CROMWELL — Harris English and Kramer Hickok battled into the growing darkness at TPC River Highlands on June 27, 2021. The 70th Travelers Championship title was on the line.
The PGA Tour combatants battled eight holes of a sudden death playoff, taking more than two hours and setting the tournament record for the longest playoff ever.
It was English who prevailed with a 16-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole after both he and Hickok had parred each of the first seven playoff holes.
“All I was thinking about was the next shot. It really helps settle your focus down to what you are doing next,” English said. “In a playoff, every shot has the utmost attention. It is way easier for me to focus in a situation like that. …. The atmosphere and energy fans were bringing was incredible. They stayed out there for all eight holes and were ready to keep going if we were going to a ninth hole.”
That victory by English remains tied for the second-longest, sudden-death playoff in PGA Tour history. The longest belongs to the 1949 Motor City Open, which was called after 11 holes and Lloyd Mangrum and Cary Middlecoff were declared co-champions.
“My caddie was keeping me into it, keeping me in the moment and not losing my intensity or adrenaline at all,” English said.
What will English do for an encore? The better question is this: Will English be able to defend his title come late June?
English, 32, had right hip surgery on Feb. 14 to repair a torn labrum. He hasn’t played on the tour since. He was not at TPC River Highlands Tuesday for Media Day, instead doing interviews on Zoom from his home in Georgia.
“I fully expect to play (at Travelers, June 23-26). I’m expecting to get back some weeks before the Travelers and the U.S. Open,” English said. “That’s what I am doing rehab twice a day for, trying to get ready. I don’t want to miss those events.”
English has not ruled out the PGA Championship, which will be held May 19-22. After an early-morning rehab session each day, English has another one around noon or 1 p.m.
“I haven’t really walked a lot of holes yet. That’s the next step. I’ve hit balls up to a 5-iron and I will try to ramp that up. It’s more about walking 18 holes, doing it 5-6 days in a row like you do during a tournament,” English said. “Combine (the rehab) with some chipping and putting takes up a lot of time. People ask if I have any new hobbies. I’ve been pretty busy. It’s been sun-up to sun-down work on my body.”
The last time English teed it up was in January at the Sony Open in Hawaii, tying for 55th place. English withdrew from the Waste Management Phoenix Open just days before having hip surgery.
He is still 24th in the world golf rankings.
English said the hip has been bothering him for at least 10 or 11 years, even dating back to his college days at the University of Georgia.
“I never got an MRI or X-ray in college. I struggled with it in college,” English said. “The injections stopped working. The PT stopped working. It kept getting worse and worse. Some days, I’d wake up and feel fine. Some days I’d wake up and feel terrible. (He’d ask himself), ‘How am I going to make it through 18 holes?’
“I wasn’t getting any better. I knew this point was going to come. … I wanted to strengthen everything around it, help take the pressure off (the hip).”
English, who played for the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team last September, has had just one top-10 finish since last year’s Travelers Championship. He tied for fourth at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
English said although he misses being out competing on the PGA Tour, it doesn’t hurt him to watch the weekly tour events. He actually attended the third round at the Masters — it is a three-hour drive from his home and it was in between events he attended.
“I have not been outside the ropes since I was in high school. It was fun to go with my wife and hang out. I didn’t watch a lot of live shots. I was in the clubhouse and hung out,” English said. “It wasn’t as nerve wracking as standing on that first tee. It was pretty cool to see how everything goes on outside the ropes, see some of the guys, normally. When you play, you don’t get to see all that.”
English couldn’t put a percentage of how healthy he is until he is able to walk on it for at least four rounds of 18 holes. But he is motivated to get back out there to compete soon.
And like the rest of the world, he watched Tiger Woods return to the Masters and compete — and walk — for all four rounds 14 months after his horrific car accident.
“He works his tail off,” English said about Woods. “If he can do it, I can do it.”
[email protected]; @nhrJoeMorelli
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