1992 champion Kite barely misses out on coveted return to Pebble Beach

At age 60, Tom Kite fell agonizingly short in his attempt to qualify for the U.S Open at the venue where he's enjoyed his greatest major success. But his pain is eased by memories of his terrific 1992 U.S. Open victory.

By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

Tom Kite had planned for his streak to continue.

Five major championships at Pebble Beach, five cuts made. The only player who could have claimed that, mind you. And, of course, one U.S. Open trophy. One more chance at the age of 60 sounded oh-so-sweet and oh-so-right.

But it’s not going to happen.

Instead of teeing it up at the 2010 U.S. Open, Kite will be on the sidelines. Maybe watching. Maybe not.

Remember that Masters he missed a while back? He pulled out the saw that weekend and took dead aim at the trees in his yard. No sense wallowing in it. What good does that do?

“Very disappointing," he said of missing a spot in the U.S. Open by one shot at a sectional qualifier in Colorado. “I was determined that I was going to get in. ... Really frustrating  that you get that close. Kind of a bummer all the way around."

It would have hurt no matter what the venue. But Pebble Beach? Well, that’s special. That’s where he shared a moment with his father 20 years ago. Where he went from the best player never to win a major to a U.S. Open champion. Where he holed the most famous Open chip-in there this side of Tom Watson’s at No. 17 in 1982.

Where he closed with an even-par 72 that – in 40 mph gusts – felt more like a closing 62.

“You talk to the players, and almost to a man they consider it one of the most difficult days they ever played golf, especially for those of us who went off late," Kite said.

Low scores on a benign course early in the week; terror on a dried-out, windblown 18 on Sunday afternoon.

Harvey Penick had told some folks they should bet on Kite that week, but who knows how many took the legendary teacher’s sage advice. Even Kite's father, who passed away in February 2010, wasn’t buying Penick’s clairvoyance.

 “I don’t think that prophetic," Tom Sr., said that afternoon, “I think it was wishful thinking."

Maybe so. But his son wound up throwing out one of the greatest closing rounds in U.S. Open history on one of the most heart-pounding, stunning tests in the Open rota.

You remember, of course, the chip-in on the seventh hole. No one was hitting the green there that Sunday afternoon. Not even Kite, whose 6-iron went long and whose lob wedge found the hole.

“I’m thinking it will be a tough shot," he said. “I’m  thinking about playing a flop shot over the bunker and getting it to somehow land soft enough to be able to get close.

“I think I was in shock as much as everyone watching on TV was. While I was really excited the shot went in, it was not the time to start jumping around and get too excited because there was so much golf left to be played."

That chills-up-and-down-the-spine moment was one of nine times that afternoon Kite pulled that L-wedge. And one of five times he got up and down.

“Pebble has by far the smallest greens in major competition, and in conditions like that with that much wind, with the greens that hard, you're just not going to hit that many greens in regulation," he said.

He didn’t. In addition to that chip-in, Kite got up-and-down at the eighth, ninth (from the hazard), 10th and 14th. And, he pulled off a great bunker shot at the fifth hole that, well, turned a so-so start into a major moment.

Kite had double bogeyed the fourth hole and then hit it out of the bunker to 8 feet – on a severe green – to save par. Nine holes later, he was up by four shots and cruising.

“I played those holes 3 under,” Kite said. “It was one of the toughest stretches of golf I ever played."

One of the keys, he said, was focusing on one shot at the time. Not chit-chatting with caddie Mike Carrick. Not letting the crowd or the scoreboard creep in.

“I was so into the moment, I wasn’t letting anything build," Kite said. “I remember catching myself going up the 11th fairway. I hit a nice shot into the green and had about 15 feet.

“The crowd was going crazy and I kind of got into it for a moment. Then I caught myself and said, ‘C’mon Tom, you’ve got a lot of golf to go.’ I caught myself and went right back into the moment. It probably lasted only seconds, but I did get into what was happening. And fortunately got myself out of it."

Kite bogeyed the 16th and 17th holes, but still led by two standing on the 18th tee. And when his drive hit the fairway? He allowed himself to get a little caught up in the moment.

“I knew I had the tournament won at the time," he said.

Ironically, Jack Nicklaus, who was doing commentary for ABC, was so impressed with Colin Montgomerie’s closing 70 earlier in the day, that he congratulated Monty on winning. But Monty finished third – a shot behind runner-up Jeff Sluman.

“Jack," Kite said, “was a better player than he was a prognosticator."

And Kite? He was finally a major champion. Three years earlier, the U.S. Open at Oak Hill was Kite’s to win -- but he didn’t. Curtis Strange won that Open and Kite closed with a 78 to share ninth. That Sunday, too, ABC sat in his parents’ home with cameras trained on Tom Sr., and Penick as Kite’s swing came undone.

“I should have won that," Kite said. “My swing just didn’t hold up. Mentally, I held up."

But all that was erased that afternoon at Pebble Beach.

“How do you describe the emotions I’m going through?" Kite said that day. “I don’t know if there are words that can describe it. We’re talking about dreams. Dreams that have been around for a long time."

Two decades later, he smiles as he recalls the shots. And sharing that moment on the 18th green with his wife, his mom and dad.

“It was relief -- all of a sudden this huge weight on my back was gone," he said. “I’m proud of the fact that I was finally able to produce the right round at the right time that produced a major championship.

“Even par at Pebble Beach. You look at it and it’s not great score, except under those conditions."

If only he had the chance for one more.