MIAMI PREVIEW: HYFLYERS GC READY TO RESET AT DORAL
Team: HyFlyers Golf Club
Previous event team finish: 12th at LIV Golf Hong Kong
Season-long team standings: T-12
Top finisher from previous event: Andy Ogletree, T-29
Fun stat: As a team, HyFlyers GC is third in putting average (1.57) in 2024.
Preview
MIAMI - Diving too deep into data and overthinking can be detrimental to a golfer, or for that matter, a team. Thankfully for HyFlyers Golf Club, one of the reasons for a slower than expected start to 2024 is simple.
No need to overhaul any swings or bring in a sports psychologist. The players just need to line up their best scores on a particular day or two. And while some of that is often left to chance, it’s just a matter of time before it all lines up.
Take LIV Golf Hong Kong for example. Captain Phil Mickelson, Brendan Steele, Cameron Tringale and Andy Ogletree each had rounds of 2 under or better, but they couldn’t quite combine them on any particular day. For example, Tringale opened with a 4-under 66, but the two other counting scores amounted to even par. On Saturday, Ogletree and Mickelson went low and combined for 6 under, but Tringale and Steele totaled even par in their two counting rounds.
Sunday was much the same, and the result was a 12th-place finish at Hong Kong Golf Club. In short, HyFlyers GC is close - very close - and eliminating just a few outlier scores will send the team skyrocketing up the standings.
Also, it was just two events ago when the team had its best finish of the season, a T-6 at LIV Golf Jeddah.
The players put in the work during the offseason, and there is plenty of camaraderie thanks to Mickelson’s focus on team building. Now with LIV Golf Miami in front of them this week, it’s a prime opportunity to get things turned around.
It's also a perfect time to get dialed in ahead of the season's first major. The Masters takes place next week, and Mickelson, who has pulled on the green jacket three times, said Doral is the perfect place to get his game in form.
"It gives you an opportunity to get momentum if you play well, but also gives you a chance to play every shot you're going to need going into Augusta," Mickelson said Wednesday. "Now, Augusta has more undulation and elevation changes, but Miami forces you to hit a lot of long irons, mid-irons, short irons. There's trouble on every hole. You have to miss it on the correct side and it strategically gets you ready for all the shots, challenges - physically and mentally - that we are going to face next week."
During the Team Championship in Miami at Trump National Doral last season, Mickelson and his crew played their best golf as the week wore on. The six-time major champion, Steele and Tringale combined to shoot 3-under par on the final day but were hurt by former teammate James Piot’s 80. With Piot gone and Ogletree added, expect better individual scoring and team scoring from HyFlyers GC at the Blue Monster.
And here’s something else to consider: Mickelson has plenty of good memories at this legendary layout, where he won a World Golf Championship event in 2009.