Harris English

From drug depths to a big payday, caddie Eric Larson’s rebound coincides with Harris English’s success

Harris English along with his caddie Eric Larson placed second at Northern Trust but it was a victory for the duo, especially financially.

Without hitting a shot or making a putt, Eric Larson left the Northern Trust on Sunday as one of the biggest winners.

The longtime PGA Tour caddie, who has worked three-plus years for Harris English, had reason to celebrate after English finished a distant second to Dustin Johnson in the first event of the FedExCup playoffs.

English vaulted from 27th to sixth in the FedEx Cup standings and assures him (and Larson) a spot in the Sept. 4-7 Tour Championship at East Lake.

Never has a second-place finish felt more like a victory for a caddie.

Not only did Larson earn one of the biggest checks of his career – $72,485, 7 percent of English’s $1,035,500 runner-up prize – Larson could be looking at a bigger payday.

The winner of the FedEx Cup earns $15 million – $1.5 million for the caddie if he receives the standard 10 percent winning fee. If English remains No. 6, that’s a $1.9 million bonus, an additional six-figure payday for Larson.

More importantly, by making it to East Lake, English is eligible every PGA Tour event next year, especially the four majors. No more worrying about alternates’ lists.

No wonder Sunday felt like a victory for Larson, even though he didn’t take the 18th hole flag with him.

Harris English and caddie Eric Larson during the 2020 Memorial tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. (Aaron Doster/USA Today Sports)

“I’m just happy to see all the hard work that Harris has done pay off, which obviously helps me tremendously,” Larson said Monday night from Chicago, site of this week’s BMW Championship. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Larson – who everyone calls “E” on the PGA Tour – is showing the veteran caddie’s humility of crediting his boss. Larson has played a strong role. Consider this: English is the fourth player Larson has caddied for in the Tour Championship, joining buddy Mark Calcavecchia (2007), Anthony Kim (2008) and Jeff Overton (2010).

How many caddies can make that claim?

“I’ve been fortunate to work for a lot of great players,” Larson said.

English has been as consistent as the sun. He has six top-10s and 13 top-25 finishes – six in a row – and just two missed cuts in 18 starts. He missed two more events in late June when he tested positive for COVID-19.

English has earned a career-best $3.265 million – an estimated $200,000 for Larson – and risen to No. 53 in the latest world rankings.

The last year has been another turn in the roller-coaster ride of Larson’s career. He won a PGA Tour event with Calcavecchia, the 1995 BellSouth Classic, before Larson spent a decade in federal prison (1995-2005) for selling cocaine.

“I did it for monetary purposes only,” Larson told The Palm Beach Post 20 years ago. “I didn’t use it, and I never brought it out on Tour. I was not a major drug dealer.”

Larson hasn’t shied away from his past. He recently did a podcast with Tommy Chong (of Cheech and Chong fame), who Larson met in prison, for the Caddie Network.

While Larson was in jail, Calcavecchia provided financial support and promised he would re-hire Larson when he got out. Calcavecchia did even better, winning the 2007 PODS Championship at Innisbrook with Larson alongside.

With Calcavecchia’s blessing, Larson soon left for Kim, a rising star who won twice with Larson on the bag. Larson guided Kim and Overton to their first – and only – Ryder Cup.

After Overton lost his status in 2016, Larson was in limbo, working with Henrik Norlander, among others.

“I don’t take anything for granted,” Larson said. “I know this job could end tomorrow.”

Larson heard English was looking for a caddie in 2017, so he contacted his agent. English was struggling, but Larson knew he could regain the form that helped English win two PGA Tour events and a Korn Ferry Tour event as an amateur.

“The thing I liked about Harris was even though he wasn’t playing his best golf, he remained upbeat and wasn’t blaming anyone else,” Larson said.

Their first event was at Colonial and they have been together since. They are a perfect fit on the golf course because of their flat-line personalities.

“We both take our jobs very seriously,” Larson said. “With Harris, less is more. Just give him the right information, and he’ll do the rest.”

Larson, who turns 60 in two weeks, is almost twice the age of English (31), but Larson has a baby face and looks younger than his birth certificate. He feels younger these days.

Life changes quickly on the PGA Tour. A year ago, Larson didn’t know if he would have a full-time job.

Sunday night, Larson flew to Chicago on Johnson’s private charter. Hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, you might as well travel first class with ‘em.

Asked how he has handled the highs and lows of the last 25 years, Larson said, “I’m good at adapting to things.”

The next two weeks will be gravy for Larson. Gravy with whatever steak and lobster Larson wants.

