Doc Redman’s 40-foot eagle putt hung on the lip of the 18th hole at Holston Hills Country Club in Sunday’s playoff at the Visit Knoxville Open. For nearly seven dramatic seconds, Redman’s ball appeared to be at rest. But it was moving, imperceptibly, as if golf fans needed a final reminder that winning requires patience, and gravity always wins.
From the back of the slippery green where 28-year-old Redman hit his eagle putt, the green sloped away from him like a luge course. If his ball dripped past the hole, it might not stop until he had half a lob wedge coming back for his fourth shot. Cozying the fastest putt on the course close to the hole from 40 feet with a PGA Tour card on the line would test a monk’s nerves.
The ball hung on the lip for double the amount of time that Tiger Woods’ iconic chip on 16 at Augusta did. The crowd held their breath as Redman’s ball fought gravity. When the golf gods had toyed with Redman’s patience enough, the ball disappeared and the crowd erupted.
The event marked a year from Redman’s return to competition following what the Korn Ferry Tour called “a three-month mental health break.”
“I think the beauty of golf is that there’s no rush,” Redman said to the Korn Ferry Tour’s ace reporter Kevin Prise after the win. “You’ve just got to stick with it.”
Redman began his pro career as a young superstar with great expectations. He finished 2nd in his 11th start on the PGA Tour at the Rocket Mortgage Classic – which he Monday qualified for – two years after winning the 2017 U.S. Amateur. Redman has nine top-10s and three top-3s on the PGA Tour but never won. The momentum of his career stalled during the 2022-2023 season where he made just 11 of 31 cuts. That was the last time he held PGA Tour status.
In 2025, after withdrawing from an event in Argentina, Redman took a three-month break. Professional golf had ground down the former Clemson star who once eclipsed scoring records. Redman returned for the 2025 Visit Knoxville Open but missed the cut, and made seven cuts in 15 starts during the season. Redman had to go to Q School to save his job, a place few expected him to rely on at the outset of his career. A determined final-round 67 at the final stage of Q School left Redman a shot inside the number that guaranteed him KFT starts.
Four months later in March, Redman ran away with the Astara Chile Classic, earning his first-ever KFT victory.
“I think for a while the last thing that was missing was believing in myself. I’ve done a lot better at that recently,” Redman said after the win in Chile. “I knew I was good enough but sometimes you can lose faith a little bit when it’s been so long.”
He was ready to win again, and he didn’t have to wait long.
By the time the ball fell over the lip in Knoxville, Hunter Eichhorn – who shot 61 in his final round to get into the playoff – was practically standing next to Redman on the green. Eichhorn, a 27-year-old Michigander, raised his hand in the air, smiled and hugged a triumphant opponent. All the graciousness Eichhorn had seen and experienced in defeat was summoned into his reaction. Eichhorn hit his tee shot into trouble and had to pitch out of fescue in the playoff – the seven seconds Redman’s ball hung on the edge prolonged the inevitable conclusion. Eichhorn was all class in defeat.
Redman’s win in Knoxville launched him to second on the season-long points list. He has already earned more points than were required last season to earn a PGA Tour card. Barring an unjust act of the golf gods, Redman will be back on the PGA Tour next season.
After the electricity from the eagle putt settled around the 18th green, anxiety dissolved into gratitude and joy. Redman FaceTimed with his wife, Carlynn, and one-and-a-half-year-old son, Onnis, to celebrate.
“They’re my biggest supporters and I love them very much,” Redman said, fighting tears. “It’s a blessing to be able to pursue what you’re best at and get paid to do it. I think that she (Carlynn) makes a lot of sacrifices and I do too, and it’s not easy. But being able to do this is really cool.”
Redman’s success is a testament to patience and perspective. Often in the pro game, the ball refuses to go in when you expect it to. Sometimes, it just takes some time to fall.
