‘Angry’ pro takes outrageous measure to silence self-loathing

Until Friday, the most unusual thing about Korn Ferry Tour pro Ryan McCormick might have been that he attended high school in New Jersey. Not many players of McCormick’s caliber matriculate through high schools in the Northeast — most uber-talented teens from the region cut bait for warmer climes — but McCormick did, spending all four years at Mater Dei High, in Middletown, where he was captain of the boys’ golf team. 

From there, McCormick went on to St. John’s University, where he continued to shine, winning the Big East individual title in 2014. After college came a long run on the mini tours — with stints in Canada and on the Korn Ferry, where he has made 65 cuts in 107 starts. McCormick finally broke through in 2023 to secure a PGA Tour for ’24 but did not play well enough to maintain those privileges, meaning he is back on the KFT this year. In his first six starts, he has made three cuts and less than $13,000.

Now, back to…until Friday.

Friday, as in April 4, which is when McCormick had a second round tee time in the KFT’s Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club in Savanah, Ga. McCormick has been less than enamored with his play this season — “pretty angry and mad,” he said Friday — so this week he went to extreme measures to prevent any verbal self-loathing.

He taped his mouth shut.

Literally.

In an interview that you’d be forgiven for believing was an April Fools’ gag published three days too late, McCormick explained to a Korn Ferry media rep that he played the second round with his mouth bound to “shut myself up.”  

“At this point, I’ve tried about everything,” he said. “I’ve read a lot of books. I’ve talked to people. Just too angry on the golf course. So I have run out of ideas.”

This new idea, he said, came to him a couple of weeks ago.

“I was hoping maybe it would help me,” he said. “I can’t say that it did or didn’t.”

After opening with one-over 73 Thursday, McCormick posted even par in the second round to miss the cut by four. He said he wasn’t proud that he had to resort to physically binding his mouth but that berating himself was an unfair distraction to his playing partners.

“I’m having a tough time, and that was my solution today,” he said.  

Asked how he communicated with his caddie, McCormick smiled.  

“Mostly just writing down the numbers,” he said. “I would just point and ask for a read sometimes. It made things a lot simpler.”

Presumably a 3M sponsorship can’t be far behind.