Insider: English making late push for Tour Championship

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The Stadion Classic was English's first Tour start this year. He finished T18.

Harris English may have graduated from the University of Georgia in May but his education is continuing on the Nationwide Tour.

English, 22, is making a late-season run to the Nationwide Tour Championship but realizes time isn't on his side. With just two full regular-season tournaments left on the schedule English is hoping to do enough.

"My whole goal really for this stretch was to get my feet wet and gain as much experience as I could," English said about his short time on the Nationwide Tour.

As an amateur in July he made quite a first impression when he won the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational, only the third time in the 22-year history of the Tour that an amateur claimed a victory. Then after turning pro he nearly won the WNB Golf Classic earlier this month losing in a playoff to somebody who was even younger than him, 21-year-old Danny Lee.

English was hoping to make more strides last week at the Children's Hospital Classic but struggled and missed the cut. He is 81st on the money list and says getting inside the top 60 to be eligible for the Nationwide Tour Championship is his immediate goal.

"I'm very fortunate to be able to play these last few tournaments," English said. "It's been awesome to be out here on the Nationwide Tour and we've played some really good golf courses and I've been traveling a lot and just getting used to everything."

This week's stop on the Nationwide Tour is at the Miccosukee Championship in Miami and it will be just his sixth start of the season on the Tour. He also tied for 18th as an amateur in the Stadion Classic at UGA in early May when his college teammate, Russell Henley, also won as an amateur.

Having already won on the Nationwide Tour, even though he was an amateur, is something that English says can only help him.

"I think it did give me some confidence that I could play out there," English said about winning. "And I've also been getting some good advice out here from other guys so that's helped."

Even though English is new to the pro game he's not afraid to ask for help or bend other player's ears for advice. He says that's a great way to learn how to cope with the day-to-day rigors of playing golf for a living.

Some of the veteran players he's gotten to know include Luke List, Josh Broadaway and Paul Claxton.

"You are going to hit good shots and bad shots and you have to take it as it goes," English said about what he's learned so far. "You just try and hit the next one the best that you can and can't let the bad shots get to you.

"These other players out here know how to get it done and I'm just trying to learn as much as I can from them."

English, who was an All-America at Georgia and who in the spring was a finalist for the Byron Nelson Award, was a consistent player for Coach Chris Haack. The Bulldogs are one of the top programs in the country and English helped them to a runner-up finish in the match play NCAA Championships.

While it was tempting for English to turn pro right after college he wanted to play on the Walker Cup team. He did well enough to make that team, and said it was a career highlight.

Haack, who has sent dozens of players to the PGA TOUR, says that English will make an impact in pro golf.

"The sky is the limit for Harris," Haack said. "He has all the tools and shots needed to win and win many times on Tour. He will only get better with age."

English, who won four times at Georgia, says that one reason he's adjusted so well to the pro game is because he learned plenty while playing for Haack.

"Coach gives us all the tools in college," English said.

English says he hasn't changed his swing or tried to do things he isn't capable of doing.

"I'm working some with Mike Taylor at Sea Island," he said, "but I'm not changing much of anything. I just need to sharpen up my short game and work on my putting and see what happens."

Perhaps one reason English hasn't been intimidated by pro golf was his expectation level wasn't that high. Because he turned pro just after the Walker Cup in mid-September English said he knew he was coming late to the party.

"I want to go out and just play my game and whatever happens, happens," English said about the rest of the season. "I'm not going to try and force it."

Not forcing it is another thing English says he has learned from the older players on the Nationwide Tour.

"It really is something else how good these guys are," English said. "You have to make birdies out here and everybody can make them. When I have a wedge in my hand you have to make birdies and that's something you learn quick out here."

English is trying to learn course management at the pro level. He remembers in college he could make a double bogey and still have a chance to win the tournament. That's not the case on the Nationwide Tour.

"The (Nationwide Tour) players don't try and do things they can't do and just manage the courses very well," English said. "They don't make any double bogeys to shoot themselves out of it."

Trying to summarize his season has been hard for English. A lot has happened in a short amount of time.

"It's been kind of a whirlwind this summer," English said. "My goal was to make the Walker Cup team and I did that and I also won on the Nationwide so that was a crazy couple of weeks."

As his whirlwind season is winding down English can take a practical look at what he's up against in trying to get into the Nationwide Tour Championship. "I have nothing to lose," he said. "I'm just going to go out and play."

John Dell has covered golf for the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina for the last 18 years. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR. You can reach him at johndell@triad.rr.com.