His friends couldn’t be happier. Calcavecchia has already requested – and received – a chance to play a practice round with English (and Larson) at next year’s British Open, Calcavecchia’s last as the 1989 champion.

“Nobody deserves this success more than ‘E’ does,” Calcavecchia said. “He has always remained positive.”

That’s “E” to a tee.

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Cameron Davis turns heads with share of Northern Trust lead to start the playoffs

Cameron Davis’s name was probably never mentioned in discussions about potential winners, but he has a share of the Northern Trust lead.

NORTON, Mass. – The NBA Playoffs started this week, and in the opening game of their series against the Los Angeles Lakers, the eighth-seed Portland Trailblazers upset the Western Division’s top-seeded team. The Orlando Magic, another 8-seed, defeated the Eastern Division’s top team, the Milwaukee Bucks.

Like Lakers and Bucks fans, golf lovers probably assumed that one of the top-ranked players this week at TPC Boston would take command early at the Northern Trust. Justin Thomas tops the FedEx Cup point list and is ranked No. 2 in the world. Collin Morikawa arrived in Norton, Massachusetts, ranked second in FedEx Cup points thanks to winning the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park two weeks ago. Maybe Rory McIlroy, he’s won twice on this course.

Cameron Davis’s name was probably never mentioned in discussions about potential winners. Andy why should it be? Entering this week, he was 203rd on the Official World Golf Ranking, No. 91 on the FedEx Cup point list and he’s missed the cut in four of the seven PGA Tour events he has played since the Tour’s restart. But on a New England morning that was so beautiful James Taylor probably wrote a song about it, Davis, 25, lit up TPC Boston. He carded eight birdies en route to a 64 and a share of the first-round lead.

Northern Trust: Leaderboard | Best photos

“My swing was a little sloppy, and I wasn’t hitting the ball very solid on the range,” Davis said Thursday evening. “The start to this back nine, which is where I started my round, is very strong, and (I) hit a lot of good quality shots. I feel really proud of the way I dug in.”

Davis is joined by other players who did not get a lot of attention heading into the week: Harris English and Kevin Streelman.

“It helps when the greens are soft,” said English, who was a standout at the University of Georgia. “Five-iron into No. 11, then a really good shot, a 5-iron, at No. 12. (On) 13 I hit 8-iron and 14 I hit 7-iron. A lot of mid-irons, a lot of long irons and I feel like you’ve got to hit those clubs well. I felt like my iron game was on point.”

That’s one way to describe it. English hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation and finished the day ranked No. 1 in proximity to the hole and second in strokes gained approach the green, a stat that measures how much of an edge a player has on the field based on his iron game.

“I don’t swing it like everybody else, and other people don’t swing it like I do,” English said after being asked about switching coaches and searching for a better move. “I can’t look at how Rory swings it, how Dustin swings it, how Brooks swings it. I mean, everybody is different, and I’ve begun to realize that.”

Streelman, 41, came into the week ranked No. 22 in FedEx Cup points. He has two runner-up finishes this season but hasn’t won a PGA Tour event since the 2014 Travelers Championship. A strong showing here could put him in a position to reach his first Tour Championship since 2013.

“(I) just kind of did what I was supposed to today, and you’ve got to keep pushing,” Streelman said. “I think the wind is not going to be a major factor this weekend. The weather looks beautiful. The course in perfect shape. I’m excited to get out in the morning with even better greens than we had today.”

Another Georgia Bulldog who had a great day was two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, who shot 65 in the afternoon wave.

“The problem that I’ve had over the last year or so is the mental part, the thinking,” Watson said. “I’ve been trying to work on that a little bit. I knew my ballstriking was in the right spot. We’ve got three more days, so I could shoot 102 tomorrow, but right now, I’m hitting the driver really nicely. I’ve got an old (Ping) B60 (putter) in the bag now from my junior days, so I rolled the ball nicely as well.”

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Other players who shot 65 on Thursday were Louis Oosthuizen, Scott Piercy, Kevin Kisner, Matthew Wolff and Charley Hoffman, who won on this course in 2010, and Sebastian Munoz, who birdied his first seven holes.

Among the notable players who also posted low scores are:

Daniel Berger, Adam Scott and Tommy Fleetwood (66)
Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson (67)
Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Tiger Woods (68)

Woods put his old Scotty Cameron putter in the bag on Thursday, taking out the longer and heavier putter that he used at the PGA Championship.

“I had a good feel today. I had nice pace, and I like the speed of these greens,” Woods said. ” They’re fast. Even though they’re soft, but they’re still quick.”

