On Sunday, mishit in the water abandoned him. On Monday, he wrote on Instagram

Ben Kohles had the ball. Then came the lake.

Jordan Spieth would say that's part of the bargain.

By now, you may have experienced a drop-off with Kohles at the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic, though you may have turned a blind eye quickly. Kohles is a 36-year-old professional. He has won five times on the Korn Ferry Tour, including once earlier last month, and has never won on the PGA Tour, although in the past two years, he came as close as you can get. On the 72nd hole of the CJ Cup event, Byron Nelson took a stroke lead, only to come within that margin after paring with Taylor Pendrith. Then came Sunday afternoon. This time, Kohles took the lead at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.

And he tied for third, the result of a swing from the middle of the fairway connected to the left, took a few bounces and cannonballed into the water left of the green. Kohles said he was between clubs. A 9-iron would be too small; i 8 a lot. He said he hit an 8 punch shot with his own, he pulled it and doubled, and Chris Gotterup won and Kohles didn't.

For Gotterup, there was excitement and emotion. He was winning again – Sunday was his third victory of the year and fifth on the PGA Tour overall. But he also seems to have remembered where he was just four years ago, when he was given a sponsor's release from John Deere after writing a letter, and in a post-tournament interview during the CBS broadcast, he cried. Meanwhile, Kohles answered the questions admirably, and will do so again, this week at the ISCO Championship in Kentucky.

If they played what Spieth had talked about five days before.

Before John Deere, he had been asked to look into the idea of ​​having professional golf results tied directly to the player, and Spieth laid out what that looks like in very positive terms.

“Well, golf — I mean, if you choose to do what I do for a living, you choose to have the ball in your hands for the last shot from the get-go,” he said. “That obviously can bring you – that danger can beat you, and it can bring you to the highest level of the sport.

“We chose to be there. We choose to do this. If you want to do it at the highest level, you choose failure, heartbreak, and on the other hand, you get the most reward for the good, and that risk is worth it to me.”

To Kohles, too.

Anyway.

You must be wondering where his thoughts were, on Monday morning, he took to Instagram. He posted a few photos, including one of the infamous moment when his 8-iron clubface partially closed. He also wrote a few words.

He gave him the foul ball.

“It was a disappointing finish, no sugar coating that,” he wrote. “But if this game has taught me something, it's that you don't choose how the story goes, you only get how to respond.

“I'm very proud of the way we played all week. And, even though this hurts, it doesn't define who we are. We're going to learn from it, get better because of it, and keep putting ourselves in positions to win.

“I would like to thank everyone who has reached out for support from my family, friends and those who have been with me on this crazy journey, the whole world.

“Although my time hasn't come yet, I know that day will come, and everything we've been through will make it this way.

“We look forward to following it up again this week in Kentucky!”