Tour News
Perfecting the process
By Jordan Holley
GolfWRX Contributor
Jordan Holley, 28, is a mini-tour player pursuing his dream of earning a PGA Tour card. He graduated from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., where he was an NCAA All-American and a member of the Cleveland Golf Academic All-American First Team. He qualified for the U.S. Amateur in 2008, and since turning professional has played on the NGA Hooters and eGolf tours, as well as other minor league tours.
Hey there guys and girls! Sorry it’s been a while and I want to start by apologizing for not keeping this blog going these last few weeks. It has been quite the busy road lately so let me catch you up!
I caught a bit of flack with the last blog for skipping over some things in between the last “failure” and my most recent success. Let me start by saying thank you to my coach, Mike Adams. Without his guidance, I would not be getting as close to my goals as I am right now. He teaches with simple, fundamental technique but is not afraid to challenge me to dig deep and get out of my comfort zone. I have always been such a “feel” player and up until last year, had never really taken formal lessons with any kind of regularity. He has molded me into a more consistent, disciplined and definitely smarter player.
Last time I went in-depth in regards to results, I told you about my fantastic start and ugly finish in the eGolf Tour event at St James in Southport, NC. Since that heartbreaker, I came back to Florida and proceeded to finish third in a Minor League Golf Tour event followed by my third victory (by three shots!) on the Jupiter, Fla., based mini-tour. Heading back to North Carolina armed with some new confidence and a new set of wheels, I played in the next two events on the eGolf Professional Tour.
A disappointing tie for 42nd at the EGPT event at High Point C.C. after rounds of 70-72-75 led me back to the drawing board and a new commitment to improving around the greens. Although I have racked up impressive birdie runs (five in a row three times in the last three events) I knew I needed to sharpen things up heading into my next event. Let me stop there for a second and just give a little insight to the recreational golfer. PUT the DRIVER DOWN and pick up your putter and wedges! It’s where even small improvements can yield immediate results in your golf game.
I left the High Point, NC, area and headed to meet a bunch of old friends at the beach for Memorial Day. I decided at that point that a few days off might do my mind well and that’s exactly what I did. A weekend full of sun, sand, boats, beers and friends helped me clear my mind and I felt great heading to my next adventure. I teed it up in the EGPT event in Hickory, NC, on the following Wednesday armed with a free mind and a strange peace about where I was heading.
Without getting into too much detail, I had been contacted by the group of sponsors (see previous articles) with some terrible news. For some reason still not fully explained to me, they informed me that they were NOT going to fulfill their promise of backing and only cited a “lack of potential” as their reasoning. I could have jumped through the phone line after hearing that but instead I have just used it as motivation! Just for the record I have played seven events since we met, have made all seven cuts and a check in every event, have won and added top-15 efforts in five of seven events played including three top fives on the MLGT. With 12 of my last 15 rounds at par or better and seven of 15 at 68 or better, I personally don’t see an excuse to drop what seemed to be a committed deal.
I truly do hate to brag and left most of this out of the last blog for that reason, but I just want this audience to understand that it takes a combination of good golf AND good luck to bring all the necessary pieces in together. In this two month stretch I have earned roughly $11,000 and haven’t even put my best tournaments together. Without a sponsor, my schedule is painfully limited to only what I can afford, and not to what will best prepare me for my immediate goal, the 2012 PGA Tour Qualifying School! I have missed ALL of the Nationwide and PGA Tour Monday qualifiers but I’m excited about the next few events on my schedule.
My most recent “close call” came yesterday in the MLGT’s second “Major” at PGA National, home of the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic. Playing for a $10,000 first place check, I shot a 68 in the first round that featured a birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle stretch, and was only one shot back heading into yesterday’s final round. I bogeyed my first hole out of the gate but added birdies on Nos. 3, 5, 6, and 8 to turn at three-under 33. A birdie at No. 10 put me in the lead alone and I was in good shape heading into the 11th green from the middle of the fairway. A pulled 7 iron left me 50 feet for birdie and an untimely three-putt bogey brought me back to 3-under on the day and 7-under for the tourney. Beautiful irons coupled with missed birdie putts from 8 feet, 15 feet, 6 feet, 15 feet, and 18 feet on my next five holes (including the Bear Trap) left me with only the par 5 18th to go. Trailing by two, I ripped my tee shot but pulled it slightly into the first cut of rough just left of the fairway. From 225 yards and with a helping breeze, I hit a sky-high five iron to the center of the green, setting up an eagle putt with a chance to tie.
As I approached the putt I had a great sense of calm and promise even with all the putts I missed leading up to the final green. I read the putt to break slightly left to right and come back a touch left as it died. I stroked it with confidence and as a good golfer knows the difference between a bad putt and a misjudged one, I completely misjudged the pace and left it on a great line 6 feet short. I was so mad at myself that after I marked the ball, I let my emotions get the better of me. For the first time in the last four or five events, I didn’t completely focus on the putt I left myself for birdie and hit a terrible putt. As I tapped in for par and a round of 69.