Brooks Koepka withdrew from the Northern Trust on Wednesday due to a hip injury, and on Thursday morning, Ryan Moore withdrew after playing seven holes in 2-over par due to a back injury. Neither player was already inside the top 70 spots on the FedEx Cup point list, so they are out of the playoffs.

Among the notable players who struggled on Thursday were Phil Mickelson (74), Marc Leishman (75) and Graeme McDowell (77).

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COVID messes up tee sheet for third round of The Memorial

The COVID-19 global pandemic created an awkward situation Saturday for the third round of the Memorial.

DUBLIN, Ohio – The COVID-19 global pandemic created an awkward situation Saturday for the third round of the Memorial.

Not one, not two, not three, but four players went out as singles because of the PGA Tour’s clarification to its health and safety plan last week. The amplification now allows players who continue to test positive for COVID to compete if certain conditions are met.

According to the CDC’s protocols dealing with symptoms, a player who tested positive for the virus but then went into isolation for at least 10 days since they first had symptoms and then went 72 hours without any respiratory or fever issues could return to competition, even if they test positive for the coronavirus.

Three players – Dylan Frittelli, Harris English and Denny McCarthy – fall into this category. In the first two rounds, out of an abundance of caution, Frittelli played with Graeme McDowell because McDowell’s caddie fell into this category, too. English and McCarthy played together while all others played in threesomes.

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But when Frittelli, English and McCarthy weren’t tied after 36 holes, and out of fairness to them and the field, they went out for the third round at the same time as others with the same score. But they went out as singles – again out of an abundance of caution – with McCarthy starting at 9:20 a.m., English at 11:20 a.m. and Frittelli at 12:20 p.m.

All three played behind and in front of twosomes – which forced adjustments.

“It was strange,” English said after a 2-over-par 74. “I was trying to slow down as much as possible out there, and I still probably played in over 4 hours, 20 minutes as a onesome. The course was hard; gave me a little extra time to figure out. The wind was swirling a little bit. Obviously had some tough putts out here. It was OK. I did the best I could with the situation.

Leaderboard | How to watch | Photos

“It was fun. It would really suck if you didn’t get along with your caddie very well or you were on bad terms. But we had a good time out there. You’ve got a lot of time to talk out there and tell stories.”

He’ll have time to do it again Sunday. English tested positive Saturday morning and he’ll have to play as a onesome in the final round.

So, too, will Frittelli. He tested positive Saturday.

“I have a friend in Japan, I’ve mentioned it before, he’s been a month in and he still hasn’t tested negative,” Frittelli said. “I’m ready for the long haul here, and I’ll be playing next week. Hopefully I can get that test sooner rather than later. But I’m not worried, I’m keep testing and we’ll wait and see.

As for his round, Frittelli wasn’t thrown one bit.

“It was just like golf is Monday through Friday at my home golf club, just normal golf,” he said. “It was quite nice. I kept a nice pace. I didn’t really touch the guys in front of me, just managed to stay about a half a hole back and waited on a couple tee boxes, but it was actually quite nice pacing, to be honest.”

Reed also played solo

Patrick Reed, who has not tested positive for the coronavirus, also played as a single because of the alterations to the pairings. He was first off at Muirfield Village Golf Club at 7:30 a.m. local time. He played in three hours, five minutes.

“It was interesting today,” Reed said after his 70. “I thought it was going to kind of be hard to get into a rhythm because your caddie is getting the divots, cleaning the clubs, if you’re in a bunker, having to rake bunkers, getting flags, stuff like that, so you almost feel like your caddie is going to be behind and lagging all day.

“But I was able to sit down and talk with my coach and talk with Kessler (Karain, his caddie) kind of before going into today, all right, what’s our kind of game plan to keep us at a good rhythm where none of us are kind of lagging behind. And so we were able to figure that out. And it was weird; felt like a practice round out there. You’re out there being a single, no fans allowed, so it’s just you, your walking score, Kessler and that’s about it. It was kind of one of those when you hit a shot, maybe we’ll try this shot, you want to go and hit another golf ball, but you can’t. It was interesting.”

McCarthy did some fine work through 14 holes but then said he “stumbled” in with double bogeys on the 15 and 16 and a bogey on 17. He shot 76. But his spirits improved when he was told after the round his test from Friday came back negative and he can now play in a twosome on Sunday.

“It was good, especially since the doctor thought it could go on for a little while,” McCarthy said. “Obviously it was pretty odd today going out as a onesome. It’s been a weird couple weeks, but obviously glad to hear the news. Glad to get back to a somewhat normal atmosphere in this crazy time.

