Matthew Southgate was relishing the chance to be in the mix at the ISPS HANDA - CHAMPIONSHIP after making the changes that he hopes will bring him a long-awaited first DP World Tour victory.
The Covid-affected 2020 campaign is the only season since 2015 - when he came through the Qualifying School after having treatment for testicular cancer in the summer - where the Englishman has finished outside the top 100 on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, with four runner-up finishes along the way.
He is teeing it up in his 262nd event this week, with the 11 so far in the 2024 season bringing eight made cuts but a best finish of just 33rd.
A knee injury has played its part in that but Southgate is now confident he can bring it all together, having made changes to his swing with 2010 BMW PGA Championship winner Simon Khan and also worked on the mental side of his game.
"I’ve made changes in my swing," he said. "I’ve been struggling with a knee injury so had a great lesson with Simon Khan a few weeks ago and feel a lot more solid over the ball.
"Having the break after India was the perfect time with the weather being better in the UK. It’s the first time I’ve really grafted on my game, it needed a fine-tune.
"Had a talk to myself after the sixth, bit of a lapse in mental stability. I’ve tried to work on the psychological side of my game.
"Wasn’t happy with the shot I hit off the fifth tee, allowed that to rattle me. Hit a terrible tee-shot off six, so got what I deserved. Didn’t hit a great shot into seven but holed a six-footer for par, which made me feel better."
That run was part of a 65 that left Southgate eight under heading into the weekend at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba Course after a brilliant finish to his second round.
The 35-year-old had just eagled the 18th when darkness stopped play on day one after a fog delay and returned to complete his nine remaining holes in one under par for a first-round 67.
Those bogeys at the fifth and sixth dropped him to one under but he would birdie seven of his last 11 holes, including his final four, to fly up the leaderboard.
I might be able to cause a few problems on Sunday if I can play like that for the next 36 holes
"Was nice to go out yesterday feeling confident," he said. "Not ideal with only getting nine holes done yesterday but I’ve had some good days when we’ve played a lot of holes over the years, like Open Qualifying, U.S. Open Qualifying.
"If I get momentum behind me it’s a good thing for me. Just tried to stay on top of energy levels, drink lots of water and it paid off.
"Lovely to get that wind in my sails and hit good iron shots. The last 11 holes I played really strong golf.
"It’s nice to be in the mix, I enjoy it. You can call it a buzz or feeling nervous, I just love it. Always feel like I have nothing to lose, I enjoy going for it.
"It’s a dream to win tournaments on this Tour, so when I get a chance I don’t want to back away from it. Hopefully I keep playing like I did today. I might be able to cause a few problems on Sunday if I can play like that for the next 36 holes."
