Kevin Dougherty’s Thanksgiving Masterpiece

Kevin Dougherty is no stranger to going low. The 34-year-old fired 63 and 62 in back-to-back weeks on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier this summer, part of a season that included four top-7s and a runner-up at TPC Colorado. But over Thanksgiving weekend, during a casual round at Seven Canyons in Sedona, Ariz., with his dad, brother, and fellow pro Josh Anderson, Dougherty did the unimaginable: he shot a 15-under 56.

“It was the best round of my life by far,” Dougherty told Ryan French on Any Given Monday. He has deep roots at Seven Canyons—his grandfather was a founding member when the course opened in 2003, and Dougherty has been visiting since he was 11. Though his grandfather has since passed, the family still gathers there each offseason.

Despite his firepower, the 360th-ranked player in the world has had more than his share of near-misses: five runner-up finishes and three additional top-3s on the Korn Ferry Tour. After a disappointing 2024 PGA Tour season, he found himself back on the KFT this year—and facing a crossroads.

“I felt with where my swing was that I was kind of at my ceiling,” he says. “I wondered, ‘How am I going to get better?’ Some weeks it’ll be on, some weeks it’ll be off. I’d have to make the occasional 25-footer to have a better round, and that didn’t seem sustainable.”

Dougherty and his longtime coach sought out a new instructor specifically to address wedge and iron play, and together they committed to significant swing changes. It was a risky decision for a mid-30s player with a family and no guaranteed security beyond the KFT. He opted to skip Q-School and the pursuit of one of the five PGA Tour cards available this month, instead choosing to be fully prepared for the start of the 2026 season. The early returns were encouraging.

“It’s these little stepping stones each day,” he says. “At first you’re doing it on the range. Then you’re playing a banker game at our club in Dallas. Then we played that Pebble Beach event a couple weeks ago and hit some quality ones there. It’s about the journey and seeing how it holds up.”

Seven weeks had passed since the KFT season ended when Dougherty teed it up in Sedona for the Thanksgiving match. A six-under 30 on the front nine set the tone. Birdies at 10, 11, and 12 took him to nine-under. His dad and brother began lingering over the scorecard, tallying just how deep he was going.

After a perfect tee shot on the 595-yard par-5 13th, Dougherty faced 270 yards to the flag. His 2-iron never left it—tap-in eagle, 11-under. That was the first moment he let himself acknowledge what might be unfolding.

“That was the turning point to go crazy low,” he says. “I was mindful of the opportunity I had to shoot this number, and I didn’t shy away from it.”

He birdied the par-3 14th and rolled in a 15-footer on 15 to reach 13-under. Standing on the drivable 16th, he had a decision: protect the round or chase something historic. With a national forest left of the green and no margin for error, he chose to go for it.

“I knew I had to take it at the flag. If I pull it at all, it’s lost in the forest. Before I got up there it was like, ‘If we’re going down swinging, we’re gonna let it rip.’ So I aimed right at it. And it couldn’t have come off any better.”

The ball landed over the front bunker and rolled to 12 feet. He made the eagle putt—15-under through 16. His previous career low: 61.

“I think I was going so low that the nerves were actually less,” he says. “If I had to par the last for 59, that might have been more nerve-wracking.”

The 198-yard par-3 17th delivered the only hiccup—he missed the green—but he saved par after a chip to seven or eight feet. The putt caught the edge, spun nearly all the way around, and fell.

At the closing hole, 30 feet stood between Dougherty and a 55. His birdie attempt came up two feet short. The group, playing a match, picked up their balls to give him the stage. Dougherty marked, took his time, and tapped in for 56. Fifteen under par. A number almost too absurd to process. His grandfather, he felt, was smiling down.

There were hugs and tears on the final green.

“What’s the course record?” Anderson asked an employee. The reply: 61. “Is 56 any good?” he said, half-joking. The employee thought he was kidding.

In the days that followed, Dougherty decided the scorecard deserved a permanent place in his home. He found an artist to recreate it in elegant calligraphy. Soon it will hang on his wall—a reminder of an unbelievable day, and of the possibilities ahead as he reshapes his game for the next chapter.

Watch the full interview on Youtube or listen to the episode on Apple or Spotify.