Even at his most challenging moments, Lucas Glover will tell you with a straight face that he never considered giving up. In order to make it apparent that this is not revisionist history or a brand-new tale created in light of his recent accomplishment, he says it slowly and deliberately.
Yes, there were times when it was challenging to attend the course. While looking for treatments, there were times when he thought of pausing. However, giving up had never been an option.
He is now being rewarded for his perseverance in overcoming a decade-long case of the yips, a condition that makes even the game’s most straightforward strokes scary. Glover sees the struggle as “debilitating.”
“It was challenging to comprehend and difficult to deal with the fact that I had no control over my faculties,” he said.
Glover never gave up, and right now he’s playing some of his best golf ever. Yes, he won a major title more than ten years ago, but he currently has three more victories in his forties than he did in his twenties. Given his outstanding history at Clemson, it’s remarkable and a testimony to his longevity.
At age 24, he joined the PGA TOUR as a highly anticipated prospect. He is currently in the midst of his first multiple-win season in twenty years. In five of his last six starts, he has placed sixth or better, winning back-to-back PGA TOUR tournaments.
“A guy of weaker character would have given up long ago. He was wealthy enough. He had a successful career. He didn’t have to go through all that, yet he managed to do it anyhow.” his college Coach Larry Penley said.
Only Matt Kuchar is older than Glover in this year’s FedExCup Playoffs, but on Sunday, he defeated many of the sport’s biggest names to win the FedEx St. Jude Championship. In a sudden-death playoff, he defeated Patrick Cantlay, the champion of the 2021 FedExCup and three of the previous five playoff competitions. One stroke down in third place, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood were joined by Max Homa and Jordan Spieth.
Glover will enter the BMW Championship rated fourth in the standings after finishing outside of the top 100 in the FedExCup two weeks ago. He is anticipated to rise to the 30th spot in the global rankings, his highest position since 2010.
I might be overly stubborn. You see, I’ve underachieved for the past ten years before to this run and was aware of it. Everything was brought on by placing. It was simply a matter of having faith in oneself and having the fortitude and tenacity to persist.
It required something extreme to realize it, but it was effective.
Glover’s transition to a long putter in June has been a major factor in his comeback. He had no more options left. If it didn’t work, the only option left was to switch to putting left-handed.
The long putter rapidly brought comfort, and Sunday was a good day to use it. It took all of his perseverance to get through Sunday, which he regarded as a survival test.
Over the final nine holes at TPC Southwind, Glover made three putts outside of 10 feet, all of which were for par or bogey. He made a 30-footer for Bogey after sending his tee ball into the water on the 14th par-3 after sinking a 20-footer for par on the 13th. Then, to maintain a tie with Cantlay, there was the 11-foot par save on the 17th hole.
In order to reclaim a share of the lead that he had held since Friday, Glover just made a birdie on the 16th par-5 hole. On the following hole, however, he had to get up and down from 57 yards after driving into the left rough. At hole 18, Glover made both the fairway and the green. He then had a 23-footer for the victory, but he fell just short.
In the playoff, Cantlay got things started. His tee shot hit the pond bordering the left side of the fairway and bounced there, creating the ideal situation for Glover to take a good shot. The former U.S. Open champion has a reputation as one of the best ball strikers on the TOUR. Glover won for the second week in a row by hitting the fairway and the green.
“Anyone who has ever watched him strikes a golf ball understands that he is unique,” Homa said.
On Sunday, however, Glover had to rely on a different aspect of his performance.
On Sunday, he barely made half of the greens, but his lone bogey occurred when he drove his tee shot into the lake on the 14th par-3. He scrambled 26 times, going up and down 23 times, which was the most of any player on the field for the week. He also improved by 2.8 strokes just on Sunday to finish in 12th place in Strokes Gained: Putting. He only required 25 putts in the final round after one-putting his first four greens.
Glover’s back nine, according to his caddie Tom Lamb, was “gritty.”
Penley calls his ex-player an “intense competitor” and an “old-school type” with a strong passion for the game. He continues to forgo gloves, dipping his hands into ice chests before the last round to prevent them from sweating. On Sunday, Glover warmed up on the range with nothing more than an alignment stick at his feet while other players used launch monitors and other training tools.
Before beginning his long, low takeout, which keeps the club hovering above the grass for a lot longer than most of his colleagues, he waggles the club. He transitions with such whiplash that would make Ben Hogan blush. Even in the era of biomechanics and sophisticated analytics, this swing still functions and has the same appearance as it did decades ago. Glover arrived at TPC Southwind ranked first in average closeness to the hole on approach shots and sixth in driving distance.
When two colleagues’ game of catch interfered with his practice, Glover became enraged and launched the football at them about 75 yards down the Clemson driving range, according to a story told by Penley.
This story demonstrates two points. His work ethic and athleticism, are qualities that have helped him throughout a long career that may possibly be coming to a close soon. He claims to enjoy his job, despite the fact that it has caused him a lot of suffering.
He claims to enjoy his job, despite the fact that it has caused him a lot of suffering.
“I simply enjoy the journey,” he said. It has actually been a great journey.
