, the pressure isn’t only on Kisner:
• Matt Kuchar → 113th
• Joel Dahmen → 117th
• Karl Vilips → hanging onto 100th
• Matt Wallace → 102nd and chasing
🔥 This is pure golf drama.
One event. One career on the line. One chance at redemption.
And even if Kisner falls short, he’s already lined up a huge new chapter — as NBC Sports’ lead golf analyst and a marquee player in Tiger Woods’ TGL.
But for now… it’s all about Sea Island.
⚔️ Kisner’s last stand has begun.
👇 Comment below:
Will Kevin Kisner pull off the miracle?
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Kevin Kner and longtime Caddyy Dwaynebach have always been more than a standard player catty pairing for 14 years. They were loyal partners, trusted companions, and as Kner likes to joke, they squabbled like an old married couple. Kner even says he practically helped raise box children during their time together. He’s still one of my best friends and we talk all the time. Knisser told Golf Week ahead of the 2025 RSM Classic, his final exempt star of the season. With so much riding on this week, he needed someone familiar, someone reliable, someone who knows him better than anyone else on a golf course. Their story comes full circle at Sea Island. In 2015, Knisser captured his first PGA Tour title at the RSM Classic with Bach by his side. 10 years later, facing one of the biggest weeks of his career, he wanted Dwayne back on the bag once more. The reunion was possible only because Bach confirmed that his new boss, Sept Straka, will be sitting out the event to spend time with his family following the early arrival of his second child. And so, just like old times, Kissner and Bach are back together for the 15th RSM Classic, which offers a $7 million purse and enormous implications. The stakes this year are far greater than usual. The PGA Tour trimmed its full exempt status list from 125 players to just 100, meaning this week will determine who keeps their jobs and who falls off the cliff. Kner arrives ranked 194th, playing on a one-time career money exemption reserved for the top 50 all-time earners. But it hasn’t been a year to remember. He has missed the cut in 13 of his 16 starts with a lone bright spot being 88 at the Isco Championship. For Knissner, the math is brutally simple. He must win to jump into the top 100 and secure full status for 2026. Anything short of victory and he becomes a past champion forced to rely on limited opportunities and occasional invites. He knows the challenge ahead and he knows how unforgiving it will be. This season hasn’t been kind to him physically either. A left shoulder and neck injury sidelined him for much of the spring, forcing him to skip the entire six event FedEx Cup fall. Since the Windham championship in August, he has barely played just four total rounds. His career seemed to be fading into the background until recently when the pain eased and hope slowly returned. Kner has history at this event. He lost a playoff at the RSM Classic in 2020, and now this week may very well determine the direction of the rest of his professional life. Oddly enough, despite the pressure, Knisser appears calm. When asked if his tournament might be his swan song, he simply shrugged and said his status is TBD to be determined. But here’s the twist. Knisser already has a plan B, and it looks a lot like a plan. ain’t do that. Regardless of the result at Sea Island, Knisser’s future is secure. He has signed a major media deal to become NBC Sports lead golf analyst. He calls it his first real job with a regular paycheck. “I enjoy still being relevant in the game, hanging out with my buddies, and providing insight that viewers don’t usually get,” he said. Thanks to his relationships and reputation, he offers a perspective few analysts can match. His contract includes coverage of 10 marquee events, including the US Open and the Open Championship. But television isn’t his only new chapter. Knisser is also a standout personality in the TGL, the techdriven indoor golf league, created by Tiger Woods. He plays on Woods team Jupiter Lynx GC, and fans already know he’ll be one of the league’s biggest entertainers. Even if he dials back his PGA tour schedule, he’ll continue to bring humor and personality to ESPN broadcast through TGL. Meanwhile, Knisser isn’t the only veteran feeling the pressure at the RSM Classic. Matt Cooer is hovering at 113th. Joel Domen sits at 117th. Both, like Kissner, are staring at a win or go home scenario. And then there’s the razor thin battle around the final exempt spot. Carl Phillips currently holds 100th, but Matt Wallace 102nd is right behind him, desperate for a big result to leapfrog in his safety. All of it sets the stage for pure sporting drama. Kner is a four-time PGA Tour winner, including a WGC match play title in 2019 and a six-man playoff triumph at the 2021 Windom Championship. He has been a steady force on two victorious US President’s Cup teams. But none of those achievements matter this week. Not anymore. This time, Kevin Kner stands at the edge, staring at the uncertain future of his playing career. And in true Kiz fashion, he’s choosing to go out swinging. Reunited with a friend who’s been by his side through most of his greatest moments. Win or lose, he’s doing it the only way he knows how. Boldly, defiantly, and on his own terms.
