PGA Tour pro breaks down NIGHTMARE season: "It's a new experience"

PGA Tour pro Troy Merritt was asked to break down the reasons for his nightmarish season after missing 16 cuts from 23 events.

Ben Smith

08 Jul 2023

PGA Tour pro breaks down NIGHTMARE season: "It's a new experience"

If you take a look at the results of PGA Tour pro Troy Merritt this season then it makes for unpleasant reading.

He was on a streak of five missed cuts before he stopped the rot at the Rocket Mortgage Classic a few weeks ago in Detroit.

Before that, he had an even worse spell when he went nine consecutive events without taking home a pay cheque.

All-in-all, he has missed 16 cuts from 23 events entered. Just nightmarish stuff.

To put that into perspective, that's essentially six months without getting paid.

His drop in form is curious, given that his 2021-2022 season was statistically his best to date.

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PGA Tour pro breaks down NIGHTMARE season:

Merritt was tagged on social media and asked to open up on how he has coped with diversity.

And his response was something we are all too familiar with: the yips.

"It's a new experience," the 37-year-old two-time PGA Tour winner wrote on social media, adding:

"And very difficult to deal with, when your putter has been the best part of your game your whole life, and you develop the yips… I always thought they were a myth, but THEY ARE REAL!! Been battling hard to figure out a way to get through them. Still time…"

See here:

It’s a new experience, and very difficult to deal with, when your putter has been the best part of your game your whole life, and you develop the yips…

I always thought they were a myth, but THEY ARE REAL!! Been battling hard to figure out a way to get through them. Still time… https://t.co/7r2GYU6YUQ
— Troy Merritt (@TROYMERRITT_PGA) July 8, 2023

Pressed further, he was asked if he had changed equipment, routine, or simply tried to 'grind it out'.

"There's been a lot of tweaking and changing," he added: "What I've realized is to go back to making it simple. It hasn't completely solved the problem, but there have been plenty more positive strokes.

"You can't miss short putts out here and keep your job, hence my current predicament."

To complicate matters further, this apparently only crops up during tournament rounds.

Added the pro:

"I don't have any issues in practice rounds, fun rounds, or pre tournament round practice. You can't simulate tournament golf. It's the hardest battle I've ever faced."

We've all been there. Here's to hoping things turn around for Merritt sooner rather than later.

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