Open champion Shane Lowry has changed his putting grip and it made a difference with a 4 under par opening round at the Players Championship.
Lowry's 68 was 11 shots better than Rory McIlroy, who endured a nightmare start at Sawgrass.
The 33-year-old missed the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week and he was happy to have a better day on the greens.
"Honestly I have been in one of the worst spells of my career on the greens in the last couple of months since the start of the season. It's only five tournaments, so there's no real panic buttons. I felt like I played similar golf to what I have played over the last few weeks but I managed to roll a few putts in and it's amazing how much that makes the game feel a little bit easier."
Specifically, Lowry has changed his approach to using the flat stick.
"I changed my grip. I've been left hand low my whole life and I've gone right-hand low this week and I did it for a couple of rounds. I did it the final round at Concession and had the best putting round of my season so far. And I didn't do it last week. I kind of went back to left-hand low on trying to figure it out that way. And I know I'm a good chipper and I know I've got good hands, so I kind of figured that if I can stand up and just putt like how I chip, and putt with a bit for feel and kind of react to the line as opposed to trying to get everything so perfect, it's nice. But, look, I know more than anyone today is one day. I'm not getting ahead of myself. I kind of have to kind of relax and put today behind me and keep going tomorrow and try and shoot as good a score I can."
The Offaly native has only posted two top-ten finishes worldwide since winning the claret jug at Portrush in 2019.
It's seen him drop to number 40 in the world, but Lowry is hoping Sawgrass, where his best finish is a tie for 16th, can spark a revival.
"I love this golf course. This is one of the best we play. And when I arrived here, I missed Bay Hill and arrived here on Sunday, and I came out and did a bit of practice and I couldn't believe the condition it was in. It's one of the best-conditioned golf courses I've ever seen. So credit to everyone involved. But, yeah, it's nice to be out there."
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