Why this PGA Tour winner putts with his eyes closed

PGA Tour golfer Joe Highsmith has revealed he always putts with his eyes closed in pressure moments. 

Only the most ardent golf fan might be familiar with 25-year-old Highsmith. 

The American finally broke through and claimed his first title at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches in March with Joe LaCava's son on the bag. 

Highsmith, who told GolfMagic he had no plans to move out from his parents' house after picking up a $1.6m winner's cheque, he reckons his interesting approach on the greens is actually a secret weapon. 

He cannot recall when he first started doing it, but it has been a part of his routine for years. 

"My very first pro event was a PGA Tour Canada event and I had a 15-footer for eagle on 18 to get into a playoff and my eyes were definitely shut for that one," he told the Tour's official website. 

"Looking back over my golfing life, any of the important putts that I've ever had, eyes were always closed for sure."

Highsmith had a simple explanation as to why he takes this approach. 

"Maybe it's like a nerve coping mechanism in a way," he said. 

"If I'm looking at the ball and I see the hole right there I think it just makes it difficult if you have that whole visual aspect.

"When I shut my eyes then I can just focus on making a stroke and take the results out of it and just try to put a good stroke on the ball."

Watch his explanation here:

Which other golfers have unique approaches?

Highsmith is not the first to take what some would consider a unique approach to the sport. 

Multiple PGA Tour winner and three-time major champion Jordan Spieth previously revealed on shorter putts he looks at the hole and not the ball while making a stroke. 

Spieth believes it improves his feel. 

Former World No.1 Jason Day also closes his eyes briefly before any shot. The golfer is big fan of visualisation techniques. 

Tiger Woods' ex-caddie Steve Williams briefly looped for Day in 2019 and recently explained he believes the Australian overcomplicates the game.

"If I don't visualise, everything speeds up," Day previously said. "My mind starts wandering to the result, the consequences. 

"But when I picture the shot, I can slow everything down and stay in the present."

Day's golf balls also feature red, yellow and green circles. 

Red represents identifying the target, whilst yellow represents visualising the shot path. Can you guess what green means?