Aiken's Kevin Kisner confident as Masters begins

Kevin Kisner stood in front of the Augusta National clubhouse on Wednesday afternoon, daughter Kate squeezed tight between his elbow and shoulder, and smiled.

His practice rounds were over, his family had accompanied him through the Par-3 Contest and all that was left in front of him was the tournament itself.

“It’s just one of those deals where you’re ready for it to happen now,” Kisner said. “The prep’s done, it’s over, now it’s just time to get after it.”

Kisner views the Masters as "the first big week of the year," but should Kisner play well this week, the WGC-Match Play tournament two weeks ago might turn out to be just as important.

After three missed cuts and a best finish of 17th since the calendar turned to 2018, Kisner’s runner-up finish to Bubba Watson at the Match Play has given the former University of Georgia golfer a reason to believe in himself today when he tees off at 1:05 p.m.

PHOTOS: Wednesday's practice round at the Masters

“It was big for me because I’ve been playing poorly for most of the year,” Kisner said. “That’s when things started to turn for me and you want to be primed up for this week, so you want to see that in your game.”

Having played Augusta National four times with the Bulldogs during his college years, Kisner knows the course well.

The results of his only two Masters appearances in 2016 (T-37) and 2017 (T-43) don’t reflect that, however, and he said he still finds himself in awe of the course every time he comes.

“It’s still just a magical place,” Kisner said. “It’s one of those places that you just can’t explain to people until they actually come. That’s what I tell people all over the country, there’s no way to justify it until you actually come. To be right here in Augusta, Georgia, it’s pretty cool.”

There’s no lack of local support for Kisner, who resides just 30 minutes down the road in Aiken.

With his ties to Athens, a little short of two hours from Augusta, there’s no shortage of encouragement coming from the galleries.

“There were plenty of ‘Go Dogs’ out there today and a lot of Georgia people,” Kisner said. “It’s funny, (Kate) even turns her head around every time they say it.”

Kisner had 3-year-old Kate alongside while playing the Par-3 Contest, and fellow UGA alum Brian Harman was in the same grouping with his 2-year-old daughter Cooper Marie.

“Two ‘Dogs going at it, and he has a little girl so they were having fun over there,” Kisner said. “He’s a good buddy of mine; we do a lot of hunting and fishing together, so we hang out a lot off the course.”

As Kisner held Kate and walked toward the clubhouse with wife, Brittany, he heard a couple final words of support when Kate managed to let out a shy ‘Go Dogs.’

“I like instilling that at a young age,” Kisner said.