Michael Brennan made five birdies in a row. Asterisk Talley kept returning from weather delays ready to compete. Their victories offered two very different lessons in putting rhythm.
Compiled by Multiple-Award-Winning PGA Professional Brendon R. Elliott, PrimePutt’s Director of Instruction and Lead Writer
Five straight birdies will wake up any scorecard. What caught my attention about Michael Brennan's run Sunday at the Wyndham Championship was how little he seemed to change while it was happening. The putts kept falling, the lead kept growing and Brennan kept playing.
Asterisk Talley faced almost the opposite problem at the U.S. Women's Amateur. Play was suspended on five consecutive days at The Honors Course. Even the championship match was interrupted.
One winner was able to stay on the gas. The other kept having to restart the engine.
Brennan Never Got in the Way of a Great Run
Brennan arrived at Sedgefield Country Club ranked 112th on the PGA Tour for the season in Strokes Gained: Putting. By the end of the week, he had finished second in the field in that category and climbed to 94th for the season.
That is worth remembering the next time a golfer tells me, “I just haven't putted well this year.” A season-long number describes what has happened. It does not decide what happens next.
Brennan began the final round tied with Beau Hossler. Then came birdies at Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The tee shot at the par-3 seventh stopped inside a foot, so we cannot pretend all five were putting masterpieces. That is not the point. He took care of every opportunity and never gave the impression that the streak needed to be protected.
The run finally ended, and a bogey at No. 11 could have changed the mood. Brennan answered with birdies at Nos. 13 and 18 for a 6-under 64. He finished at 22-under 258, tied the Wyndham scoring record and beat Hossler by three. He also jumped from 105th to 47th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Talley Had to Find Her Game Again and Again
Talley's week at The Honors Course required a different kind of patience. Weather affected play for five straight days, and Sunday's 36-hole championship match against Anna Iwanaga included a 69-minute suspension during the afternoon round.
Anyone who has waited out a storm during a tournament knows the challenge. You are competing, then suddenly you are not. Your body cools down, and there is time to replay shots that no longer matter.
The 17-year-old played the morning 18 in 6 under, with seven birdies and one bogey. Birdies at Nos. 11, 12 and 13 helped her turn the match, and another at No. 17 sent her to lunch 3 up.
She won the first hole of the afternoon with a birdie. After the weather delay, she stretched the advantage, chipped in for birdie on the 25th hole of the match and ended it one hole later, 8 and 6. Talley said staying calm and avoiding overthinking helped her through the repeated stops.
That sounds simple. It is not. A good routine gave her somewhere familiar to return when the tournament kept changing around her.
The Part Everyday Golfers Can Borrow
Brennan and Talley did not face the same putting problem, but the answer started in the same place. When Brennan got hot, he kept moving. When Talley was forced to stop, she came back and rebuilt the process.
Most golfers roll putt after putt until the motion feels good. Fewer practice leaving that rhythm, coming back cold and being accountable for the first ball. Yet that is much closer to what putting feels like on the course.
The PrimePutt Drill of the Week: The Stop-Start Circuit
This game is designed to make the first putt after a break count.
What you need
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One ball
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A 4-foot straight putt
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An 8-foot breaking putt
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A 25-foot putt with a 3-foot finish circle
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A scorecard or the notes app on your phone
Play the three putts once with your full routine. Walk away for 90 seconds without making practice strokes, then play them again. Take one more 90-second break and complete a third circuit.
There are no do-overs. That is what gives the drill some teeth.
Scoring
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Make the 4-footer: 2 points
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Make the 8-footer: 3 points
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Hole the 25-footer: 3 points
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Finish the 25-footer inside 3 feet: 2 points
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Finish the 25-footer inside 5 feet: 1 point
The best possible score is 24. Try to reach 16 without a three-putt. Compare your first circuit with the two that follow the breaks. A sharp drop suggests your routine is not helping you reset.
This works on a practice green or a PrimePutt mat. Indoors, use the longest roll available and create a smaller speed-control target that fits the space.
Your Restart Checklist
When a delay, bad hole or conversation knocks you out of rhythm, keep the restart short:
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Read the putt again instead of trusting an old first impression.
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Make one rehearsal that matches the pace you want.
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Pick a clear starting point.
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Aim the putter face before settling your feet.
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Exhale, look and roll it.
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Grade the decision and routine, not only the result.
The goal is not to recover the stroke you had 20 minutes ago. It is to organize the stroke you need now.
YTD Putting Watch
Data checked: Aug. 11, 2026
PGA Tour SG: Putting leaders
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Jacob Bridgeman, +0.684
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Akshay Bhatia, +0.664
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Sam Burns, +0.662
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Vince Whaley, +0.639
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Alex Noren, +0.620
LPGA Tour Average Putts Per Round leaders
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Mi Hyang Lee, 28.27
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Minami Katsu, 28.35
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Hyo Joo Kim, 28.40
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Alexa Pano, 28.61
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Angel Yin, 28.66
These categories tell us different things. The PGA Tour's Strokes Gained: Putting statistic measures performance on the greens against the field. The LPGA's Average Putts Per Round category is affected by greens hit and where a player's first putt begins. It is useful, but it should not be treated as a complete ranking of putting ability.
The Everyday Golfer Takeaway
I have seen golfers change their pace, routine or even stroke because they suddenly realize they are putting well. Leave it alone. Enjoy the run.
When the rhythm disappears, do not chase it. Start over with the read, the pace and the target. A dependable routine should work when you feel great, but its real value shows up when you do not.
Final Roll
Brennan showed us how to stay with a hot hand. Talley showed us how to come back when the flow of competition is taken away. Both lessons lead to the same place: You cannot control the mood of an entire round, but you can take ownership of the next putt.
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.
