Kisner Secures First PGA Tour Win

Kevin Kisner was all smiles after his win on Sunday.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Kevin Kisner ended a year marked by second-place finishes with his first PGA Tour victory Sunday at Sea Island.

Staked to a three-shot lead going into the final round of the final tournament of the year, Kisner ran with it. He doubled the size of his lead at the turn by going out in 30, and he breezed home with a 6-under 64 to win by six shots over Kevin Chappell.

Kisner became the sixth first-time winner in the fall start to the new season, though this was hardly a surprise.

The 31-year-old played so well this year that he rose to No. 25 in the world. He just didn't win. He lost in playoffs at Hilton Head, Sawgrass and the Greenbrier, and he was a runner-up for the fourth time in a World Golf Championship two weeks ago in Shanghai.

This one wasn't even close.

Kisner rolled in a 6-foot birdie putt on the second hole, and no one got closer than four shots the rest of the way. He tapped in for par on the 18th hole to shatter the tournament record with a 22-under 60.

Better yet was seeing year-old daughter Kate running toward him.

Kisner scooped her up and said, "We did it!"

Did he ever.

"I've just been playing so well all year," Kisner said. "I knew one day it was going to happen when I was going to make all the putts. I did it on the front nine."

If there was a turning point, it would have been on the par-5 seventh hole when Kisner's second shot landed in a native bush in the dunes short of the green. He chose to hammer it out of there and moved it about 5 feet, then chipped 8 feet by the hole. Graeme McDowell missed his 10-foot birdie putt and Kisner holed his for par. His lead stayed at four shots, and Kisner followed with a wedge to 8 feet for birdie on the next hole, and a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 9 to go six clear.

Kisner goes into the six-week break atop the FedEx Cup standings and eager for his next chance. The victory allows him to start 2016 one week earlier in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua.

"I hope the floodgates are open," Kisner said. "You've got to believe you can win on Thursday. I hope that catapults me into believing that every week."