This last-minute putting tip propelled Christiaan Bezuidenhout into PGA contention

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — The wind was whipping on Friday at Kiawah Island. So much that even the downwind holes were difficult. So much that even putting was difficult!

“Numerous putts out there you’d read it to break three inches left, and it breaks two inches to the right because of the wind,” Bryson DeChambeau said.

“You’re probably going to three-putt out there,” added Shane Lowry, who shot an impressive one-under round of 71 on Friday. “It’s so hard in the wind. It’s very, very difficult.”

But Christiaan Bezuidenhout made it look easy. The 27 year-old shot 71-70 in his first two rounds and sat in second place at the conclusion of his round, thanks in large part to an emergency putting tip from his coach, Grant Veenstra.

Choke down on your putter in the wind

Bezuidenhout said his coach has always been a good putter in the wind, so when he saw the forecast, he asked for advice on what to do. Veenstra’s tip? Choke down on your putter.

“Gripping my putter a little bit shorter gives me more stability in the wind, which obviously helped over the last couple of days,” Bezuidenhout said.

You don’t need to go overboard, he says. Just a couple of inches, which you can pair with a slightly wider stance for added stability. Those two things, together, will stabilize your body and prevent the putter from moving around unwittingly.

“It keeps the putter stable back and through,” he said.

Clearly, it’s working.

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