Pro Tour Schedule 2022
Professional golf continues to roll along at a healthy pace, with increased purses and television viewership. And with information showing that outdoor transmission of Covid is extremely low, as witness by full crowds at football games this past fall with little-to-no infection spread as a result, golf tournaments almost assuredly will welcome fans back at full capacity. The men’s majors season kicks off at The Masters in April, as always. The women’s major championship season begins with the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills in Palm Springs, California. The tournament that started out as the Colgate Dinah Shore in the early 1970s is moving to Texas next year in a controversial move that some equate to moving The Masters from Augusta National. In any event, major championships tend to produce the best and most exciting golf every year, and look for the same in 2022.
By Mark Harman, USGTF Professional
In the spring of 2019, a 7-year-old boy came to my teaching studio for his first lesson. Paul Morrell’s swing was extremely raw, to say the least, and so we began on the fundamentals. I taught him how to make a proper pivot instead of a huge sway on the backswing, and had him swing into a good finish. It took a while, but by the next year his swing was much better and he started hitting the ball well.
In 2020, Paul started playing on the local U.S. Kids Golf Tour in and around Savannah, Georgia. After a couple of close calls, he finally won the last event of the season. And in 2021, as the number one player in his age group locally, he qualified for the world championships in PInehurst, North Carolina. Although he did not do as well as he would have liked, he earned valuable experience. He also entered the local Drive, Pitch & Putt Championship, and if not for one errant drive, would have been one of the qualifiers for the next stage.
Paul just turned 10, is a big kid for his age, and is now hitting the ball around 200 yards off the tee when he gets a hold of one. His swing is technically very good and he hits a reliable fade. His swing is not “perfect” if you compare it to a theoretical model, but it is extremely functional and repeatable, and we will continue to slowly refine it. His favorite player is Jordan Spieth, and he wears the same Under Armour clothing that Spieth does. He also mimicks Spieth to the point he uses the same ball and putter and incorporated Spieth’s famous chicken wing, but I think we finally got him out of that. In any case, Paul is a good kid who plays other sports, so predicting future golf success is folly. As long as he enjoys the game in whatever capacity he chooses, that’s all I can ask.
Teaming with Jason Kokrak, Kevin Na and his partner won the recently completed QBE Shootout to end the 2022 season for events consisting solely of PGA Tour players, albeit an unofficial event. After a slow start to his career in terms of winning, Na has now tasted victory in five official PGA Tour events, beginning with the 2011 event in Las Vegas and with his most recent win in the 2021 Sony Open of Hawaii. The latter victory made it four wins in the past 3 1/2 years for Na, who, while not a superstar, has become a steady presence on the leaderboards.
Na turned pro at the age of 17, eschewing college golf. Most observers still think that playing college golf, at least for a couple of years, is the best path to make the PGA Tour, but Na’s success, and that of many DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) players, shows that talent will prevail in the end. Although Na is 39, he seems to be a relatively young 39 and it’s a good bet he’ll win a few more times before all is said and done.