“It wasn’t that different. Harris and I played as a twosome behind threesomes the last few days, so if anything I’d say it just gives us a little more time to slow down, relax, worry about my game a little more. I can spend an extra minute or two here and there on the green, and I can just go about my business.”

But it’s not business as usual. Frittelli, English and McCarthy said they’ve felt like outcasts on the PGA Tour since testing positive.

“Nobody really wants to get close to you or whatnot. I understand it,” English said. “This virus is still so new and I’m about three weeks out of a positive test in Detroit, so I feel like I’ve fully recovered. I haven’t played golf in a long time. Spent 10 days on the couch. The game was a little rusty but I feel like I’m fighting through it and in a pretty good spot to play this week.”

McCarthy said “it’s been tough.”

“Obviously guys not really wanting to be around me,” he said. “Not being able to be in the locker room, dining area, not being able to sit with guys, just kind of being by myself, making sure I’m doing everything right, not really going anywhere in public, getting a lot of takeout, getting food from here and bringing it back to my hotel, so it’s been a little lonely, but it is what it is.

“I felt like I’ve dealt with it just fine and I’ve done a good job of putting that aside and focusing on my golf game.”

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PGA Tour tweaks COVID rules; Cameron Champ can play at Rocket Mortgage

The Tour will be transitioning to the CDC’s test-based model for those who are not showing symptoms of COVID-19.

DETROIT — It’s been a whirlwind eight days for Cameron Champ, who was the first of a handful of players to withdraw from the Travelers Championship after he tested positive for the coronavirus.

Champ followed with three tests in a 72-hour span that all came back negative, and now, under a tweak of the PGA Tour’s Health and Safety Plan, he’ll be eligible to play at this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic.

The Tour had based its self-isolation period of 10 days on the Centers for Disease Control’s protocols, but according to a release late Wednesday, the Tour will be transitioning to the CDC’s test-based model for those who are not showing COVID symptoms.

Players and caddies will need to follow any positive test with two negative tests a minimum of 24 hours apart.

Since Champ, a two-time winner on Tour, has done such, he’ll be eligible for play when the event starts on Thursday morning under the new guidelines.

“I am extremely grateful for the tireless efforts and conversations between the TOUR, my team and all of the experts who were consulted in order to deliver this best possible outcome,” Champ said in a release. “It is a great example of everyone being committed to working together to adapt and evolve in this constantly changing environment. I would especially like to thank my fellow players for their support and cannot wait to tee it up with them in Detroit tomorrow!”

Champ will be added to the field and has been assigned a 2:10 p.m. tee time off the back nine.

He’s not the only one impacted by the new protocols. Harris English and Chad Campbell will be able to return to next week’s Tour event in Columbus, Ohio, while Brandon Wu and Jonathan Hodge will be eligible for the Korn Ferry Tour’s tournament in San Antonio, Texas — if all four show no signs of the virus and come back with two negative test results. All four had previously tested positive.

“As we all learn more about how to navigate this complicated COVID-19 environment, we appreciate the continued dialogue with medical experts and with the Centers for Disease Control directly as we fine-tune our Health & Safety Plan accordingly,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “Today’s changes — and those announced over the past week — illustrate our commitment to preserving the health and well-being of our athletes, constituents and our impact on the communities in which we play, as well as a willingness to make medically-sound adjustments that allow our players to compete, safely. The continued success of our return to golf depends on that approach.”

The Tour also announced that the stipend program, which previously offered players who tested positive $100,000 according to a report, has also been updated.

According to the Tour:

To be eligible for the applicable stipend following an on-site positive test, a player or caddie returning from an off week must have completed an at-home test the week prior to returning to play.
The stipend amounts have been adjusted to make them equal for an on-site positive or an at-home positive test result.

Harris English tests positive for COVID-19 ahead of Rocket Mortgage Classic

Harris English is the fifth PGA Tour player to test positive for COVID-19 since the season restart.

A fifth PGA Tour player has tested positive for COVID-19.

The Tour announced Monday Harris English tested positive for the virus and has withdrawn from the Rocket Mortgage Classic. The 30-year-old did not compete during last week’s Travelers Championship.

Harris is the second player to test positive ahead of this week’s event at Detroit Golf Club. The Tour announced Sunday Dylan Frittelli also tested positive for the virus.

Three weeks after the Tour’s restart at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club, five players and two caddies have tested positive on the PGA Tour.

English, a two-time winner on Tour, competed in the season restart at Colonial, but missed the cut. He finished T-17 at the RBC Heritage. His best finish ahead of the season being postponed in March was T-4 at the Houston Open in October.

