This PGA contender lost his swing. He found it by accepting something simple

Anyone with consciousness or money will tell you that on Sunday, Scottie Scheffler could end his third major win and first PGA title. That was really impressive. This is not necessarily surprising.

What yes Surprisingly the guy in third place. What was satisfying was the way he got there.

Davis Riley is a very good golfer for years. He has won the nationwide US twice in Alabama and seems destined to succeed on the next level. He won the Korn Ferry Tour, he played in the PGA Tour and won the last year. but? Things suddenly became even harder.

Riley won the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge, a year ago, and is everywhere next week. This is his first top ten this season. But the extension that followed was even darker: He played 11 games for the rest of the year, with his best result being T38. Especially frustrating is his lack of control over iron, which has always been a hallmark of the game when he is at his best.

He turned to 2025 and things looked to get worse. He scored 80 in his first game of the year and eventually pulled out, then missed the next four layoffs. but? Click on something. He cut the cognitives and then cut the top ten in Puerto Rico before breaking up again in Valspar. He released a solid T21 end in the Masters. Now, in the second major of the year, he has entered the final round of T3. He will serve in the penultimate pairing.

So, what did he do? A particularly pleasant way: Be yourself.

“It’s been a very big effort from this year, and yes, I made some adjustments in my swing to try to get back to some of my old DNA,” Riley said after the round at Quail How on Saturday. That means Riley dropped the idea of ​​perfection and accepted his own. More specifically, this means he hugged his iron (with the driver’s small cut).

“We’re easily obsessed with neutrality,” Riley said. This is an understatement; especially in this era of driving range-start monitors, where it’s easy for professionals to chase perfect numbers. Riley got caught in this game. “I spent a lot of time in the off-season trying to really figure out my ball flying and even almost saw my irons,” he said.

In early 2025, he tried to commit to the same ball in the game. He will aim at the flag, plan a straight ball or a little cut. But then he was rescued and fell between his ideal and DNA.

“For me, it’s just a very awkward place.” But what about now? Riley tends to feel the right feeling. His explanation of his work with coach Jeff Smith:

“So I feel like when I play the best golf ball, I see my irons 5 yards or 10 yards draw and see one half to two half paths [degrees]. I spent a lot of time trying to get it out during the off-season. With something longer, I would say 7 to 4 irons, I can start to see it curves too much. I was thinking, I needed to zero it, especially in the wind on the left, I was a little struggling, and I felt, I didn’t know, I was obsessed with being zero, and that didn’t really solve for me.

“I started to see a lot of proper curvature, and I think that taking control of the iron and the driver has always been a big reason why I beat better.”

Some versions of Be yourself It is excellent life advice and usually a good swing advice; it’s the sound we hear over and over among the revival professionals. But if “yourself” is Davis Riley, one of the most talented golfers on the planet, that’s certainly a better strategy.

If you accept clichés, he has become such a far winner. Everything left now Actual The winner is chasing the world ranking number one. How much does Riley want?

“It’s really bad,” he said. “I would love to stand on 18 green trophys. But there is still a lot of golf and I’m just looking forward to the challenge. No matter what happens, I’ll do my best and try to have a good fight, and if I can do that, if I can do it and keep myself in my heart, I’ll be happy.”

Anyway, “happiness” sounds better than “neutral”.

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