Hi everyone, we’re in Scotland now. I have been really excited to start competing in Europe again. I haven’t done it since the Open de España in 2019. A lot of time has gone by since then, and too many things due to the pandemic. The Scottish Open in Renaissance will be my first tournament as US Open champion. I really want to perform well. I know the Open Championship is just around the corner, but we’re taking it week by week. I want to win every tournament I play, and now it’s time to focus on the Scottish Open. I love the links. It’s history, where it all started, tradition. I’ve always said that I would love to win an Open, but let’s take it step by step.
The US Open is behind me now. I will never forget it, but it’s time to reset. I already took care of my unfinished business on my home turf, after what happened at Torrey Pines, and now it’s time to get back into competition mode. I wanted to tell you a story in my blog that I still haven’t shared with anyone, and that I think my fans would find interesting. I’ve been asked a lot about my new putter, which I started to use in the Memorial. Here’s the real story…
When I changed brands of clubs last year, in November, I went to the factory, and I tried 15 or 20 putts with different hosels, heads, weight…Of all the putters I tried, I went with the one that brought back my best memory, who knows, possibly out of nostalgia. I chose the two balls because it’s the one I used all of my life before going pro. I changed the hosel and some other things, and it was going well in the studio. Of course, if you give me enough balls in a studio, it’s always going to turn out well.
I started playing with it, and the first three to four months, I wasn’t as comfortable with the putt as I wanted to be, the ball rarely went where I wanted it to go, but I kept using it because I preferred to blame myself instead of the putt. And it’s not a question of beating myself up, only because I prefer to do everything in my power before blaming the putt. If it’s my fault, the same thing would happen with any putter, so that’s why I chose to press onward.
However, in the PGA Championship, I reached my limit, that’s where I drew the line, enough is enough, I’m sick of missing putts. Right then and there in the PGA, a new putter was on the way in a Callaway truck, the same one I’m using now, and I liked it right off the bat. I told them to send me what they had for after the PGA. Four putters arrived at my house, one of which was this one, and I tested them out on the small green at my house. I started shooting putts, and with this one it was like, wowwww! This one is special, I liked it a lot from what I saw, and how the swing felt. That same day, I went to the course green, and I felt very comfortable.
And there isn’t much more to it. Going into the Memorial tournament, I still had to get rid of some of the bad habits I had picked up, knowing, for example, that I had to start aiming where I wanted the ball to go. The first day, I didn’t putt too well, but I came around on Friday and Saturday, and in the US Open I hit really nice putts. That’s what it was all about, going back to the roots, to the balance and weight of the putter that I needed, and one that I feel the most comfortable with. The conclusion: I wish I had blamed the putt before.
