 Lucas Glover celebrates victory in the US Open
|
The new US Open champion Lucas Glover has revealed that for the last eight months he has been making changes to his swing with a little known coach to help him drive the ball longer and straighter.
He says Sea Island Golf Club, Georgia pro Mike Taylorhas been working with him to improve his game and couple with the use of the Nike SQ Sumo 2 square-headed driver it certainly paid off at the weekend, beating a star-studding field by two shots.
Taylor explained: "We had a long talk on Sunday evening. We talked about the golf course, his strategy, the weather and the importance of having a good attitude.
“I could see he was real confident, having fun and hitting the ball really great. I felt like at Quail Hollow Championship in Charlottee (where Glover finished in a tie-for-second last month), he was close to getting a win. Lucas has always had talent and he practises so hard."
The pair had spent months trying to eradicate ‘a curve’ in the 29-year-old’s swing and Taylor added: "We took out the curve and it straightened his drives and got his swing on plane. And it wound up helping his irons, too."
Taylor (46) had been at the Bethpage venue with him from Monday to Thursday and with his pupil in contention going into Monday's delayed final round, he took a 900-mile flight back to the New York course on Monday morning some last minute words of encouragement.
"It was pretty emotional. I told him on Sunday night to do the right thing and stay patient. There will be ups and downs but just stay focussed through it all. Lucas gets the credit and he deserves it. We're good friends and that makes for a good team and I wouldn't have missed it for anything."