Harry Higgs’ fun personality has been winning hearts on the PGA Tour for well over two years.
First, he broke the internet with his take on the viral “Dreams Challenge.” Then he stripped off his shirt on the 16th green at the WM Phoenix Open. His wit and candor have earned him a legion of fans, and his raw, reflective honesty about his recent struggles made him even more relatable.
That’s why, especially lately, when Higgs speaks, we listen. And his post-round comments at this week’s RSM Classic, where he shares the 36-hole lead with Cole Hammer and Andrew Putnam, were no exception.
Higgs gamely elaborated on a number of topics, including his gratitude for fellow pro Keith Mitchell, whom he credits with getting him in to the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico, which Higgs pegs as the start of his game’s renaissance.
“Truly, a friend like that reaching out, getting me into that event, I feel like it’s really close to having changed my career,” Higgs said. “Just what I learned there about myself, what I put into play, how I executed it has led me to now this point through two days. Hopefully you fast forward another couple days and it’s a win that obviously changes my life and my career.”
‘Lord knows why’: Popular pro Harry Higgs opens up on lengthy spiral
After firing a round of seven-under 63 on Friday, Higgs is in a similar position to what he experienced a few weeks ago: low second round, in the hunt, with two rounds left to play.
In Mexico, Higgs followed a 62 with 69 and 71 to finish T32. What did he learn about how to follow up a low round? Plenty, as it turns out.
“I thought I did a really good job in Mexico,” Higgs said. “I had a couple — Saturday and Sunday I had a couple mud balls and then just didn’t quite get as comfortable as I was even Thursday and Friday on a few tee shots. But I really felt like I handled it well. I didn’t start, as I’ve talked before, kind of crying and whining that things aren’t going my way and I’m hitting poor shots. No one cares if you’re hitting poor shots really other than me, my family and my brother who’s my caddie, right? There’s no need to just scream and yell and be audible with it. You can hit poor shots, it’s OK.”
According to Higgs, his main takeaway was the importance of being patient, and resisting the urge to push or speed up.
“I did a very good job of being patient,” he said. “I didn’t do an awesome job throughout the weekend on every shot, which you’re never probably going to do it on every shot of getting comfortable and basically just telling myself this is what I want to have happen. So in that, that would be the goal for the next two days. Stay patient, for sure, which always gets harder and harder and harder.
“The better you do, the harder it is,” he continued. “I felt like I was getting a little impatient to finish out the back nine today even, but stay patient and then just go ahead and take — I don’t want to take too long, but take just another little half second. OK, this is what I’m going to make this golf ball do. So again, in the long-winded way that I like to describe things, that would be what I learned and what I’ll take into the next couple days.”
Tour pros: What works for them can work for us recreational players too.
You can watch Higgs in the third round starting at 1 p.m. ET on Golf Channel.