Texas goes East
Longhorns coach John Fields will be following his golfers closely, and it’s an impressive group
Scottie Scheffler has been the hottest name on the PGA Tour for a while now. He has won four tournaments since February, including The Masters, to vault to No. 1 in the world rankings.
When he missed the cut at the PGA Championship, he learned what he could from it and moved on.
“You can learn anything from failure,” Scheffler said at the U.S. Open. “That’s always a good learning time. For me, I’m not going to sit there and be, like, ‘Oh, my gosh, how did this happen?’ It was more just sitting back and saying, ‘You know, I could have been better mentally here and here, and other than that, that could have changed the tournament for me.’ Just little changes. It’s nothing big.”
When he heard that, John Fields, who coached Scheffler at the University of Texas, wholeheartedly approved.
“As he has gotten older, the anger, and the energy that used to go into the anger because of his competitiveness, has kind of redirected,” Fields said. “Now, he and his caddie have redirected that into powerful energy when he is competing. ... I’m happy and proud he grew to that level of maturity.”
So it played it out at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., this past week where Scheffler was in the thick of it, two shots off the lead after three rounds.
Scheffler, 25, who played at Texas from 2014-18, will certainly be one of the favorites at the Travelers Championship beginning Thursday at the TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, as will Jordan Spieth, the 2017 winner, and Kramer Hickok, still looking for his first PGA Tour win, who became a crowd favorite during his eight-hole playoff loss to Harris English last year.
All three have this in common: They played for Fields, who became the Longhorns’ coach in 1997 and has continued a long-running golf dynasty.
Fields watches the PGA with his wife, Pearl, when not out recruiting. It has become appointment TV, and the Travelers will be no exception.
“Every weekend it happens, Pearl and I get to enjoy it,” Fields said. “It’s unreal. It’s like a gift. Our recruits are watching. Our players are watching. It creates incredible synergy for us. Our program is 96 years old, and we have 96 PGA Tour wins with eight major championships. Think about that.”
Dylan Frittelli, Doug Ghim and Jhonattan Vegas are other Texas alumni in the Travelers field, announced Friday. Beau Hossler is on the alternate list.
And there is Cole Hammer, 22, who led Texas to its fourth national championship last month and earned an exemption to play in the Travelers.
“Cole Hammer’s the total package, and he’s got a ton of charisma,” Fields said. “He’s got a smile that will melt the heart.”
Fields, just the fifth coach in that 96-year history, convinced all of them to come to Austin, and did his part to help them grow into the elite golfers they are today. He remembers Scheffler, who was born in New Jersey before relocating to Dallas, as a small, skinny kid, 5-feet-0 and 100 pounds, who grew tall and strong, 6-3 and 200, remarkably fast.
“I chose to walk with him for almost two years exclusively and really got to know him as a player and a person,” Fields said. “My favorite memory is just the evolution, Scottie coming in and really struggling initially. He had back injuries as a result of his growth. It is amazing what he did and all the different things he has become as a player.”
When Scheffler wrapped up The Masters by 3 strokes on April 10, Fields marveled, as he had before, at his short game.
“He and Jordan share a major thing in common,” Fields said, “their short game. It is so significant what they can do around the green and as a result, [Scheffler is] just phenomenal around the green, and that was at full display at the Masters.”
Spieth, 28, helped Texas win the NCAA title in 2012, then told Fields he wanted to return, but only for the fall semester. Fields agreed, because he wanted Spieth around to influence his young golfers.
“He had all the accoutrements to be a fantastic player,” Fields said. “But what sets him apart is the preparation. In the meetings, prior to our tournaments, Jordan was always significantly prepared. He knew what the weather was
going to be like, knew a lot about the golf course. He would know what he was going to be confronted with. But you cannot discount how incredible that man’s short game is.”
Spieth, who has captured three majors, won his first PGA Tour event, the John Deere in 2013, with a miraculous bunker shot. He created his signature Travelers moment in 2017 with another, holing out from the bunker to win in a sudden-death playoff.
“He jumped out of that bunker and gave Michael [Greller], his caddie, a chest bump,” Fields said. “And Pearl and I jumped out of our chairs. It’s apropos. I always felt that Jordan does extraordinary things at the right time. He’s always been spectacular coming down the stretch.”
When he turned pro in 2012, Spieth told TexasSports.com, “Coach Fields has told me since day one that he’s going to do everything that he’s capable of doing to have me become the most successful person that I can be. And that’s what he stresses. And that’s what he tells everybody on the team.”
Last June 27, John and Pearl Fields were on the edge of their chairs for more than two hours, as a lesser known former Longhorn, Hickok, fought through eight playoff
holes.
“I was praying he would win. It didn’t happen,” Fields said. “But the American public saw a great side of Kramer Hickok, which is tremendous belief in himself. He puts in the time, he lives the life of a really fine player, and he has become a really fine player.”
Hickok, 30, and Spieth were roommates just after their college years.
“It did not hurt for him to live with Jordan Spieth for a couple of years after college,” Fields said. “And Kramer is so smart. He absolutely, 100 percent asked all the questions that he could. He was tuned in. He knew Jordan had some sort of equation for success, and Kramer was picking his brain every chance he could.”
After English birdied to win the Travelers on the eighth playoff hole, Fields texted Hickok to tell him, “Your time is coming. It will happen.” Kramer remembered Fields’ nightly meeting and steady encouragement.
The long list of legendary Longhorns who have won on the PGA Tour includes Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Justin Leonard — and Mark Brooks, who won Connecticut’s tournament in 1988, when it was known as the Cannon Sammy
Davis Jr. Greater Hartford Open.
“Mark was talking to some kids at our camp,” Fields said, “and he said it was such a long title, they should have given him two trophies.”
Fields has high praise for the Travelers.
“Guys come off the U.S. Open and they’re looking for a breather and the next thing you know they have the 4-inch roughs at the TPC,” Fields said. “It’s not easy. They really enjoy that area. They enjoy the people. The golf course is always spectacular.”
Scheffler has the “most momentum” going into the Travelers,
Fields noted, and Spieth has the vast experience. But the patriarch of Texas golf isn’t ruling out more surprises from Hickok.
“Kramer is one of my favorite people,” Fields said, “because he, more than any other, has just worked so hard to become a great player. One thing I love is when a guy has had success at a particular golf course, they come back and it’s another re-ignition. I’m hoping for Kramer that happens again, he gets a really comfortable moment and maybe he pulls it off this time.”