How Meditation Affects Your Golf Game

DETROIT – Mark Hubbard had made a hole-in-one eight times heading into the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He knew what it felt like. Heck, his eighth ace came “after I had dropped about 100 beers” at Baker’s Bay in the Bahamas, so he thought he knew enough to cast quick judgement of his 216-yard tee shot at the 11th hole at Detroit Golf Club. Disgusted with what felt like another right miss, Hubbard let go of the club with both hands on his follow-through, but when he looked up he saw that the ball had taken off neither too far right nor too far left. It was soaring directly at the pin. “Dude, that better not go in,” said Wyndham Clark, one of his playing partners. It did, of course, touching off a celebration that surprised no one more than Hubbard himself. “I mean, honestly, it was pretty embarrassing,” he said after signing for a 4-under 68, four behind early leaders Tony Finau and Taylor Pendrith. “Didn’t quite know where the ball was going today. Taking a week off and whatever I just didn’t feel as spot on and I think I let go of the club on about three of the last four shots as well and they all ended up OK. I just felt really stuck and I thought it was going to be way right of the green. “I looked up and it was a perfect 1-yard draw,” he continued. “… It landed and trickled in like a putt. Yeah, I think that’s probably going to end up being one of my favorite hole-in-ones I ever had just because of the situation.” No one gave him any high-fives, he added, and given his reaction upon contact, he said, he did not deserve them. The hole-in-one was part of a Hubbard revival this season, as he has gone 4th (Barracuda Championship), 3rd (Barbasol Championship) and T13 (John Deere Classic) in his last three starts, securing his spot in the upcoming FedExCup Playoffs at 81st. This, from a guy who began the season in someone tenuous position, playing out of the FedExCup 125-150 category. The big transformation owes to Hubbard starting to work with Scottsdale-based instructor Andy Patnou this season. By melding elements of his new swing with his old swing under coach Kevin Kirk, he said, he has made his swing his own. “I think I’ve just taken a lot of ownership over my game this year,” he said. “And I’ve worked hard at it, and when you do that kind of on your own and it becomes so much your own, it holds up under pressure and confidence just kind of grows from there versus what I was doing for a long time, which is kind of trying to do stuff that isn’t inherently me and unique in me. “I just feel I’m swinging my swing now more than ever,” he added. Even with the occasional no-handed follow-through.

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Here’s a look at how players qualified for the Barracuda Championship. (Field information as of 7/28/2017) Winners of the Arnold Palmer Inv. & the Memorial (Last 3 Years) Matt Every Tournament Winner in Past Two Seasons Aaron Baddeley Steven Bowditch Alex Cejka Greg Chalmers Padraig Harrington J.J. Henry Smylie Kaufman Chris Kirk Davis Love III Hunter Mahan Peter Malnati Ben Martin Troy Merritt Brian Stuard Vaughn Taylor Career Money Exemption Geoff Ogilvy Carl Pettersson Sponsors Exemptions – Web.com Tour Finals Charlie Danielson Dru Love Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt David Duval John Rollins Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted Cody Blick Wyndham Clark Sam Horsfield Hugo Leon Curtis Luck Jay McLuen Maverick McNealy Jake Sarnoff PGA Club Professional Champion – 6 Events Rich Berberian, Jr. PGA Section Champion\Player of the Year Tom Morton Top 125 on Prior Season’s FedExCup Points List Ryan Palmer Harris English David Hearn Kyle Reifers Daniel Summerhays Ricky Barnes Johnson Wagner Chez Reavie Patton Kizzire Bryce Molder K.J. Choi Spencer Levin John Huh Jason Bohn Tyrone Van Aswegen Derek Fathauer Blayne Barber Brett Stegmaier Robert Garrigus Zac Blair Cameron Tringale Andrew Loupe Mark Hubbard Ben Crane Graham DeLaet Luke List Shawn Stefani Seung-Yul Noh Top 125 on Prior Season’s Official Money List thru Wyndham Ken Duke Retief Goosen Chad Collins Major Medical Extension Nick Watney Brian Gay Troy Kelly Top Finishers from Web.com Tour Prior Season (reordered) Kevin Tway Ollie Schniederjans J.J. Spaun Dominic Bozzelli Scott Stallings Trey Mullinax J.T. Poston Brandon Hagy Cameron Percy Seamus Power Sebastián Muñoz Jonathan Randolph Rick Lamb Martin Flores Rory Sabbatini Richy Werenski Julián Etulain Tim Wilkinson Ryan Brehm Andres Gonzales Brian Campbell Joel Dahmen Tag Ridings Gonzalo Fdez-Castano Mark Anderson Nicholas Lindheim Steven Alker Ryan Armour Brett Drewitt Miguel Angel Carballo Brad Fritsch Bobby Wyatt Max Homa Shane Bertsch 126 – 150 Prior Season’s FEC Points List (Reordered) Matt Jones Sam Saunders Chris Stroud Greg Owen Steve Wheatcroft Tom Hoge Willy Wilcox Tyler Aldridge Stuart Appleby Nicholas Thompson S.J. Park Reorder Category – Cat. 34 thru 38 Camilo Villegas Jonathan Byrd Bill Lunde Ã�ngel Cabrera Jason Gore Mark Wilson Chesson Hadley Brendon de Jonge Y.E. Yang Dicky Pride John Merrick Charlie Wi Tommy Gainey Arjun Atwal Troy Matteson Tim Petrovic Tim Herron