PGA TOUR statement – COVID-19 Update – June 29, 2020 pic.twitter.com/dBHwBjeiWu

— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) June 29, 2020

“While it’s disappointing to receive this news, as I feel healthy, I’m pleased that the new safety protocols we have in place worked this week,” English said in a statement provided by the Tour. “I fully support the Tour’s new rule of not allowing anyone on the tournament grounds until testing negative, as protecting others in the field and everyone affiliated with the tournament in the community should be the number one priority as a result of a positive test. I appreciate the tour support and I look forward to competing again after I’m fully recovered.”

The PGA Tour implemented a new rule that players must await a negative COVID-19 test result before being allowed on tournament grounds after Nick Watney, the first Tour player to test positive after the Tour’s restart June 11, interacted with other players while awaiting a test result.

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What to get Phil Mickelson for his 50th birthday? Fellow pros have some ideas

What do you get for a man who seemingly has everything? Phil Mickelson, who turns 50 on June 16, is a tough guy to buy for.

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What do you get for a man who seemingly has everything?

Seriously, Phil Mickelson, who turns 50 on June 16, is a tough guy to buy for. Man’s got three green jackets, a Claret Jug, a Wanamaker Trophy and a plaque in the World Golf Hall of Fame. He has a hefty bank account, all the toys, golf memberships the world over, a mansion being built in southeast Florida.

“Gosh, that’s a good question,” Mickelson told Golfweek when asked what he’s hoping to unwrap. “I really don’t want for anything, materialistically. But I am excited what Amy has planned and appreciative to have her in my life.”

Well, if his wife and their three children need suggestions, Mickelson’s friends in the golf world were eager to tee some up.

“We all need to pool some money together to get him a seat on that Elon Musk flight to the moon. The footage and commentary of Phil on the moon would be incredible.”

A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30, 2020. The rocket carried astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station. Photo by Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK

Zach Johnson

“Some Lulu Lemon yoga pants to accentuate his massive calves.”

Colt Knost

“A blank encyclopedia so he can write his own version since he knows everything.”

Pages: 123

With back against the wall, Harris English becomes Harris English again

The two-time PGA Tour winner stopped trying to emulate the swing of others, and started focusing on what he knows best.

Harris English knew what he had to do to turn his form and fortune around.

He had to become Harris English again.

The two-time PGA Tour winner’s journey back to being himself began shortly after he lost his full playing privileges for the first time in seven years last fall in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. A dismal back nine on the final day of the final tournament of the season left him without his card for the 2019-20 campaign and dropped him into the No. 126-150 category for this season. He hadn’t won on Tour since 2013, was No. 369 in the world, and was staring at a season full of fewer playing opportunities.

“Instead of finishing it off, I didn’t pull it off,” English said. “I had it in my hands and didn’t get the job done. It hurt.”

Instead of wallowing in woe – just not his style – English, 30, got together with a few trusted allies and vowed to find the proverbial silver lining in his situation. Part of his blueprint going forward would be to stop trying to be someone else.

“I got into a bad habit, and a lot of golfers do this, of watching Dustin Johnson swing like he does, watching Brooks Koepka swing like he does, watching Rory McIlroy swing like he does, and wondering why can’t I swing like that?” English said. “I was thinking about what I can do to swing like them instead of thinking what I can do to make my swing be as good as it could possibly be. And I realized my swing can be just as good as any player’s swing in the world.”

Along with his coach, Justin Parsons, the two started to watch someone else – English – as they pulled up some video from his playing days at the University of Georgia (English won a Nationwide Tour while he was a Bulldog). The two kept their approach simple and just refined English’s swing.

“We’ve done a good job figuring out what makes my swing tick,” English said.

Well, things started to click. Along with sharpened focus and fitness, English had four top-6 finishes in the fall and kept rolling this year with a tie for 16^th in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, a tie for 17^th in the Honda Classic and a tie for ninth in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“I kept building up momentum,” he said. “I had more confidence in where my ball was going and I knew I could compete and win.”

Then the English Express next rolled into The Players Championship, the PGA Tour’s flagship event, and he signed for a 7-under-par 65 after the first round to stand two strokes out of the lead. But then the world came to a standstill and the PGA Tour was shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As he drove up Interstate 95 to his home in St. Simons Island, Georgia, the day the PGA Tour was silenced, English again was determined to turn this undesirable time into a positive.

“My game was in great shape and I was peaking at the right time in one of the biggest tournaments of the year. Huge purse, huge FedExCup points at stake,” said English, who is now No. 155 in the world and 24^th in the FedExCup standings. “But it does me no good to think of the negatives.”

