Cam Davis credits the new mindset with an improved game

Even for a player of Cam Davis’ physical abilities, the mental portion of the game can still be difficult to master.

After an impressive first round at Thursday’s Players Championship – he hit a three-pointer under 69, which is good for 9th place at the moment – Davis revealed how changing his mental approach has helped his improved game.

“I stayed calm and drove through the lap,” he said, adding: “I would say less the momentum and more just my thinking. I think I just cleared a few things up in my head. It’s been a bit of a difficult start to the year, but I feel like I’m starting to work on things that will really benefit me.”

Though Davis didn’t go into detail, he did say he was “uncomfortable” for the first few months of the year; he’s missed five consecutive cuts from American Express. That has resulted in less practice time and “a few things” that bothered him, he said. Putting it all together, the 28-year-old admitted he was starting to feel frustrated.

“I got a little frustrated,” he said. “So, yes, decided to turn things around. This is the first week that I’ve felt like I’m getting the hang of it again.”

It’s not easy to stay mentally strong on the golf course. This part of the game is often overlooked, but it can make all the difference between performing, competing, and actually winning. This doesn’t escape Davis, who said he’s just trying to control what he can and focus on both his focus and his calmness on the course.

“I’m just nice and chilled between takes,” he said. “Only focus when you need to focus and switch off when you need to switch off. Just make sure you’re fully focused on hitting a good shot with every shot you hit, because it’s very easy to get distracted by the water and the tight lines of the tees out here.

“The more you can stick to what you can control and think about the right things, the easier it is to hit a good swing… I feel like for me good golf comes with good thinking. So yeah, just try again tomorrow.”

Other golfers, like Jordan Spieth, have echoed the idea of ​​only focusing on what they can control during a round and rolling with everything else – i.e. the weather or course conditions.

Now that he feels like he’s mentally regained his groove, we’ll see if Davis can repeat a similar approach throughout the weekend.

Nick Dimengo

Golf.com Editor