A six-time PGA Tour winner has admitted he’s been suffering from the yips for several years after the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club.
Akshay Bhatia leads the way after carding an eight-under 64 on day one. Taylor Montgomery and Michael Kim sit one shot back on seven under, and Englishman Aaron Rai is in a five-way tie for fourth.
Defending champion Rickie Fowler also enjoyed an excellent first round, currently sitting alongside Rai on six under.
And speaking after his round, the American made an interesting admission about his putting.
Rickie Fowler makes yips admission after day one of the Rocket Mortgage Classic
After seeing improvements in his game at last week’s Travelers Championship, Fowler got his title defence off to a good start in Michigan.
Birdies on four of his last five holes fired the 35-year-old firmly into contention ahead of Friday’s second round.
Fowler’s 2023 win in Detroit was his first in four years, and things haven’t entirely gone to plan since. After testing new equipment to end his current struggles, the six-time PGA Tour winner has now admitted he’s been struggling with putting yips for several years.
“I would say over the last few years I have dealt with my right hand having a bit of a twitch at times,” Fowler said in his post-round press conference.
“You could call it some sort of a yip. There are all kinds of names for it. I’m fine with saying it,” he added.
“When people have dealt with that and having something that affects your touch or feel it makes it tough to trust hitting good putts.
“I was hitting a lot of good putts, which would start on line, but it was more of a speed thing. But going back to cross-handed felt like it locked my right hand and wrist a bit more, so I was able to just use that as the driver for the touch and feel.”
Famous cases of the yips in golf
Fowler’s admission on his yips is admirable because his issue is pretty much unidentifiable.
The phrase ‘yips’ was coined by Tommy Armour after he suffered from a mental block that prevented him from making short putts on a regular basis.
Armour carded a remarkable 23 on the par-five 17th hole at the Shawnee Open in 1927. A score that has never been beaten.
A more recent example of a PGA Tour player suffering from the yips involves Kevin Na. The American, with the whole golfing world watching, developed a case of full-swing yips at the 2012 Players Championship.
The now-LIV Golf star couldn’t pull the trigger on his takeaway after standing over the ball for a seemingly endless amount of time.
Sergio Garcia is another who struggled with multiple takeaways during the 2002 US Open at Bethpage, ultimately falling short behind Tiger Woods.
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