Instead he found plenty of positives – spending quality time with his wife, Helen Marie, and their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Maisy, leading the way. He’s kept his fitness in top-top shape and his game in fine form with numerous trips to local golf courses and frequent money games with an abundance of fellow pros who live in the area.

“It’s the longest time I’ve been home since I’ve been a pro. I’m an actual resident of St. Simons now,” he laughed. “It’s been a good break.”

But he’s itching to get back to the PGA Tour. He plans on playing the first two events when the Tour resumes play June 11-14 with the Charles Schwab Challenge. He’s also in The Memorial, the PGA Championship and at least the first two FedExCup Playoffs events. Still, he’ll have to rely on sponsor’s exemptions to get into other tournaments.

But he knows he’s in a far better position than he was nine months ago.

“I’ve always loved being in a situation where my back is up against the wall, and my back was up against the wall back then,” he said. “I think I needed to hit bottom like I did to figure out that my way of doing stuff wasn’t working. I needed to change the way I thought, change the way I worked and I needed to get better.

“I knew when I got to tournaments I was going to be 100 percent prepared, 100 percent rested and ready to go.

“That’s what makes this game so cool. You’re never good enough and you’re always striving to get better and that’s what pushes me to work every day and try and be the best player in the world.

“I’m ready to get rolling on the road again.”

Deep thoughts with Brendon Todd, Harris English and Russell Henley

Todd, English and Henley – a trio of Georgia grads – have experienced the highs and lows of life on Tour and come out better for them.

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SEA ISLAND, Ga. – Sometimes, while conducting interviews at a PGA Tour event, I feel like I should bill these guys for serving as therapist. Other times, I feel like I should be paying them for the words of wisdom they dole out.

In 2013, at the Riviera Country Club chipping green, I asked Robert Allenby innocently enough, “How have you been?” and he poured his heart out about the troubles plaguing his life for the next hour as I lent a willing ear.

Less than an hour later, I stopped fellow Aussie Stuart Appleby to pick his brain and some of the big-picture, deep musings have stuck with me to this day. Appleby, as I wrote at the time, possessed the sort of wisdom that could only be obtained through experience. He said, “We measure ourselves by some place we think we should be. We should be making more money, or I should be winning again, or I should be keeping my card.”

Then, he said the line I’ve quoted countless times to others: “You know, you can ‘should’ all over yourself.”

I relay this story because three Georgia Bulldogs – Brendon Todd, Harris English and Russell Henley – dropped knowledge on me this week and their words deserve further exploration.

RSM Classic: Tee times | Odds | Fantasy

The depth of Todd’s despair (37 missed cuts in 41 starts between 2016-18) and his current heater have been well documented (twice, in fact). But when we chatted on the phone ahead of the Mayokoba Golf Classic, he said something that really stuck with me about what he planned to do differently this time.

“The most important thing for me is to enjoy the game and understand what type of game I play, what makes it tick, and appreciate that and enjoy it,” he said. “I got to the top 50 in the world (in 2014), and all I could think is, ‘Let’s get to the top 20. I’ve got to get another win. I’ve gotta get better.’ Everything was outcome based. I never took time to enjoy it.”

And now?

“I’m enjoying the preparation, I’m enjoying the competition and I’m accepting the game I have; I’m not trying to change it,” Todd said. “I just am enjoying the competition. I’ve won at every level in golf and I feel like I’m capable of winning multiples times on the PGA Tour. If I can keep it in front of me, keep it on the planet, I’m going to contend on the weeks when I putt well.”

Todd conceded he put too much pressure on himself to validate his first win, and he changed his swing to such an extent that he couldn’t go back to what wasn’t really all that broken in the first place. His ensuing crisis in confidence was like trying to find a spring in a desert. A mirage seemed to wait at every turn. Todd has a lot of scar tissue, but confidence can return as quickly as it can disappear, and he’s going to ride it as long as he can.

Brendon Todd celebrates on the 18th green after winning during the continuation of the final round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleon in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

English, who is four years younger than Todd, has experienced a sudden renaissance of his game as well. English ranked a career-worst 149^th in the FedEx Cup standings last season. But he’s strung together 28 straight rounds in the 60s and leads the PGA Tour in top-10 finishes this fall with four top-6 finishes, including fifth at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

It’s mind-boggling to me that English hasn’t won since Mayakoba in 2013. At the time, only two golfers 25-and-under had multiple wins on Tour – Rory McIlroy and English. To what does he credit his sudden return to form?

“Just doing what I did back in college and my first couple years on Tour,” he said. “I know it sounds simple, or why would I steer away from that, but it’s just little things. This game can seem so simple but yet it’s still (complex) at the same time. But I’ve stuck with a game plan and a routine that I do every single day and it’s really helped me.”

