The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Stegmaier hoping to turn things around
Brett Stegmaier has done his best to keep a positive outlook on his golf game as the PGA Tour season hits the summer stretch.
Stegmaier is back in his home state trying to come up with a positive result at the Travelers Championship. A Madison native, Stegmaier, 33, is spending the week with his parents in Hamden.
“Last year, my attitude pretty much sucked the last six months of the year,” Stegmaier said. “That (the Travelers last August) was a low point for me. I’ve always wanted to play good here. That was the impetus to make some changes that mentally, I’m working hard on. I hope to see results soon.”
Stegmaier reached the PGA Tour for the first time in the fall of 2015. In just his second start, he tied for second at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He played well enough for the rest of the season that once he arrived at last year’s Travelers Championship, he had already secured his tour playing privileges for the 2016-17 season.
This season, it’s been a struggle from the start. In 20 tournaments Stegmaier has just one top25 finish, 13 missed cuts, $172,731 earned and the 175th position in the FedEXCup standings. The top 125 move onto the playoffs and retain their playing privileges for 2017-18.
“I’m a better player this year than I was last year, which is weird to say because my results don’t show that at all,” said Stegmaier. “I got off to good starts, then one or two shots set you back. … Last year in my good weeks, I’d get off to a good start, have good momentum and limit mistakes. It seemed pretty easy. The bad weeks seemed impossible.”
Stegmaier knows he needs just one or two very good results this summer to get back into good standing. Any positive result this week will be better than his previous three appearances — all missed cuts.
“I love the golf course even though I haven’t had a ton of success on it,” Stegmaier said. “It’s like wanting to date a girl that hates you. I’m not trying to put that much pressure on myself. I don’t need to win or get a top 10 this week. I still have a big stretch of the year left.”
Stegmaier tees off the 10th hole at 8:40 a.m. Thursday with Ben Crane and Tyrone Van Aswegen. alongside Jim Furyk, who shot a PGA Tour record 58 in last year’s final round, and Brian Harman, who tied for second at last week’s U.S. Open. They tee off at 7:50 a.m.
Right behind that trio at 8 a.m. are Jason Day, ranked fourth, along with Justin Thomas (12th) and Patrick Reed (17th).
Sixth-ranked Jordan Spieth tees off in the Travelers for the first time Thursday at 1 p.m. off the first hole. Brandt Snedeker and Wesley Bryan are alongside.
In the group directly in front are former champions Bubba Watson (2010 and 2014), Marc Leishman (2012) and Russell Knox (2016), teeing off at 12:50 p.m.