Kristoffer Reitan goes from alternate to contender at Doral
Kristoffer Reitan's caddie flew home to Scotland not expecting him to get into the Cadillac Championship field. When he did, Reitan had to find a backup caddie.
Not even Kristoffer Reitan's caddie figured he'd get into the Cadillac Championship. Tim Poyser looked at the position of his boss on the alternate list for this week’s $20-million, no-cut, 72-man field event and took a calculated risk, flying home to Edinburgh, Scotland. Hopefully, he got his fix of haggis and checked his mail while he was there because on Thursday, Reitan was the last man to get into the field when Jake Knapp withdrew.
After a bogey-free 4-under 68 at Trump National Doral, the 28-year-old Norwegian finds himself in contention in his first signature event on the PGA Tour – tied for sixth at 6-under 138 – at the midway point in the Miami suburb of Doral. Poyser eventually caught a flight back but didn’t arrive in time for the first round. Reitan was equally surprised at his good fortune.
He said he was planning to play a game at Panther National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. , on Tuesday with fellow Tour pros Rasmus Hojgaard, Marco Penge, and Kris Ventura but instead high-tailed it to Doral to prepare for the possibility of playing when Patrick Cantlay withdrew, citing illness, and he improved to first alternate. Knapp wore a bandage on his left hand on Tuesday and he pulled out of the pro-am on Wednesday.
He would be a late scratch on Thursday, about an hour before his tee time, due to a sprained left thumb. Reitan was standing by and stepped into the 12:35 p. m.