English may have been guilty of getting on the merry-go-round of instructors. He’s settled down with Justin Parsons and together they had many long talks evaluating the difference in his game from when he was riding high. In trying to wrap his arms around what went wrong, English decided all he really needed to do was to go back to basics – “I don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” as he put it – and hitting greens in regulation to the tune of 79 percent (No. 8 on Tour, but No. 1 among players with more than 8 counting rounds), which was always his bread and butter. Sometimes the solution to all our problems is right in front of us.

Then there’s Henley, who was kind enough to accept my request to discuss his eight-stroke penalty for a golf-ball infraction at Mayakoba. About halfway through, Henley took the conversation in a very different direction when he said, “The Lord has used the game of golf in my life to show me who he is.”

Russell Henley of the United States walks on the ninth hole during the second round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleon in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

It was Sunday, but I wasn’t really expecting a religious sermon from Henley. Still, my ears perked up as he shed light on what he meant. As Henley tells it, a lot of his childhood dreams – winning on the PGA Tour, playing in the Masters, being in the top 50 in the world – were achieved at a young age. But here’s the rub: They didn’t fulfill him.

“They didn’t complete me in a way I thought they would,” Henley said.

There’s a lot to digest in those words, but essentially, Henley’s point was that his faith in religion has become his salvation.

“I can take situations like this and swallow them a little bit easier because my identity isn’t in my golf score,” he said. “It’s a gift I’ve been given to play this game. It’s tough to swallow (missing the cut), but it’s not going to crush me.”

What I learned from Todd, English and Henley, among other things, is these bulldogs still have their bark.

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With four holes to go at Mayakoba, Brendon Todd bidding for back-to-back PGA Tour titles

Brendon Todd is seeking back-to-back PGA Tour events. He and Vaughn Taylor share the lead at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

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On a marathon Sunday of golf at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, Brendon Todd and Vaughn Taylor are running stride for stride and share the lead at 20 under. But a champion won’t be crowned until Monday as play was suspended due to darkness at 6:11 p.m., with the leaders on the 15^th hole, their 33^rd hole of the day.

What’s one more night to wait for Taylor, who last won in 2016, and his pursuers, Harris English, who hasn’t won since the 2013 Mayakoba Golf Classic, and Carlos Ortiz, who is seeking his first Tour title?

Todd, meanwhile, ended a five-year victory drought at the Tour’s last event, the Bermuda Championship, two weeks ago (there was no Tour event scheduled last week).

The 34-year-old Todd is positioned to win in back-to-back events on the PGA Tour after posting his eighth consecutive score in the 60s. When asked earlier this week to name his goals for the rest of the season, Todd said he needed to recalibrate before adding, “I guess I’d like to win again and make it to the Tour Championship.”

Mayakoba: Leaderboard | Photos | Tournament updates | TV info

He could check off the first part and take a huge step toward the latter with a victory on Monday. The last player to win consecutive Tour events was Bryson DeChambeau, who was victorious in the first two events of the 2018 FedEx Cup Playoffs at The Northern Trust and Dell Technologies Championship.

Vaughn Taylor waves to fans after a birdie on the 17th green during the third round of the 2019 Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

It’s a remarkable comeback for Todd, who missed 37 of 41 cuts from 2016-18 while struggling with the full-swing yips. After regaining his Tour privileges this season, Todd set an initial goal to get back into contention and see how he’d perform under the pressure.

He’s handled it with aplomb, shooting a final-round 62 to win in Bermuda and was 3 under through 14 holes in his final round at El Camaleon Golf Club. Todd made three birdies on the front nine and tacked on another at No. 12 to lead by two strokes. But Taylor made birdie at 13 and Todd made a bogey at 14, his first of the week on the back nine, and the lead was gone.

The final group called it a day after reaching the 15^th green. Todd could have waited until Monday to hit his tee shot but opted to play on after the horn blew, planting his ball 10 feet from the hole at the par-3 15^th while Taylor will face a testy 5-foot par putt after coming up short with his tee shot and leaving himself work to do with his chip.

“I wanted to hit the shot because I’m loose and there’s no wind,” Todd told the Golf Channel. “I thought I could get it in there close and come back and make birdie.”

Ortiz, on the other hand, was on the 18^th hole and opted to wait to finish his round on Monday as his fellow playing competitors finished in the dark. The Mexico native opened with a double bogey, but bounced back to make seven birdies to get to 19 under. He’s tied with Harris English, the 36-hole leader who closed the gap with birdies at Nos. 13 and 14. Adam Long is two back at 18 under and marked his ball on the 16^th green after play was suspended. Twelve golfers were remaining on the course. When asked what it would mean to win on home soil, Ortiz said, “Winning anywhere, it’s pretty special, and winning in front of my family would probably be like a dream come true.”

