PrimePutt Presents: “Pressure Putts, Vol. 20”

Ryan Fox’s firm 12-footer at Royal Birkdale and Stefano Mazzoli’s last-roll 24-footer in Punta Cana showed that winning pace can look completely different.

Compiled by Multiple-Award-Winning PGA Professional Brendon R. Elliott, PrimePutt’s Director of Instruction and Lead Writer

Two winning rounds closed with birdie putts on the 72nd hole, but the decisive rolls did not share distance, pace or finish.

Ryan Fox drove a 12-footer into the heart to win The Open. Stefano Mazzoli watched a 24-footer use its final turn to fall for the Corales Puntacana Championship. The week’s central truth is that pressure does not prescribe one pace. It exposes whether the chosen pace belongs to the selected route.

Golfers often copy a winner’s speed. One finish makes extra force look mandatory; another makes dying pace look safer. Neither works alone. The roll must be one decision.

Fox Chose the Firm Route at Royal Birkdale

Fox reached Royal Birkdale’s 18th tee tied with Cameron Young at 9 under. The closing hole had played 161 over par for the week, the toughest on the course, but Fox told caddie Dean Smith they were going to “take it on.” He found the fairway, hit his approach to 12 feet and faced a putt for the Claret Jug.

The Open described the roll as “firm and true” and into the heart. Fox said his nerves were “all over the place,” yet the ball never reflected uncertainty. Its pace supported the line.

Fox’s positive pace was fully committed, and it earned him his first major championship by one shot.

Mazzoli Let the Last Roll Finish the Job

Mazzoli began Sunday four shots behind Todd Clements. He closed with a 6-under 66 and reached the 18th one shot off the lead, facing 24 feet for birdie.

Mazzoli and his caddie double-checked the line. He committed to a route that needed time to finish, and the ball reached the cup “with the last roll.” The birdie moved him to 20-under 268 and delivered his first PGA Tour title in only his third start. Gordon Sargent later missed from 42 feet at No. 18, while Clements’ playoff attempt stopped short.

Mazzoli gave the ball enough energy to complete the break he had read. Fox’s winner arrived with positive pace. Mazzoli’s arrived on its final roll. Both worked because the stroke matched a complete picture.

The LPGA Tour Had a Scheduled Pause

The LPGA Tour did not contest an event that week. Its next tournament is the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open, scheduled for July 23-26 at Dundonald Links.

This edition records the gap rather than recycling the previous week’s Amundi Evian Championship, which anchored Vol. 19. The LPGA remains represented in the YTD Putting Watch.

What This Week Teaches About Arrival Speed

Many golfers read one putt and stroke another. They picture a higher, softer route, then get anxious and accelerate. Or they choose a lower line requiring positive pace, then guide the ball and watch it peel below the hole.

The answer is not always “hit it firm” or “die it at the cup.” Those are different tools. Decide how the ball should arrive, then confirm that the route fits that speed.

A sound plan is visible from the first few inches to the last. Pressure becomes easier when the full roll has one identity.

The PrimePutt Drill of the Week: The Paired-Pace Test

This drill trains two pace patterns without one comfortable rhythm.

Setup

Find a moderately breaking putt from 6 to 8 feet. Build two ball-width gates about 12 inches ahead with tees or coins. On a right-to-left putt, place the softer-route gate slightly higher and the positive-route gate slightly lower. Reverse the layout for a left-to-right putt. Place a marker 18 inches beyond the cup.

Procedure

1. Announce “soft” or “positive” before every ball.

2. For the soft route, start through the higher gate and let the ball arrive on its final rotations.

3. For the positive route, start through the lower gate with enough pace to finish no more than 18 inches past if it misses.

4. Alternate routes for five cycles.

5. Use a full routine and do not change the call after setting your feet.

On a straight PrimePutt mat, use one start gate, a marked target and alternating arrival commands.

Scoring

• Correct gate and a make with the announced arrival: 2 points.

• Correct gate and a miss finishing within 18 inches: 1 point.

• Wrong gate, short of the cup or beyond the marker: 0 points.

The maximum is 20. Set 13 as the passing target and 16 as the strong standard.

Purpose

Pace is part of the route, not a reaction added during the stroke. Alternating demands forces the recalibration required on the course.

Your Arrival-Speed Checklist

1. See the full route.

2. Name the arrival: soft or positive.

3. Match the start line to that arrival.

4. Rehearse the chosen energy once.

5. Grade the plan before judging the result.

YTD Putting Watch

Data checked: July 20, 2026

PGA Tour SG: Putting Leaders

1. Vince Whaley, +0.724

2. Akshay Bhatia, +0.681

3. Jacob Bridgeman, +0.675

4. Sam Burns, +0.662

5. Jake Knapp, +0.589

LPGA Tour Average Putts Per Round Leaders

1. Hyo Joo Kim, 28.14

2. Mi Hyang Lee, 28.18

3. Minami Katsu, 28.38

4. Alexa Pano, 28.46

5. Patty Tavatanakit, 28.49

These categories should not be compared directly. PGA Tour SG: Putting is a relative-performance measure. LPGA Tour Average Putts Per Round counts total putts regardless of whether a player hits or misses the green in regulation. They answer different questions.

The Everyday Golfer Takeaway

Do not copy Fox by ramming every important putt or copy Mazzoli by trying to die every ball at the edge. Copy the clarity.

Name the intended arrival before stepping in. When the route has one pace from start to finish, the stroke has one job. That is more useful than manufacturing one favorite speed for every putt.

Final Roll

Fox’s winner was firm and central. Mazzoli’s needed its final roll. Both arrived on the 72nd hole with a title attached.

The lesson is not that one pace is braver. Great pressure putts have a complete route. Choose the arrival, build the line around it and let the stroke deliver that picture.

Pressure Putts drops every Monday with the week's best putting stories, stats and drills from the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and DP World Tour. Got a putting question or drill request? Drop us a line.