Trent Phillips: new coach, new approach, new results
For Trent Phillips, something just hasn’t been working this season.
The three-year pro said he’s felt lost and hasn’t had a good base built for himself, something he could go back to and lean on when the results weren’t there for him. And the results from this season’s Korn Ferry Tour finishes were all the proof he needed that a change was imminent.
In 23 Korn Ferry Tour events this year, Phillips has missed eight cuts (matching last season’s total) but finished in the top-25 six times, three within the top-10. His best finish came last weekend at the Simmons Bank Open in Nashville, Tenn. where he ended in a tie for seventh.
After becoming only the fifth four-time All American at the University of Georgia, the 25-year-old turned pro in June of 2022, joined the PGA Tour Americas and looked to be off on the right foot. Playing in eight events for that Tour, he made seven cuts and had five top-10 finishes. His best finish was a tie-for third at the CRMC Championship in Minnesota.
In 45 Ferry events played in 2023 and 2024, Phillips had eight top-25 finishes and four within the top-10 but missed 15 cuts. His best finishes in that time span were tied-for second at the Panama Championship in February of last year and was runner-up in a playoff against Jorge Fernandez Valdes at the UNC Health Championship in June of 2023.
Still, he needed a change after the roller coaster that’s been his current season. So he bid adieu to his golf coach at the time and got hooked up with Adam Schriber.
“I haven't really had a consistent golf coach,” Phillips said after Saturday’s round. “I've just bounced around and seen guys for like one-off lessons and stuff like that. I've had some good lessons, just nothing really stuck. I like the direction that I went this time and I feel like I'm on the right path.”
Even though Phillips said he’s only met with Schriber once, it’s safe to say the path Schriber put Phillips on is the change that Phillips needed as he currently sits at 12-under and only one stroke off the lead heading into the final round at the Nationwide Children’s Championship in Upper Arlington, Ohio.
According to Schriber’s website, he’s “recognized by peers and multiple golf media as one of the top 100 instructors across the globe, and a pioneer in the integration of fitness, biomechanical-influenced instruction, and digital technology tools.”
His students have included two-time LPGA Tour and Major champion Morgan Pressel, as well as four-time PGA Tour winner J.J. Spaun, who was victorious at this year’s U.S. Open in Oakmont and will be one of America’s representatives in next week’s Ryder Cup.
Phillips said Schriber put him on a routine in the gym that has helped him to get his body moving in the way he needs it to move.
“I've had kind of a weird little pattern going on with my body, it creates some bad swings,” Phillips said. “Some of those things are meant to help me get out of that and I've been doing it regardless if it's 4:00 a.m. or 11:00, whenever I may tee off. I just do it before I play and just go play.”
This is Phillips’ third time in as many years playing the Scarlet Course located at the Ohio State University Golf Club and the last two times didn’t go as well as he would have liked. He made the cut in his inaugural appearance two years ago but finished in tie for 42nd at four-over par and didn’t card a round in the 60’s. Last year, he missed the cut.
However, things are going much differently this time around as he’s the only player to card all three of his rounds in the 60’s. He finished Thursday’s round with a 67, followed it up with a 66 on Friday and concluded Saturday’s round with a 68, carding four birdies and would have been bogey-free if not for an opening round five on par-4, no. 1.
Phillips said the course has been set up well for him this week.
“It's a good golf course for me,” he said. “I hit it pretty far so I can take out a lot of the bunkers, and I take a lot of pride in my scrambling. So you're going to scramble out here, it's just a matter of time, and I've done well with that so far.”
This is the second leg of a four-leg stop of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, with the top 120 in the rankings moving on to the Compliance Solutions Championship at The Patriot Golf Club in Owasso, Okla. in two weeks. The top 75 after that tournament will move on to the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in three weeks at the French Lick Golf Resort in French Lick, Ind. The top 20 finishers after the championship will earn their PGA Tour card. Phillips is currently ranked No. 53 but is projected as moving up to No. 28 given his current position at the Nationwide Championship.
Phillips will appear in the final pairing with leader John VanDerLaan and third place golfer, Chandler Blanchet, with the group teeing off No. 1 at 11:01 a.m.