Here’s what a Tour pro says it will take to become a top player

At age 26, PGA Tour pro Will Gordon has already achieved the dream of many: He’s a PGA Tour cardholder with $1.9 million in career winnings.

He notched a win on the Korn Ferry Tour last year, and, after upgrading to the PGA Tour, finished T3 at The World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba in November.

Despite his achievements, Gordon has yet to become a household name for many golf fans. On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar, Gordon explained to hosts Colt Knost a Drew Stoltz what it would take to distinguish himself among the best of the best in the world of golf.

“Primarily, my short game,” Gordon said. “For the most part, my driver, my long clubs, that’s where I kind of take advantage of courses. I’ve spent a lot of time on my short game and putting the last couple years.

“This fall, I didn’t hit it that great, because a lot of the tendencies I’ve been working on in my short game kind of translated into my full swing,” he continued. “I had an open club face, a weak grip, I was kind of just bunting the golf ball around. But this fall I felt like I was a more well-rounded player. And then in addition to my short game, figuring out how I can keep the long game where I want it to be and continue to develop the short game. So I think that’s the balance that’s kind of hard to find because fundamentally a lot of that stuff is opposite.”

Stoltz then pointed out some of Gordon’s fall highlights: seven cuts made in seven starts, and holding the lead twice — once at the RSM Classic and again at Mayakoba, where Gordon shot 62 in the first round.

“The Korn Ferry [where Gordon competed last year], I had the whole season to kind of have room to develop,” Gordon said. “And I carried that momentum into the PGA Tour season this fall.”

For more from Gordon, including what it was like getting to know Steph Curry before he became a NBA superstar, check out the full interview below.