The Kuehnes remain the only trio from the same family to win USGA titles and are “probably the most successful family in amateur golf history of the U.S.,” said Hank Haney, Kuehne’s coach from the age of 15 all through his amateur career.

Woods’s Coach

Haney stepped down as Tiger Woods’s coach in May 2010 after six years, during which he helped the then world No. 1 to win six major tournaments and 31 PGA Tour titles. In the five years since they split, Woods has slumped to a career-low 111th in the world, hasn’t added to his tally of 14 major titles and has won eight more times. Woods tomorrow returns from a two-month hiatus in a bid to win the Masters for the first time in a decade.

Kuehne’s golfing chops include being the low-scoring amateur at the 2003 U.S. Open and playing on three Walker Cup teams, including the 2007 squad that beat Great Britain and Ireland on the road. He was also on the three-man U.S. roster that finished third at the 72-nation Eisenhower Trophy in 2006, the world amateur championship.

He’s had a hole-in-one seven times -- five of them on Friday the 13th.

“It’s one of the weirdest sporting stats you’ll ever hear,” Bass said.

Lucky 13

The number 13 has followed Kuehne. In the 2003 U.S. Open, he had a 67 in the second round -- on Friday, June 13 -- one shot outside the record low score for an amateur. And at the 2008 Masters -- 13 years after his first appearance -- he got his only eagle at the 13th hole during the second round. It was also a 13-year gap between losing the U.S. Amateur final to Woods and winning the Mid-Amateur.

Even though he ranked first at the 2003 U.S. Open with a driving average of 326 yards -- and smashed his final drive 396 yards -- Kuehne made the right choice not to try making a career on the U.S. PGA Tour, said Haney.

“The only player I ever taught who struck the ball better than Trip Kuehne was Tiger Woods,” Haney said in a phone interview. “But being the best ball striker isn’t enough. Trip didn’t have the knack of getting the best score because his short game was not the greatest and he was nowhere near a tour- level putter. He made a smart call to do what he’s doing.”