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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – It was no surprise that Lucas Glover broke down his 6-under 66 on Day 1 at The Players Championship in the simplest terms.
“Hitting a lot of fairways, making a lot of putts. No secret, honestly. You probably can say that most places on Tour,” he shrugged.
Advanced analytics would suggest it was a little more nuanced than that. It was a signature Glover ball-striking round, with the six-time Tour winner first in the field in strokes gained: tee-to-green when he finished his day with 11 of 14 fairways hit.
But the key was on the greens, where he picked up more than 2 ½ shots on the field in strokes gained: putting and rolled in 120 feet of putts, including 33 feet over his final four holes (all birdies). To put that in context, he had 133 feet of putts made for Rounds 3 and 4, combined, last week at Bay Hill.
“I happened to have a bunch of good numbers today and a bunch of good yardages and was able to be aggressive and I putted great,” said Glover, who was the 18-hole co-leader with J.J. Spaun and Camilo Villegas.
For a player who endured a very public bout with the yips (his words, not ours), Thursday’s performance on the greens was a testament to the work he put in to overcome his putting woes, which included countless sessions with former Navy SEAL Jason Kuhn and creating his own unique putting style.
Glover said he still has negative thoughts when he’s faced with certain putts but he now has the “tools” to deal with them.
“I had several today, left-edge putts downhill, fast, from 2 and 3 feet that I would have missed three years ago, two years ago, no questions asked. Just nervy and gross and yuck. But, yeah, and you get those out here,” Glover said. “You get a lot of short putts outside the hole, but, yeah, don't seem to have that issue now.”
Thursday was Glover’s second-best start to The Players — he opened with a 65 in 2011 for his best — and provided another chapter in a complicated relationship with the Stadium Course. He was third in 2010 and tied for sixth place in ’17 for his only top-10 finishes in 16 starts at the circuit’s flagship event.
“Love/hate,” he texted when asked how he would characterize his relationship with TPC Sawgrass. “I love it when I play well.”
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“Hitting a lot of fairways, making a lot of putts. No secret, honestly. You probably can say that most places on Tour,” he shrugged.
Advanced analytics would suggest it was a little more nuanced than that. It was a signature Glover ball-striking round, with the six-time Tour winner first in the field in strokes gained: tee-to-green when he finished his day with 11 of 14 fairways hit.
But the key was on the greens, where he picked up more than 2 ½ shots on the field in strokes gained: putting and rolled in 120 feet of putts, including 33 feet over his final four holes (all birdies). To put that in context, he had 133 feet of putts made for Rounds 3 and 4, combined, last week at Bay Hill.
“I happened to have a bunch of good numbers today and a bunch of good yardages and was able to be aggressive and I putted great,” said Glover, who was the 18-hole co-leader with J.J. Spaun and Camilo Villegas.
For a player who endured a very public bout with the yips (his words, not ours), Thursday’s performance on the greens was a testament to the work he put in to overcome his putting woes, which included countless sessions with former Navy SEAL Jason Kuhn and creating his own unique putting style.
Glover said he still has negative thoughts when he’s faced with certain putts but he now has the “tools” to deal with them.
“I had several today, left-edge putts downhill, fast, from 2 and 3 feet that I would have missed three years ago, two years ago, no questions asked. Just nervy and gross and yuck. But, yeah, and you get those out here,” Glover said. “You get a lot of short putts outside the hole, but, yeah, don't seem to have that issue now.”
Thursday was Glover’s second-best start to The Players — he opened with a 65 in 2011 for his best — and provided another chapter in a complicated relationship with the Stadium Course. He was third in 2010 and tied for sixth place in ’17 for his only top-10 finishes in 16 starts at the circuit’s flagship event.
“Love/hate,” he texted when asked how he would characterize his relationship with TPC Sawgrass. “I love it when I play well.”
Continue reading...
