Harrison Frazar has had so many injuries that they probably could create an Operation game on his ailments. Hip, wrist, shoulder, hip again, back! It had affected his attitude. Healthy again, the professional golfer who once worked in the real estate industry is finding his 2023 year on the PGA Tour Champions a blessing.
“This is where my friends are now,” Frazar said. “These are people who we went through the battles with. They’re like family. It started to look really appealing to me.”
From PGA Tour
The Dallas native is finding his love for the game and competitive juices are flowing freely. In an article in People’s Newspapers out of his hometown, Frazar shared some insight on his roughly three years on tour. “Out here, it’s so much more relaxed and fun,” Frazar said. “We want to play well, and we’re competitive, but at the same time, we’re laughing and trying to enjoy the moment.”
#TBT Dallas’ own Harrison Frazar found himself invited to #TheMasters and on the cover of AG in the same month. That’s one hell of an April 2012! pic.twitter.com/lRbjySlwXP
— AVIDGOLFER Magazine (@AVIDGOLFERDFW) April 5, 2018
Frazar tied for the lead in Kaulig Companies Championship
At this moment, Frazar shares the first round lead with Steve Stricker for the PGA Tour Champions fourth major, the Kaulig Companies Championship, in Akron, Ohio, at five under par.
Harrison’s 65 put the former Texas Longhorn on the top of the leaderboard for the first time on the PGA Tour Champions. This is his 31st start on the senior circuit and the 12th of the 2023 season.
Leaderboard after Round 1
T1. @stevestricker
T1. Harrison Frazar
3. @stewartcinkLEADERBOARD: https://t.co/DrsMCvxAVJ pic.twitter.com/BKpiHIaNPY
— Kaulig Companies Championship (@KauligChamp) July 13, 2023
He tees off on the front nine today at 10:31 with Tim Petrovic (himself a fellow Texan) and Marco Dawson.
Frazar and Attitude
When asked to share his thoughts on the day, Harrison brought up attitude.
“I’m very happy with the way this whole thing has gone this week. I’ve felt pretty good. I went home last week, gave myself a good, swift kick in the butt about attitude. My attitude was killing me, so I decided to try to see if I could be a little more positive.”
Who could blame him? With the number of injuries attached to his career, it makes sense that he would be battling feelings of frustration.
But a tip from his longtime friend and college roommate, Justin Leonard, seemed to get him on track. “I had a practice round with Justin. We’ve known each other for 40-some odd years and watched each other hit millions of golf balls.”
The tip? “He just told me my ball position was too far up and therefore the good shots, the solid shots were starting left and the little weak ones were moving way too far right.” He added: “Sometimes you’re not as far off as you think you are, but, like I said, attitude was getting in the way more than anything.”
Frazar found himself hitting more irons and three woods off the tee yesterday. “It [the course] was playing fast. The fairways are pretty firm and the rough, you can get a bad lie, but for the most part if you just — they kind of throat in a little bit the closer they get to the green. So even though you might be in the rough, you’re a little wider. A 3-wood just gives me a little bit more room, or driving iron, to where I can at least play.”
Round One
Frazar only carded one bogey on the day. Teeing from #10 to start his round, he birdied holes 11 and 15 but bogeyed the par 4 13th. At the turn, he made up three strokes with three straight birdies. At the par 5 second he had a putt for eagle but settled for the four. Add a birdie on the long par 3 7th and his 65 has him at the top of the leaderboard.
Co leader Harrison Frazar after the first round (-5) with a few words @KauligChamp pic.twitter.com/9CPjSxBQ9m
— Gabriella Kreuz (@thesportsGab) July 13, 2023
Though he decided to hit irons or fairway woods off the tee, his driving accuracy was poor. He only hit 4 of 14 fairways, but he managed to rank 2nd for the round in GIR hitting 13 of 18. That gives you chances to score.
“I still hit a couple in the trees today and that’s a chip out, so you just want to avoid [them].”
It was a windy day but the difficulty wasn’t necessarily the wind but the direction. “The hard part was we were expecting it to be out of the west but it felt like it was out of the north, so it was just kind of confusing for a little while.”
Harrison knows there’s a lot of golf left to be played. He currently sits 56th in the Charles Schwab Cup Money List. His attitude may have stemmed from his injuries but don’t forget that the medical exemption he received by the PGA Tour back in 2011 was a huge reason he won his only tournament on the PGA Tour, the FedEx/St Jude Classic.
And with a win Sunday, his attitude won’t need adjusting. It will be sky high!
The Golf Channel will have live coverage starting at 1:30 this afternoon.
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