It was an ugly debut in the U.S. Open.
Three years removed from winning the NCAA individual and team golf championships at UCLA, Kevin Chappell earned a spot in the 2011 Open at Congressional Country Club and was staggered by shooting an opening 76.
Chappell fell 11 shots behind the eventual runaway winner, Rory McIlroy.
“You’re out of the tournament — that’s what it feels like,” Chappel recalled. “I really had to gather myself.”
It has been a theme for Chappell at junctures in his life — the harder things become, the better he responds, even in the face of tragedy.