Before Daniel Berger won the Charles Schwab Challenge on Sunday, he suffered through a three-year victory drought that may go down as the most important stretch in his development into a world-class player.
Berger, 27, has been overshadowed by his fellow members of the “Class of 2011,” Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas and for good reason – they have both won majors and reached World No. 1 since turning pro. Berger has three PGA Tour victories to his credit and competed alongside Spieth and Thomas as a U.S. Presidents Cup teammate in 2017.
Just as he appeared headed to join them as a stalwart of U.S. Cup teams, Berger injured his right hand and was forced to miss time. Berger’s initial reaction was telling: “I’m thinking this is the best thing ever. I can go on the boat, I can hang out, I don’t have any responsibilities,” he said.
But two months later, he had his “aha” moment: he missed golf.
“I never thought I loved golf. I thought it was just something I was good at and it was my job,” he said on the Earn Your Edge podcast with his instructor Cameron McCormick and co-host Corey Lundberg. “The more time that went by I thought, ‘Wow, this is sad that I can’t play right now.’ I really had a perspective change when that happened and I knew from that point on that I was going to do everything I could to ensure that I was going to be as healthy as possible so I could do this game that I love.”
Tee times, TV info | Harbour Town photos
He also made a significant change last year when he began working with McCormick at the 2019 Valero Texas Open after going nearly 18 months without a top-10 finish.
“It was confusing. I didn’t understand why I was doing the same things that I had been doing for years, but I wasn’t getting the results,” Berger said. “(Cameron) brought a lot of different techniques that I never was taught when I was younger, and it really improved my short game and my putting…That’s why I feel so confident with my game. I feel like I don’t have to hit the ball great to score well because my short game can hold up.”
Berger returned healthy last season and finished No. 131 on the FedEx Cup standings. He had five starts to satisfy his minor-medical exemption, and took care of business in his 2019-20 debut at the Safeway Open.
[jwplayer Mx5oFdbQ-9JtFt04J]
“I was stressing harder than I ever had in my entire life over it,” he told Golfweek at the time. “I feel like a million-pound weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”
Berger has made nine of 10 cuts this season and recorded three straight top-10 finishes, including a T-4 at the Honda Classic when the golf season was suspended due to the global pandemic.
The difference in this downtime from competition compared to during his wrist injury?
He was healthy and teed it up frequently in games with fellow Tour pros Keegan Bradley, Jamie Lovemark, Jon Curran and Cameron Tringale at The Bear’s Club. Berger, who is member of courses in both Martin and Palm Beach County, said at times Palm Beach County courses were closed and Martin County courses were opened. He was able to get his golf fix at Turtle Creek Golf Club.
“It’s literally 300 yards from my house,” he said. “I’d get up in the morning, walk nine holes, and just kind of get the body moving and at least just have a rhythm for swinging the golf club, even if it wasn’t competitive or I wasn’t really focused necessarily on shooting scores. It was more about getting out there and feeling some familiarity with the game.”
[vertical-gallery id=778047874]
Berger’s victory at Colonial vaulted him from No. 29 in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings to No. 12. But with only the top 6 earning an automatic berth, Berger still has work to do to secure a spot on Captain Steve Stricker’s team or at least make a lasting impression for one of six picks. Berger’s win also earned him a berth in the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind, where he’s claimed his two previous Tour titles.
Former two-time U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III served as an assistant captain to Stricker at the 2017 Presidents Cup and came away impressed with Berger’s confidence and mettle.
“He was not the rookie guy sitting in the corner just trying to fit in. He wanted to be in the mix and wanted the ball. I think that’s what you see in him. He wants the ball and wants to take the shot,” Love said. “I see Daniel as a guy that you can pair with a lot of players just because he plays so well and aggressively and confidently that you — like you can trust him. You know he’s going to — he’s not going to back down.”
Not now that he’s realized he loves the game.
[lawrence-related id=778049182,778049160,778049217]