FORT WORTH, Texas — Two years ago, then-PGA Tour rookie Davis Riley was emerging as a player who could challenge for multiple titles in a season as the University of Alabama product put together a stretch of six straight top-15 finishes, including a tie for fourth at the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge.
Riley’s ball-striking was precisely where he wanted it, but he felt a little short-game improvement could put him over the top, especially as he sat just outside the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He finished his debut season with six top-10 finishes, second to only Cameron Young’s seven, and ranked eighth in total driving.
But golf is a finicky sport, one that seems to take as much as it gives. While Riley’s short game improved, his ball-striking slipped and after a difficult stretch in which he missed the cut in six of eight tournaments earlier this year, the Mississippi native plummeted in the rankings. He entered this week’s tournament at No. 250, right behind the likes of Asian Tour golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar and Ricky Castillo of the Korn Ferry Tour. Davis’ odds at at Colonial Country Club were 350-1 in one casino, meaning his chances to win on the recently renovated course were less than two-tenths of a single percent.
Riley had an ace up his sleeve, however. He’d recently reunited with swing coach Jeff Smith and a few tweaks had him hitting the ball just like he did two years ago. With Smith back in his corner — who has also mentored the likes of Viktor Hovland, Patrick Rodgers, Aaron Wise and Brandon Wu — the magic seemed to return to Riley’s driver.
“I feel like I’m starting to get some of the better golf I played, certainly pro golf, and, yeah, just trying to get back to that a little bit,” he said after Saturday’s round, as he finished the day with a four-stroke lead. “Not saying I need to entirely be the player I am two years ago, I feel like I progressed in a lot of areas of the game, but just some of that ball-striking form, some of that consistency and some of that just freedom of mind that goes along with that, so that’s all really I’m trying to get to.”
But while Riley’s 54-hole lead was commanding, one cause for trepidation was the man closest in the rearview mirror — world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Playing less than 50 miles from his childhood home in Highland Park, Scheffler came storming back into the picture in the third round with a 63. And the two were certainly familiar…
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