SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — B.S., golf said to Sam Stevens.
B.S. to this, which Stevens declared Thursday:
“I haven’t played as well over the last month or so — to be honest, I’ve had a really crappy attitude, which makes golf a lot harder.
“So I got a week at home last week and just kind of focusing on trying to stay positive and kind of enjoy playing a little more.”
And B.S. to this, which Stevens proclaimed Friday:
“Yeah, so, like, over the last four weeks, I think starting at Truist, I had a terrible attitude at Truist. Then I think PGA was the following week, and it was just kind of the same kind of stuff. Just getting real down and kind of being a curmudgeon when I don’t need to be. I’m only 29, so I probably don’t need to be bitter about things quite yet.
“Yeah, I mean, I think just the conversations happen kind of week in and week out over the last month or so. Then I’ve had some good talks with my wife over the last week. I was at home last week during the Canadian Open and just kind of trying to relax a little bit and trying to, again, just have a little bit better perspective than I have been.”
Sounds great — after you shoot a two-under 68 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club during Thursday’s first round of the U.S. Open, then follow it up with a 69 during Friday’s second round, leaving you in a tie for second going into Saturday. But what happens when Shinnecock Shinnecocks?
Such as it did on the 10th hole, a down-the-hill-then-back-up-it par-4. To that point, Stevens was moving along fine. Birdie on 1. Birdie on 5. Two back of the lead. Then he was three, after his approach shot on 10 dropped over the green and he bogeyed.
Then Stevens was four back, after a bogey on the par-3 11th, which has confounded players since it was conceived; Lee Trevino once labeled it “the shortest par-5 in golf.” Stevens’ tee shot kicked right off the upslope at the front of the green, finished just atop a greenside bunker, and he couldn’t muster a par.
Nor could he on the par-4 12th, following a tee ball that sailed right, then a three-putt. Back-to-back-to-back bogeys. Farewell, positive talk. So long, mental reset, which the 29-year-old pro said he employed following a fair, though unspectacular start to the PGA Tour season.
Hello again, curmudgeon.
About an hour and a half later, he laughed at the thought. Not so fast. And maybe don’t be so quick to crown Wyndham Clark, who leads Stevens and three others by six going into Sunday.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s kind of tested all week,” Stevens said. “But I think I said this earlier in the week; it’s almost easier for me knowing that the course is playing really hard to just kind of accept the fact that you’re going to make a bogey.
“Like 10, I don’t hit my wedges very high, and I’m hitting straight up the hill and it’s straight downwind. I don’t know if I could even hit that wedge shot on the green if I hit it perfect, and I did hit it pretty good. So I wasn’t too frustrated about that.
“Then 11 is a brutal hole. Everyone kind of knows that. Didn’t hit a great shot and made a bogey.
“Twelve, I freakin’ sliced it, and that’s kind of what I was doing for a lot of the day.
“Like I said, it’s just easier knowing that a bogey doesn’t kill you. If you can kind of contain the damage and give yourself a few looks, you can kind of right the ship and hang in there, and I felt like I did a good job of that.
“The real test is just kind of doing that over the entire tournament when I’ve got 18 holes left.”
About those. Sunday, maybe Stevens can bank on how he played his final six holes on Saturday; after three straight bogeys, he made six straight pars, when most everyone else was struggling to get back to the clubhouse unscathed. This week, Stevens is also second in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, maybe the most important stat to shine in at Shinnecock, where green placement is everything.
Stevens is also summoning some of the words of his wife, Kelsey. A week ago, they talked about work. And that you want to be a productive worker. But it’s only work. Stevens then worked out that thought in his head.
“At the end of the day,” he said, “I’ve got four kids. We live close to family.
“We have a fairly simple life and a very blessed life. I get to play the PGA Tour, which is what I’ve always wanted to do.
“It was nothing earth-shattering. It’s just a little recognition of how fortunate I am and allow that attitude to kind of be the one that’s dominating my thought process instead of looking at the things that I’m ticked off about, whether it’s my game or — yeah, whatever it is. There’s a lot of things to get upset about, but just having a proper perspective has helped.”
And that ain’t B.S.
“It’s a fun week,” Stevens said. “It’s always good to play well, and it’s fun. I can’t remember where I was to start the final round last year at Oakmont. Maybe I was, like, in 15th place or 20th, but at the time that felt like a pretty big deal to me.
“Now this feels like a big deal, but I feel — I’m just excited to play, which is a good place to be. Again, if I have the proper perspective, I think every week should mean something, whether it’s good or bad. This week has been good, so it’s been enjoyable. Hopefully I play well tomorrow. We’ll see what it means after tomorrow.”