All four rounds of the Mayakoba Golf Classic have been played under preferred lies due to heavy rain earlier in the week that prevented play on Thursday. The field has been playing catch-up ever since. Todd fired 6-under 65 in Sunday morning’s third round to grab a one-stroke lead over Taylor and English at 17-under 196.

Todd vaulted into the lead with a chip-in at 16, one of seven birdies in his third round. His string of eight rounds in the 60s is his longest since carding eight straight in 2014, the year of his maiden victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson.

Carlos Ortiz of Mexico watches his drive on the 17th hole during the final round of the 2019 Mayakoba Golf Classic. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

Taylor, 43, is seeking his fourth victory and first since the 2016 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He stormed out of the gate on Sunday with birdies on four of his first five holes en route to shooting 4-under 67 and a 54-hole total of 16 under. In the final round, Taylor hit 10 of 11 fairways and 11 of 14 greens in regulation before play was suspended for the day.

English, 30, endured a roller-coaster round of 3-under 68 to improve to 16 under and extend a streak of shooting par or better in all 19 rounds he’s played in the 2019-20 season. El Camaleon is a course he’s always enjoyed and he is bidding to make his own slice of tournament history. No player in the 12-year run of the tournament has won it twice. But to do so, he’ll have to catch and pass Taylor and Todd, his fellow Georgia Bulldog alum, over the final four holes. Play is scheduled to resume at 7:30 on Monday morning.

“I feel great about my game,” Todd told Golf Channel. “I feel real happy to have a chance to win this tournament coming off a win in Bermuda and I’m excited to tee it up tomorrow and see if we can get another W.”

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‘I’m in a good spot:’ Mayakoba leader Harris English is on the upswing again

English won at Mayakoba in 2013 when it was the final PGA Tour event of the year. That was his last win, 170 tournaments ago.

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Harris English feels he got away from the basics that carried him to a promising start to his PGA Tour career. He hopes he’s headed in that direction again.

English holed a chip-and-run from off the 18th green Saturday for birdie and a 7-under 64, giving him the 36-hole lead at the Mayakoba Golf Classic as he tries to end six years without winning.

English was at 13-under 129, one shot ahead of Vaughn Taylor, who had a 66 in the afternoon. Brendon Todd, coming off a victory two weeks ago in the Bermuda Championship, had a 68 and was two back.

“Just mainly working on the same stuff every day and kind of going back to the drawing board and figuring out what I was doing really well my first couple years on tour and just stick to that, not trying to reinvent the wheel,” English said.

Mayakoba: Leaderboard | Photos | Tournament updates | TV info

Whatever he’s doing, English is on a roll.

He had to go back to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals after last season to regain his card. Since then, he has finished in the top 10 in three of his four tournaments.

Next up is a long day.

Because rain washed out all of Thursday, players will go as long as they can Sunday before darkness, with the 72-hole event concluding Monday. Even with the new policy of top 65 and ties making the cut, 82 players advanced to the final two rounds.

The course, which received more than 9 inches of rain from Monday through Thursday, dried remarkably well and the greens had plenty of pace. English motored along, rarely getting into too much trouble. He birdied his last two holes to set the pace.

English won at Mayakoba in 2013 when it was the final PGA Tour event of the year. That was his last win, 170 tournaments ago.

“I had a lot of success here and I love this place, love the greens,” English said. “Feel like if I can get it on the dance floor and hit 14, 15, 16 greens a round, I can give myself a chance. With this wind, anything can happen, but if I stay the course and keep hitting like I am, I’m in a good spot.”

So is Todd, who overcame a mental block — he called it the yips — of a big miss to the right that nearly drove him from the game. Todd got it sorted out and picked up loads of confidence with his victory in the inaugural Bermuda event.

His only frustration Saturday was with putting.

“I hit it to 25 feet, 6 feet, 12 feet, 4 feet, and then missed a 12-footer for par on 5,” he said. “Striped it at the flag on 7, and on 8 I hit a close one in there about 10 feet and burned the edge. I just didn’t get the putts to fall in the second nine.”

Danny Lee, who started the tournament 10 under through 13 holes for a 62, shot 70 and was three shots back.

“Just missed a couple putts out there, made bogey on a couple par 5s,” he said. “Just golf happened.”

Jason Day, playing Mayakoba for the first time in 10 years as he tries to get ready for the Presidents Cup, shot 77 and missed the cut.

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