As costly as the miss was and as upset as I was with myself, I realized just how far I have come as a player in the last year. I’ve continue to put myself in good spots and I can’t wait for that next big win. Maybe it will be in the next few state opens, or better yet, maybe it will come on Tour. What I have realized is that you can say it all you want but until you completely give up the desire to control the outcome and ONLY focus on what leads into the shot, you are holding yourself back. My new thing when playing is to commit to my shot, stand over the ball, and literally tell myself “I don’t even CARE where this ball goes.” I see where the shot went and I do the same thing from there. That is what I mean by the title of this piece, if you can perfect the process, results take care of themselves.
Thanks for all the support and make sure to follow me on Twitter for updates @J_Holley6under!
You can find player profiles and even a way to help with entry fees at www.minorleaguegolf.com and at www.egolfprofessionaltour.com
Until next time, practice around the greens and do your best to perfect YOUR process!
Click here for more discussion in the “Tour Talk” forum.
- LIKE0
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship
GolfWRX is on site this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship.
While we see fewer equipment changes and new gear seeding at major championships, we get a look at custom gear and looks into the bags of players we rarely see, which is just as exciting. In the case of the PGA Championship, this means a look at the gear some of the PGA Professionals who qualified for the tournament will be gaming, and LIV players, such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed.
Check out links to all our albums from Valhalla below and check back throughout the week as we continue to update.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Michael Block – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Patrick Reed – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cam Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Josh Speight – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Takumi Kanaya – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kyle Mendoza – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Adrian Meronk – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jordan Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jeremy Wells – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jared Jones – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Somers – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Larkin Gross – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tracy Phillips – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jon Rahm – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Keita Nakajima – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kazuma Kobori – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- David Puig – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Ryan Van Velzen – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brad Marek – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Chris Gotterup – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rich Beem WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Phil Mickelson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Matt Dobyns – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Lucas Herbert – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jason Dufner – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Daly – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Taylor Gooch – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dean Burmester – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dustin Johnson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
Pullout Albums
- Ping putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Bettinardi covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cameron putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Max Homa – Titleist 2 wood – 2024 PGA Championship
- Scotty Cameron experimental putter shaft by UST – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – new Ping putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka’s new Cameron putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s Cobra bag and Aerojet driver – 2024 PGA Championship
- Super Stroke grip – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tiger Woods – 2024 PGA Championship
- Michael Block’s new TaylorMade “Proto” 7-iron, from address – 2024 PGA Championship
- Odyssey putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- LIKE9
- LEGIT1
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
News
Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
GolfWRX is live this week at the Wells Fargo Championship as a field of the world’s best golfers descend upon Charlotte, North Carolina, hoping to tame the beast that is Quail Hollow Club in this Signature Event — only Scottie Scheffler, who is home awaiting the birth of his first child, is absent.
From the grounds at Quail Hollow, we have our usual assortment of general galleries and WITBs — including a look at left-hander Akshay Bhatia’s setup. Among the pullout albums, we have a look inside Cobra’s impressive new tour truck for you to check out. Also featured is a special look at Quail Hollow king, Rory McIlroy.
Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more galleries.
General Albums
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Monday #1
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Akshay Bhatia – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matthieu Pavon – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Keegan Bradley – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Webb Simpson – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Emiliano Grillo – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Taylor Pendrith – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Kevin Tway – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
Pullout Albums
- New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rory McIlroy – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Eric Cole’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Custom Cameron putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matt Kuchar’s custom Bettinardi – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Justin Thomas – driver change – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rickie Fowler – putter change – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s new custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Tommy Fleetwood testing a TaylorMade Spider Tour X (with custom neck) – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Cobra Darkspeed Volition driver – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.
- LIKE14
- LEGIT2
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
GolfWRX is on site this week in McKinney, Texas, at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (FKA the AT&T Byron Nelson).
Last year at TPC Craig Ranch, Jason Day ended a five-year winless streak. J-Day is in the field again, as are Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, and Will Zalatoris.
We have our usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums for your perusal. As always, we’ll continue to add links to additional albums as they make their way to us from the Lone Star State.
Check out links to all our photos below.
General Albums
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Pierceson Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kris Kim – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- David Nyfjall – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adrien Dumont de Chassart – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Jarred Jetter – North Texas PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Richy Werenski – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Wesley Bryan – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Parker Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Peter Kuest – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Blaine Hale, Jr. – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kelly Kraft – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Rico Hoey – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- Adam Scott’s 2 new custom L.A.B. Golf putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Scotty Cameron putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Ben Griffin playing Maxfli golf ball
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
- LIKE12
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
LET pro gives detailed financial breakdown of first week on tour…and the net result may shock you
-
19th Hole1 week ago
Report: LIV star turns down PGA Championship invite due to ‘personal commitments’
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Gary Player claims this is what ‘completely ruined’ Tiger Woods’ career
-
Equipment1 week ago
Details on Justin Thomas’ driver switch at the Wells Fargo Championship
-
Whats in the Bag2 days ago
Tiger Woods WITB 2024 (May)
-
19th Hole1 day ago
Brandel Chamblee says this is the primary reason why Rory McIlroy hasn’t won a major in 10 years
-
Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago
Team McIlowry (Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry) winning WITBs: 2024 Zurich Classic
-
Whats in the Bag1 week ago
Keegan Bradley WITB 2024 (May)
Adam
Jun 9, 2012 at 1:59 pm
Great article. I love getting the insight the the battle of professional golf. I’m following you on Twitter now also. Get after it Jordan, you got this.