David Hearn is finding his swing at the right time. The Brantford, Ont., product finished tied for eighth at the Travelers Championship on Sunday, his second consecutive top-10.
Those are also his only top-10 finishes of the year. Hearn has been struggling so far this season, with 10 missed cuts in 22 starts. He only missed 10 all of last year.
The reason for the mediocre play has been his decision to try and make some changes to his swing. It’s taken a while for those to grab hold, but he believes the long-term benefits will outweigh some of the short-term results.
Working with Canadian instructor Jeff Leishman, Hearn has diligently been trying to groove his improvements and the last two starts show that he may be on the right path.
He joked in a text after his fine finish: “Had to come around some time!”
There is some relief for Hearn in that after his latest top 10, he’s moved inside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup standings. If he can stay there through the end of the year, he’ll not only make the playoffs but keep his job for the following season without having to return to the qualifying school.
Hearn is in his seventh consecutive year on the Tour (he also played one year back in 2005), earning more than $1 million (U.S.) in each of the last five. He’s collected just over $600,000 this season.
Outside of the majors and the playoffs, there are just seven events left. Hearn is hoping his swing improvements will continue and he can add to his totals over the remainder of the year.
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Brooke Henderson defends her KPMG Women’s PGA Championship title this week and it comes on the heels of her first victory of the 2017 season.
Henderson captured the Meijer LPGA Classic a week ago and took a rare break from the Tour this past week. While it was time off from regular events, the Smiths Falls, Ont., native managed to notch another win, taking the CVS Charity Classic, an event organized by Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade.
Henderson teamed with Andrade and Keegan Bradley to win the one-day event tournament that teams PGA, LPGA and Champions tour players.
It made for a lucrative few days for the Canadian, who picked up $300,000 for her LPGA victory and another $120,000 at the CVS event.
As for the PGA Championship, Henderson may get a familiar feeling at Olympia Fields, the golf course near Chicago where the tournament is being played.
It was designed by Willie Park Jr., the same architect who did the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, where she is a member and where this year’s CP Women’s Open will be played in August.
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Jordan Spieth set a lot of records with his win at the Travelers Championship. Not only did it make him just the second player to win 10 times before turning 24 since the Second World War (Tiger Woods is the other), but it was also his fourth victory in a playoff since the start of the 2013 season.
One of the most eyebrow-raising stats, however, comes in his career earnings. The Dallas, Tex., native surpassed $30 million in career earnings with his latest victory, the fastest a player has ever reached that mark. It also puts him 25th on the career-money-earning list.
That’s more than Fred Couples, Nick Price or David Duval. It’s also about $25 million more than Jack Nicklaus won on the course too.
Off the course, Spieth isn’t doing too badly either. Forbes estimated that the 23-year-old will earn $34.5 million this year.
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Mackenzie Hughes just missed out on a chance to get into the field for the Open Championship. Hughes put on a birdie burst over the last nine holes of the Travelers to shoot 30 and end up tied for 17th for the week. It was his seventh top-25 finish for the year.
But it wasn’t quite good enough for him to hold on to 20th spot on the FedEx Cup standings. Hughes dropped to 21st and that put him out of a special Open field qualifier. The top five golfers not already qualified for the year’s third major and within the top 20 on the FedEx Cup standings after the Travelers earned spots at Royal Birkdale.
Hughes was passed by Charley Hoffman who went from 30th to 20th after tying for third.
If there is good news, Hughes moved up four spots on the Presidents Cup standings. He now sits 28th, one ahead of Graham DeLaet. Adam Hadwin is the top Canadian in 11th.