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GREENSBORO, N.C.  — Matt Every matched the Wyndham Championship’s first-round record with a 9-under 61 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead. Every tied the opening-round mark set in 2010 by Arjun Atwal, who went on to win the PGA TOUR’s final tournament before the postseason. Henrik Stenson opened with a 62. Former Wyndham winner Webb Simpson was at 63 along with Cameron Smith, Vaughn Taylor, Tim Wilkinson, Harold Varner III, Brian Campbell and Sam Saunders. Davis Love III — the 53-year-old player who has won this tournament three times, most recently in 2015 — matched Martin Flores and Rick Lamb with a 64. For Every, a 33-year-old with two career victories on TOUR, this was a much-needed strong start to what he hopes is a long week. “I played good, and have been playing good for a while,” Every said. “So it’s just nice to see it come together.” Every arrived at par-70 Sedgefield Country Club in a tie for 183rd on the FedExCup points list. The top 125 qualify for The Northern Trust next week in New York. His best finish this season was a tie for 14th at the Canadian Open, and he had a string of seven consecutive tournaments from April-June in which he either withdrew or missed the cut. Both of his victories came at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in 2014 and ’15. “I have a high regard for my talent. Like, I know I’m as talented as anyone out here — maybe like five guys are more talented than me — so I couldn’t let myself quit,” Every said. “There were a lot of low points, though. That’s life. Just everything that I’ve been through, I’ve brought on myself. So I don’t need any sympathy or anything. It’s just the way my path has gone so far in the last couple years.” After the best round of his career, he sure looks like a safe bet to reach the weekend at Sedgefield. Every started his round with an eagle on the par-4 first, holing out a 105-yard shot from the left fairway that bounced three times and rolled in. He birdied three straight holes from Nos. 3-5, then added another on No. 7 and three more on the back nine. He had a chance at the overall course record of 60 with a 6-foot birdie putt on No. 18, but missed it and tapped in a 5-inch putt for par. Stenson, the 2016t Open champion and FedExCup winner in 2013, had eight birdies in his bogey-free round and could have had another one but missed a 6-foot birdie putt on No. 15. Simpson, the North Carolina native and former Wake Forest player who won this tournament in 2011, started his round on the back nine and had five birdies and an eagle on his first nine holes. Bogeys on the 418-yard first hole and the 428-yard fourth hole left him two strokes behind Every. Varner had five birdies on his front nine, and after a bogey on the 10th hole, he reeled off three straight birdies on Nos. 13-15 — and celebrated by dabbing. The former East Carolina player began the tournament at No. 138 on the points list.

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