MEMPHIS – Harris English didn’t want to get ahead of himself.
So, no, he wasn’t thinking about golf’s magic number even after making birdies on six of his first seven holes and adding another on the ninth to make the turn in a tournament-record-tying, 7-under 28 in the first round of the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational at steamy TPC Southwind.
“It never really pops in my head,” English said about the number 59. “I’m just trying to stick to my strategy every hole. I didn’t get too far ahead of myself because I know this course can come up and bite you at any moment. You start hitting in the rough, you start missing greens, it can get tough.
“I was just happy with the way I fought back. Had two bogeys on 10 and 12, but climbed back in it, and birdieing the last three out of four is a great way of finishing it off. You never want to give shots back in a round, especially when you get off to such a good start after the way I finished and get some good momentum.”
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English finished with an 8-under 62 and stood two shots clear of the field at day’s end. Two back at 64 were Jim Herman, Carlos Ortiz, Ian Poulter and Matthew Wolff. Bryson DeChambeau came in with a 65; defending champion Justin Thomas with a 67.
Joel Edwards in 2002 is the only other player besides English to shoot a 28 on either nine at TPC Southwind. English also came within a stroke of matching the tournament record of 61 set by Jay Delsing in 1993 and Bob Estes in 2001.
“It was just one of those rounds where I was hitting it really good off the tee, making a lot of good putts and my speed was really good,” English said. “I’ve been working on my speed the last couple days. These greens were a lot faster than what I was practicing on back home, so I did a lot of speed work and I feel like it paid off today. The hole was looking big out there and I just had to keep the pedal down.”
Things have been paying off for English for some time now, ever since he stopped trying to swing like other players such as Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson. He went back to being Harris English and this year he’s in line to become the first three-time winner after capturing the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Travelers Championship.
His long run of good form has moved him up to No. 14 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He also feels in form every time he comes to TPC Southwind, where he won the first of his four PGA Tour titles in the 2013 FedEx St. Jude Classic.
He’s also ninth in the Ryder Cup standings for Team USA. The top six automatically make the team while captain Steve Stricker has six discretionary selections.
“It’s been on my mind for a while,” English, 32, said of the Ryder Cup. “I know I’ve got to continue to play golf. I want to make the team on my own, I don’t want to have to be a pick. It’s definitely something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and it’s the pinnacle of our sport and I would love to be on that team.
“There’s a lot of good Americans vying for that team, those last few spots.
“Hopefully I can keep playing well and make the team.”
Despite all his good play going on three years now, English and his soft-spoken ways is often overlooked. Doesn’t bother English one bit.
“I don’t mind being the underdog,” he said. “There are so many good players on Tour right now. I’m happy where my game’s at right now. Just keep doing what I’m doing and wherever it may be, if I’m underrated, overrated, that doesn’t matter.”
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