Ex-UNLV star credits college coach for putting prowess on PGA Tour

With the exception of Scottie Scheffler, nobody has been as consistently good on the PGA Tour this spring and summer than Harry Hall.

The Las Vegas golfer has made his way to the Tour Championship for the first time, one of the final 30 players remaining in search of a piece of the $40 million purse this week.

Hall arrives at East Lake riding a streak of 16 consecutive cuts made, the fourth longest current run on the tour. He’s done it by becoming arguably the best putter on the PGA Tour.

“I remember in my junior days, I could putt great, but I wasn’t always a great putter,” the 28-year-old said.

The credit for making the leap, he said, traces to his time at UNLV under Hall of Fame coach Dwaine Knight.

“When I got to UNLV and I worked with coach Knight, who’s a renowned putting guy, he really helped my technique,” said Hall, who played for the Rebels from 2015 to 2019. “I remember when I got there, I used to putt way different. Now I’m probably a lot more modern. Ever since I’ve started using my feet to read the greens, as well, that’s helped a lot.”

Knight’s efforts got Hall to radically change his technique.

“When I got to UNLV, I’d set up really open and be hunched over and kind of feel the putts, and (Knight) got me very square, very upright. So that’s why I feel like more athletic,” he said.

The numbers don’t lie. Hall is first on the PGA Tour this season in putting average, putts per round, birdie conversion rate, putting percentage from inside 5 feet and total one-putts from 10 to 15 feet.

Hall, however, points to the rest of his game as the key to his season.

“The big thing is probably not losing a stroke tee to green and just being average, which I knew if I could just be average tee to green, then I could have a very good year,” he said.

He also points to an improved mental approach making a huge difference. Hall of Fame Las Vegas instructor Butch Harmon has helped with that aspect since Hall began working with him in 2024.

“If he tells you you’re swinging it great and you can be one of the best in the world, you’re going to believe it because he’s one of the best coaches in the world,” Hall said.

Hall’s magical season could have one more highlight with his recent play making him a potential captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup in two weeks.

“It would be massive,” Hall said of the possibility coming true.

Hall ended up at UNLV because of assistant coach Phil Rowe, who was also from Hall’s hometown of Cromwell, England.

“I remember growing up, and Phil Rowe, he was like my idol growing up, he played in the Walker Cup in ’99,” Hall said. “We have his bag in the clubhouse. People always used to say, ‘H, are you going to put a Walker Cup bag up there one day,’ and I always said, a Ryder Cup one.”

Chip shots

— Rio Secco will host a fundraising tournament for the UNLV PGA program Aug. 23. The Friends and Family Tournament has an 8 a.m. shotgun start, and cost is $175 per player. Details: 702-777-2400.

— Former Las Vegas resident Xander Schauffele failed to reach the Tour Championship for the first time in his career after an injury-filled and winless season on the PGA Tour.

— How to measure greatness? LIV Golf’s season finale resulted in a head scratcher when a winless Jon Rahm captured the season points race over Joaquin Niemann, who won five of the tour’s 13 events.

Contact Greg Robertson at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.