Football
Jason Sobel, ESPN Senior Writer 17y

What are some PGA Tour players working on right now?

CROMWELL, Conn. -- In case your desk calendar failed to note the solstice, we officially reached summer this week, which means (we can only hope) less time in the office and more time on the golf course for all of us.

Of course, it also means more time spent working on our own individual games, ironing out the kinks, bettering ourselves on the driving range and practice green in search of future success on the links.

Well, we have no secrets, no hidden doors to lower scores on the golf course, but the Weekly 18 does have one bit of information that may make you feel better about the off-course work: Every single PGA Tour professional is doing the exact same thing. We caught up with a dozen-and-a-half top pros at the Travelers Championship and asked them, "Which part of your game are you working on the most right now?"

Their practice regimens for this summer may sound awfully similar to yours.

1. J.J. Henry

"It seems in a week where I feel great with my ball-striking, my short game will let me down, and vice versa. In the four or five weeks I felt great with my short game, the best part of my game -- my ball-striking -- was a little off. I've tried to become a more consistent player in all aspects of my game, but I concentrate on my wedge game, short game, putting, because I've always felt I was a pretty good ball-striker."

2. Michael Putnam

"Right now, I'm just working on consistency. I mean, I've been pretty consistent all year, but I haven't really put four rounds together in a tournament. I've played two or three good rounds here or there, I usually play at least one good round per tournament. But I'm trying to work to somehow have my game ready to play four good days of golf."

3. Eric Axley

"Just becoming more consistent. I feel like I'm playing good stretches of holes and then having some others, so I just need to make my bad shots a little better."

4. D.J.Brigman

"The biggest thing for me is working on the sequence of my golf swing, which is matching up my arms and my body and my legs, so that they're all in synch throughout. I have a tendency for my lower body to slow down and my hands to go too fast, so that's one of the things that I've done this year, which has helped me consistently hit the ball pretty good."

5. Stewart Cink

"It's hard to describe. In my swing, I'm really trying to extend once I get to the ball and beyond, really trying to extend out and go forward. I get a lot of good power that way and it helps me release the club a little bit earlier, so I get the ball up in the air a little bit better and more spin and stop it faster."

6. Pat Perez

"Shortening my swing. It gives me more control. Less hinge in my left wrist, maybe a little bit. Just kind of goes back and is stiff."

7. Jeff Brehaut

"I've been working with my teacher of 18 years, Phil Rogers, and we've been working mostly on my backswing and a little bit on my finish, trying to get my release a little bit better. My backswing, I'm trying to keep my elbows a little bit closer. So I'm working on that and a little bit better release on my finish."

8. Kevin Na

"I'm working on the driver a little bit, trying to keep it straighter. At this course [TPC River Highlands], it's very important to keep it straight, so that's what I'm working on."

9. Tim Herron

"Driving and putting. I'd like to work a little more on my chipping game, I guess, too."

10. Rich Beem

"Same things I always work on -- chipping and putting. It's the one thing that separates the winners from the guys who aren't winning. Chipping and putting."

11. Ben Curtis

"Oh, just putting, I think. Just trying to get that more consistent. I think that's what everybody works the hardest on to try and get better."

12. Tom Lehman

"Probably the biggest focus is the short game. The short game can save you so much, so many mistakes, so that's been my focus."

13. Carl Pettersson

"I've been working a lot on my short game. I felt my short game was pretty bad at the beginning of the year. It's pretty good now."

14. Joe Durant

"Can I just say all of the above? I mean, everything, basically. There's always something in every part of your game that you've got to work on, but I didn't putt very well at the U.S. Open last week, so I need to work on my putting quite a bit."

15. Chad Campbell

"A little bit of everything. Probably more than anything, it's been putting. You know, I seem to be hitting the ball a little bit better, so just trying to get the ball in the hole now."

16. Steve Elkington

"Just checking things that I'm always working on. Making sure everything's standard, all the pieces are in there correctly."

17. Justin Rose

"I'm keeping my eye on a couple of things. A lot of it is setup related, just making sure all of my fundamentals are really solid. And to be honest with you, that's what I've been working on for a good number of time now. It seems to be working. I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible."

18. Jerry Kelly

"Just staying one shot at a time. It's a cliché, but that's the thing. Everything's working well; I just have to trust it and let it happen on each shot."

Jason Sobel is ESPN.com's golf editor. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com

^ Back to Top ^