Inside the Ropes: English is showing he belongs on tour

Unlike some of other guys about his age on the PGA Tour, Harris English spent four years in college at the University of Georgia.

English, who will turn 23 next month, is playing catch-up with the likes of 23-year-olds Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler, but judging from his pedigree and his play in the first half of this season, he's going to get there.

English has had a few of the expected ups-and-downs for a first-year player on the circuit, but he has made the cut in 13 of his 16 tournaments and finished in the top 25 on six occasions, including a tie for eighth in the RBC Heritage and a tie for fifth in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

"I really had no expectations coming into this year," said English, who will tee it up this week in the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis. "It was my first year out of college and I'm just trying to learn as much as I can.

"I've played pretty well and gotten some momentum going and had some good finishes and gotten into contention a little bit. I'm very happy with where I am, and hopefully I can continue some good play."

English showed he can compete with the pros last year when he captured the Nationwide Tour's Children's Hospital Invitational by sinking a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the Scarlet Course at Ohio State before turning pro.

That made him the third college player to win in the history of the PGA Tour's Triple-A circuit.

After turning pro later in the year, he almost won on the Nationwide Tour again, losing in a playoff to Danny Lee at the WNB Golf Classic in Midland, Texas.

"(The Children's Hospital Invitational) was the third Nationwide I played in," said English, who will have a big gallery in Memphis this week because he attended high school at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, leading the golf team to four state titles and claiming the individual crown as a senior.

"Coming down the stretch with John Peterson (a college rival from LSU) was really good, and I learned a lot about myself and how I play under pressure. It was a really good boost for me, winning that tournament.

"I don't know (going in) if I'm actually ready to play and win a tournament yet, but it kind of helped me get over that first hump of knowing I can do it."

Doing it on the PGA Tour is something else again, as English has learned a few times this season.

After starting 69-62 in the Humana Challenge, his second event of the season, he shot 1-over-par 73 in the third round and finished in a tie for 18th after a closing 68.

English started 69-68 in the Shell Houston Open but played the weekend in 73-70 to tie for 18th and opened with 68-68 in the RBC Heritage before finishing with rounds of 73-71 and that aforementioned tie for eighth.

"Putting four rounds together is really tough out here," said English, who recently qualified for the Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in July with rounds of 60-63 at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, Texas.

"I've had some good Thursday-Friday scores and not played well on the weekends. It's just a learning experience. The weekend gets tough and you have to grind it out. I've kind of gotten out of my element a little bit and tried to force it."

Perhaps the best, and worst, came at the Honda Classic.

English put together rounds of 66-69-66 at PGA National and was paired with McIlroy, the leader and eventual winner, in the final round but skidded to a 7-over-par 77 and wound up in a tie for 18th.

It started with a double bogey on the second hole and got progressively worse.

"I didn't really plan to be buried in the bunker on (No.) 2, but it was," said English, who also played alongside eventual winner Matt Kuchar in the Players Championship on Saturday and struggled to a 7-over 79 at TPC Sawgrass.

"I faced a lot of adversity, but hopefully I can learn from it. I hit some shots that probably looking back I shouldn't have hit. I tried to force a little too much.

"After that double on 2, I kind of changed my whole game plan, which looking back, that's not what I should have done. Should have stuck with it. I played well all week there and just a couple shots that last round kind of got away from me. I took a lot of positives away from the week, and I'm playing well."

His credentials are impeccable.

In 2007, at the age of 18, English became the third-youngest player to win the Georgia State Amateur. You might have heard of the youngest, Bobby Jones, who did it in 1916.

Last year, English collected another trophy that has Jones' name on it at the Southern Amateur and had a 2-2 record as the United States lost to Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup before earning his PGA Tour card by tying for 13th at Q-school.

"This past year was my best year of golf I've ever had," English said.

It figures to get even better, and he might even catch up with Rickie and Rory.

COMING UP

PGA TOUR: FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn., Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 3-6 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel; Saturday and Sunday, 3-6 p.m. EDT on CBS.

LAST YEAR: Harrison Frazar, who was contemplating giving up his golf career at the end of the season, claimed his first PGA Tour victory in 355 starts with a par on the third playoff hole to turn back Robert Karlsson of Sweden. Karlsson, who lost the same tournament a year earlier to Lee Westwood on the fourth extra hole, missed a four-foot putt for par to give Frazar his long-awaited first victory one month before turning 40. Frazar was playing on a major medical extension after surgeries on his hip and shoulder in 2010. The St. Jude was only the fourth time he made the cut in 10 events last season, but the victory gave him a new lease on his career with a two-year exemption.

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Regions Tradition at Shoal Creek Golf Club in Shoal Creek, Ala., Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 6:30-8:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday and Sunday, 7:30-9:30 p.m. EDT, on the Golf Channel each day.

LAST YEAR: Tom Lehman's par on the second playoff hole was good enough to beat Peter Senior of Australia and give him his second major victory on the Champions Tour -- he also captured the 2010 Senior PGA Championship. Lehman, who won five times on the PGA Tour, including 1996 Open Championship At Royal Lytham & St. Annes, claimed his third victory in his first seven events on the senior circuit in 2011. Lehman, who closed with a bogey-free 3-under-par 69, two-putted from 20 feet on the second extra hole, No. 18, before Senior's five-footer to prolong the playoff lipped out. The Aussie rallied to tie with a closing 68, carding three birdies down the stretch, the last at the 17th hole.

LPGA TOUR: Wegmans LPGA Championship at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, N.Y., Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, noon-2:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday and Sunday, 2-7 p.m. EDT, on the Golf Channel each day.

LAST YEAR: Yani Tseng of Taiwan showed why she is No. 1 in the Women's World Golf Rankings by sailing to a record-setting 10-stroke victory over Morgan Pressel. The 22-year-old Tseng became the first female golfer with four major titles, surpassing Se Ri Pak of South Korea, who did it in 2002 at the age of 24. Tseng's total of 19-under-par equaled the LPGA Tour record for low score in a major, last achieved the previous year by Cristie Kerr in the Wegmans. Dottie Pepper set the record in the 1999 Nabisco Dinah Shore and Karen Stupples of England matched it at the 2004 Women's British Open.