Olympic Gold Medallist Xander Schauffele commits to 2022 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

A two-shot penalty for what Phil Mickelson did at No. 13 on Saturday isn’t enough, says Ian O’Connor. He needs to take another step — toward the exit sign at Shinnecock Hills.

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Justin Parsons was a teenager living in Northern Ireland when he took a test offered in the book, "Eight Traits of a Champion Golfer." This questionnaire promised to recommend a career based on Parsons' strengths and passions. Parsons, like many young men, had aspirations of playing professional golf. The examination recommended a different path. "It said, ‘You really enjoy the idea of movement and how movement works, and you would be a much better coach than you ever would be a player," Parsons recalled recently. "I remember thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, this is kind of dampening my aspirations.' But at the same time, I've always enjoyed people, trying to figure out how people tick and how to get the best out of them." He's done that this year, helping several PGA TOUR players either reach new heights or find success after several tough seasons. He's had a quick impact since arriving at the Sea Island Resort, host of this week's The RSM Classic, last year. His current stable of students includes Gary Woodland, Louis Oosthuizen and Will Gordon, as well as Sea Island residents Harris English, Michael Thompson and Brian Harman. This year, English qualified for the TOUR Championship for the first time since 2015. Thompson won for the first time since 2013. Gordon, a year after turning pro out of Vanderbilt, earned his first PGA TOUR card. Harman finished 37th in the FedExCup last season, his best finish in three years. Oosthuizen finished third in the U.S. Open. "It's about making them a little bit better and not detracting anything from them," Parsons said. Or, as his mentor, Butch Harmon, told him, "Your first responsibility is to make sure you don't screw them up." That is sobering advice that Parsons takes seriously. "You're dealing with their livelihood," he said. His students have had fruitful seasons, especially English and Thompson. English, who won twice on TOUR before turning 25, fell to 149th in the FedExCup last year. He rose to 12th in 2020 and started this new season with a fourth-place finish in the U.S. Open. He's skyrocketed in the world ranking, rising more than 300 spots since last September. He's now ranked 36th in the world, just two spots off his career high. Parsons gave English a clear path out of the doldrums. "He just kind of brought me back from getting lost in this whirlwind of different swings and different mechanics and swing positions," English said. "He simplified it so much that I can know what I'm doing. (Golf) is actually a game now. I'm not worried about how my swing looks." Thompson won his first PGA TOUR title at the 2013 Honda Classic, but spent the next five years outside the top 100 in the FedExCup. That includes four straight seasons, from 2015-18, outside the top 140. Parsons also helped Thompson - who was once the No. 1 amateur in the world - get back on track by going back to what made him successful. "He's helped me to kind of rediscover the old feels that I had back in college, where the shot shape that I always liked to play was a low fade," Thompson said. "He's given me just so much confidence to believe that the unique move that I do through the ball is good enough to be world-class," Thompson said. Parsons arrived at Sea Island after serving as the Director of Instruction at the Butch Harmon School of Golf in Dubai. It was there that he became well-versed in the latest technology available in golf instruction. Sea Island is a sleepy coastal retreat, but the resort's Golf Performance Center also is a high-tech environment that features all the latest tools. Parsons prides himself on knowing when it's appropriate to include them in a lesson. He said instruction is now in the "sweet spot" when it comes to technology. Teachers have become well-versed in the latest high-tech tools, but also know when to leave them on the sidelines. "Technology is vital to help diagnose things and as a tool to re-check things," Parsons said. "If (players) need the technical, I want to give it to them, but if they don't need it, I'd rather they focus on getting the ball in the hole and winning golf tournaments."

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – After Friday’s even-par effort at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, Scottie Scheffler looked to an old friend for the weekend. And the putter he wielded for his four wins earlier this year made a triumphant return. Scheffler, who shot a 9-under 62 Sunday to tie the low round of the week at El Camaleon, said this is the time of year when he will usually “experiment with stuff” when it comes to equipment. He was frustrated after leaving a bunch of putts short on Friday, but his Scotty Cameron Special Select Timeless Tourtype GSS Prototype made a return for the weekend. “It never goes too far away,” said Scheffler with a smile of his trusty flatstick. “It’s probably something I’ll continue to fiddle around with, but I went back to something I’m really comfortable with and I putted well the last two days.” Scheffler needed only 25 putts on Sunday. He hit 16 of 18 greens and had a tidy of a closing round as you could ask for – including a hole-out eagle on the par-4 third. “It looked like it landed close, but we couldn’t really see, couldn’t really hear anything, nobody was clapping or anything,” said Scheffler. “So when I got up there, I was like, ‘Oh man, it must have spun off the green.’ Then I checked the cup and it was in.” Scheffler, who had a chance to return to world No. 1 with a win or solo second in Mexico, said that particular accomplishment didn’t measure for him this week. That’s not to say, however, it’s not something he’d like to get back. “Rankings are great; it was definitely fun being No. 1 in the world,” said Scheffler. “It’s definitely something I hope to get back to, but it’s not something that’s going to occupy a lot of my thoughts.” Scheffler will tee it up at next week’s Cadence Bank Houston Open for his final event of the 2022 calendar year. And his old putter will most definitely be in tow.

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