Dwyer High grad Daniel Berger making case for Ryder Cup team with consistent play and third PGA Tour title

Daniel Berger knows one aspect of his playing schedule for the next 25 years: If there’s a PGA Tour event the second week in June, he’s playing in it.

And, most likely, contending.

Berger, a Dwyer High graduate, became the answer to a trivia question Sunday when he won the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial, the PGA Tour’s return to golf after three months off with no fans due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In an odd twist, all three of the Jupiter resident’s PGA Tour wins have come during the second week in June — the first two were at the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, the week before the U.S. Open, in 2016 and 2017.

Unlike those two victories, there were no fans screaming Sunday when Berger won with a par on the first hole of a playoff after Collin Morikawa missed a short par putt.

That’s because there were no fans at Colonial — just about 50 PGA Tour officials, media and volunteers — surrounding the finish in one of golf’s surreal moments.

“A little different for sure,” Berger said, “But in the end, I was holding the trophy, and that’s all that matters to me.”

Two years ago, Berger wasn’t sure how long he would be holding a golf club after suffering a wrist injury that left his career in doubt. A golfer with a bad wrist can quickly become an ex-golfer, even someone who qualified for the U.S. team in the 2017 Presidents Cup.

He suffered a finger injury at the 2018 Travelers Championship and by Labor Day the pain had crept into his wrist. Hours of painful therapy didn’t help. He skipped the penultimate FedExCup playoff event.

The injury lingered during the 2019 season. The more he played, the worse things became.

“I think the biggest thing was just time,” Berger said. “In retrospect, I would have just taken an extended break and not tried to play through it.”

He had one top-10 finish in 2019, a runner-up showing at an opposite-field event, and lost full-exempt status for the first time since a rookie after he was 131st in the FedExCup list.

But his game returned last fall. He had three top-25 showings in four starts. Then, just before professional sports were shut down due to the pandemic, he reeled off three consecutive top-10s, including a fourth at his hometown Honda Classic.

Berger stayed sharp during the layoff by walking 9 holes four or five times a week with his father, Jay, and PGA Professional Matt Doyle at Turtle Creek in Tequesta, which remained open during the pandemic. The rest of the time he spent at home, trying to steer clear of the virus.

Amazingly, Berger didn’t miss a beat during his return at Colonial. He shot no worse than 67 each day and made a clutch birdie at the 18th hole to get into the playoff at 15-under 265. He has shot 28 consecutive rounds of par or better, the longest active streak on the PGA Tour.

“It’s definitely a long break to have and come back and be competitive,” Berger said. “I’ve grinded so hard the last two months to be in this position. I wanted it more than I ever have before. I just kept telling myself, why not me?”

And why not Berger becoming a member of the U.S. team for this fall’s Ryder Cup? Berger rose to No. 31 in the latest world rankings after Sunday’s win, and there are 14 Americans ranked ahead of him. (U.S. captain Steve Stricker gets six picks out of the 12). No player on Tour has four consecutive top-10s.

Berger scored the clinching point for the U.S. in the ’17 Presidents Cup at Liberty National, and would be thrilled to have another memory-filled week of team competition.

“Spending time with some of the greats of golf and getting some of their insights is incredible,” Berger said.

Berger’s father, Jay, is the Director of Tennis Instruction at The Club at Ibis in West Palm Beach. Jay knows all about representing your country, having coached the U.S. tennis teams in the Olympics and the Davis Cup.

“It would mean the world to him,” Jay Berger said. “But Daniel is pretty good at staying focused on what he can control, and that’s playing great golf.”

Berger was overshadowed when he turned pro early out of Florida State because he was part of the famous (high school) Class of ’11 that included major champions Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Emiliano Grillo and Ollie Schniederjans.

Not anymore.

Just don’t call him Mr. June.