Growing up in Australia, I dreamt about winning the Open Championship. To do it at the Home of Golf in July was truly a moment I’ll cherish forever, and an Open that I think will be remembered for a long time.
It is an honour to be on the cover of Australian Golf Digest once again to celebrate my Open victory and my year in general. And what about that outside-back cover? If you haven’t checked it out yet, turn the mag over and have a look! Pretty cool, eh?
But, as the feature headline inside this issue says, there’s more to my game than just a mullet. The Open was my third PGA Tour win for the year, after the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii and the Players Championship.
We did the photoshoot for this cover and the related features at my house in the US, in Ponte Vedra, Florida, only a few weeks after I played in the final group at the Masters, where I finished tied for third. My Florida house is only 10 minutes from where I won the Players at TPC Sawgrass in March. I think Australian Golf Digest did a great job capturing the lessons I want to relay about how to play this game, but also what I hold most important, which is switching off and spending quality time with my family and friends.
Part of the cover story explains how I’ve come from the northern suburbs of Brisbane – where I was introduced to golf by my dad, Des, at Wantima Country Club – to climbing up the Official World Golf Ranking to No.2 after my Open victory. But I like how the feature also details the people who have helped me along the way. There are some funny stories in there because I surround myself with people who work hard but don’t take themselves too seriously.
The instruction feature focuses on what I work on regularly with my coach, Grant Field, which is feeling “connected” throughout the swing, and also the little thoughts I remind myself before I chip, pitch and putt.
My putter definitely got me over the line at TPC Sawgrass and St Andrews, where I started the back nine on Sunday with five straight birdies. In this issue, I talk about the keys that help me feel comfortable on the greens that I hope will work for you, too.
It’s been an incredible year, and this story helps sum up how I got to this point. Thanks for reading and for all the support back home.
Getty images: Tom Shaw/R&A
