Welcome to Teachable Moments, GOLF’s weekly instruction column that will help you improve your game through the excellence and expertise of the Tour stars of the week. Class is now in session.
No warmup? No problem
Jin Young Ko’s ball striking at the CME Group Tour Championship was sublime. How good, you ask? The last time she missed a green was Thursday morning. Ko hit her last 63 — yes, 63! — greens in regulation for the event. (For context, Tiger Woods’ longest GIR streak during his historic 2000 season was 29.) Those ball-striking numbers make Ben Hogan look like a weekend hacker.
To add a bit to the absurdity of Ko’s performance, it’s important to note that she was playing with a bum left wrist all week. The ailment bothered her so much that she didn’t make a full swing on the range before any of her rounds throughout the week. That’s right, 63 GIRs in a row without a full warmup.
Jin Young Ko wins biggest check in LPGA history with preposterous greens streak
“I had just some chips, few chip shot before the tee off and then few putts,” said Ko, who earned the largest paycheck in LPGA history with her win. “[I] put on the sunblock on my neck and hand and just talk[ed] with my manager.”
Ko came to the course each day, warmed up like she would for a round at a local muni, and proceeded to shoot 23 under for 72 holes.
“I didn’t practice at all for this week before the tee off,” Ko said. “I still played really well this week, so I couldn’t believe how I was hitting it so straight.”
No breakfast balls needed.
Summer(hays) isn’t done
You’d be hard pressed to point to a PGA Tour player playing better this fall than Talor Gooch. Coming into the week in Georgia, he had four top-15 finishes over his first five starts as he put together one of the most productive seasons of his career.
At the RSM Classic, everything finally came together as the 30-year-old broke through on Tour at last, winning on St. Simons Island for his first career victory.
Gooch’s win comes after seven years of searching at the pro level. While he won on the development circuits, his RSM win marks his first win against the game’s best.
“I had to learn how to believe in myself in some tough times,” he said. “It’s been a journey for sure, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
One reason for Gooch hitting his stride at last? Teaming up with GOLF Top 100 Teacher Boyd Summerhays.
“It was something I had been thinking about for a while,” Gooch said of the recent switch. “I wasn’t looking for an overhaul by any means … I’m very much a feel player and so I wanted someone who was not going to complicate the game, someone who was going to keep it simple and kind of let me be an athlete on the golf course. Boyd Summerhays, who I started working with, he fit the mold for that.”
Mark that as win No. 2 for a Summerhays disciple in 2021 as Tony Finau nabbed a win of his own during the FedEx Cup playoffs. Big year for Summer(hays) lovers.