Michael Thorbjornsen closed out his first PGA Tour win with a 26-foot birdie, while Shiho Kuwaki answered a stunning playoff challenge at Royal Lytham. Their shared lesson was simple: reset quickly and own the next putt.
Compiled by Multiple-Award-Winning PGA Professional Brendon R. Elliott, PrimePutt’s Director of Instruction and Lead Writer
The putts we remember from a golf tournament usually arrive near the end. They fall, the crowd erupts and the highlight begins making its way around the world before the player has even signed the scorecard.
Last week offered two memorable examples. Michael Thorbjornsen curled in a 26-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the Rocket Classic. Esther Henseleit buried a 40-footer on the same hole at Royal Lytham & St. Annes to force a playoff in the AIG Women’s Open.
Yet the strongest putting lesson was not contained in either stroke.
It was what happened next.
Henseleit made the putt, but Kuwaki owned the reset
Shiho Kuwaki had already played the 18th hole and was waiting when Henseleit faced the birdie putt that could extend the championship. Henseleit delivered, rolling it in from 40 feet to tie Kuwaki at 5 under and force the final major of the LPGA Tour season into extra holes.
Kuwaki later acknowledged that her hands were shaking as she watched. She also said she had considered a playoff likely and “was prepared for that.”
That second part matters.
A dramatic make by an opponent can create an emotional surge almost as powerful as making the putt yourself. There is surprise, noise and an immediate change in what the next few minutes will require. The player has to absorb all of it without allowing the previous moment to dictate the next one.
Kuwaki returned to the 18th and made par on the first playoff hole. She made another par when they played it again. Henseleit bogeyed the second extra hole, giving Kuwaki her first major championship. The Japanese standout had also led the field by hitting 58 of 72 greens in regulation, giving herself more opportunities to keep the championship under control.
Henseleit produced the tournament’s most spectacular putt. Kuwaki produced the better sequence after it.
Thorbjornsen found perfect pace when the outcome was nearly settled
Thorbjornsen’s closing putt carried a different type of pressure.
He entered Sunday four strokes behind Davis Riley, then played a bogey-free final round in 63. A back-nine 30 moved him clear of a crowded leaderboard and eventually produced a two-shot victory over Xander Schauffele. It was Thorbjornsen’s first PGA Tour win in his 65th career start.
The closing birdie was not required to avoid a playoff, but that did not make the moment meaningless. It was the final stroke of a breakthrough victory, taken in front of a packed gallery with a career milestone waiting on the other side.
Thorbjornsen rolled the 26-footer into the right side of the cup.
“Perfect pace, perfect read,” he said.
That is a wonderfully compact description of a successful breaking putt. Pace and read cannot be separated. The speed chosen by the player determines how much the ball will curve, where it must begin and how much of the hole is effectively available.
The putt became the highlight, but Thorbjornsen had built the victory through control. He missed only two fairways and one green during the final round. When poor swings appeared at Nos. 12 and 13, he recovered without allowing them to become a larger mistake. He then birdied Nos. 14 and 15 before managing the closing stretch.
The lasting lesson is not that every golfer should expect to make a 26-footer. It is that each putt deserves its own read, pace and decision, regardless of what happened on the previous hole.
What the week teaches: Resetting is a putting skill
Golfers spend plenty of time practicing strokes. Far fewer practice the space between strokes.
That space becomes important after a long putt drops, a short one lips out or an opponent does something unexpected. The previous result creates an emotional residue that can follow the golfer to the next ball.
The goal is not to become emotionless. That is unrealistic. The goal is to finish one putting experience before beginning another.
A useful reset has three parts:
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Observe without judging. Identify the start direction and speed without attaching a story to the result.
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Step out of the moment. Move away from the ball and take one complete breath.
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Build a new picture. Read the next putt based on its own slope, line and pace.
The golfer who skips that process is often still reacting to the last putt while standing over the next one.
The PrimePutt Drill of the Week: The Next Putt Reset
This drill can be completed on a practice green or a PrimePutt mat.
Setup
Mark one putt from 10 to 12 feet and another from 4 feet. The shorter putt should come from a noticeably different angle or starting line.
Procedure
Roll one putt from the longer station. Remain in posture until the ball stops, then give the stroke one neutral description, such as “good pace,” “started right” or “left it short.”
Step away for five seconds, take one full exhale and move to the 4-foot station. Complete your routine and roll the short putt as an entirely new assignment.
Repeat the sequence eight times, changing the 4-foot angle after every two pairs.
Scoring
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Hole the 10- to 12-foot putt: 2 points
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Finish it within 18 inches: 1 point
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Hole the 4-foot putt: 2 points
The maximum score is 32. A score of 20 is a solid starting benchmark. Reach 24 before increasing the longer putt’s distance or adding more break.
The purpose is not merely to make putts. It is to move from one result to the next without carrying celebration, frustration or mechanical correction into the second stroke.
Your next-putt checklist
Before beginning the next putt:
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Finish watching the previous ball.
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Make one neutral observation.
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Step completely away.
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Exhale once.
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Rebuild the speed picture.
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Commit to the new decision.
YTD Putting Watch
Data checked: Aug. 3, 2026
PGA Tour SG: Putting leaders
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Jacob Bridgeman, +0.684
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Vince Whaley, +0.678
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Akshay Bhatia, +0.664
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Sam Burns, +0.662
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Eric Cole, +0.598
LPGA Tour Putting leaders
Average putts per round
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Hyo Joo Kim, 28.06
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Mi Hyang Lee, 28.13
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Danielle Kang, 28.33
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Minami Katsu, 28.39
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Alexa Pano, 28.49
These categories should not be compared directly. PGA Tour SG: Putting measures performance relative to the field from recorded starting distances. The LPGA Tour list reflects average putts per round, which is also affected by greens hit, missed greens, scrambling and how often a player putts from the fringe.
The Everyday Golfer Takeaway
Most golfers will never have thousands of spectators surrounding the final green, but they regularly carry one putt into the next.
A three-putt leads to a rushed stroke on the following hole. A surprising long make creates too much confidence and not enough attention. A playing partner’s birdie changes the golfer’s pace before the next stroke has even begun.
You do not need to erase the reaction. Acknowledge it, finish it and start again.
Every putt presents a new combination of distance, slope, pace and consequence. Treating it that way is one of the simplest methods for becoming more composed on the greens.
Final Roll
Henseleit’s 40-footer changed the AIG Women’s Open. Kuwaki’s response won it.
Thorbjornsen’s 26-footer completed his first PGA Tour victory, but the control shown during the previous 17 holes created the opportunity to enjoy it.
The highlight may belong to the biggest putt. The championship often belongs to the player who is ready for the next one.
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.
