By Stan Olenik. Editor-Publisher The Golf Club

GREENVILLE — Professional golfers love to talk about “the process.”

Years ago the phrase might have referred to a pre-shot routine or a swing thought. Today it means something much bigger.

It is the workout before sunrise. The breakfast before the round. The travel schedule. The practice sessions. Recovery work. Nutrition. Preparation. Attitude.

It is everything that happens before the shot and everything that happens after it.

The players who believe in the process rarely spend much time talking about results.

They believe the results will eventually take care of themselves.

For Doc Redman, that belief is paying off in a big way.

The former Clemson All-American and 2017 U.S. Amateur champion arrives at this week’s BMW Charity Pro-Am ranked second on the Korn Ferry Tour points list. Through 12 events he has made 12 cuts, collected the first two Korn Ferry Tour victories of his career and positioned himself squarely in the hunt for a return to the PGA Tour.

“I’ve made every cut, which has been awesome,” Redman said. “I think that’s probably a goal of everyone’s, just to get four opportunities at the golf course and keep working on your game.”

The consistency has been every bit as impressive as the victories.

While many players spend a season searching for momentum, Redman has found a rhythm that has carried him from tournament to tournament. He credits much of that success to focusing less on outcomes and more on the habits that create them.

“I think there’s a lot more to what we’re doing than just how you physically hit the golf ball,” Redman said. “Trying to be consistent in my preparation all the time — nutrition, feeling healthy with the body, feeling happy — trying to be as specific as possible about what my process is with all that has been very helpful.”

The approach sounds simple, but it requires discipline in a sport where every leaderboard, ranking and paycheck encourages players to think about results.

Instead, Redman focuses on the things he can control.

“You can’t control what other people do or how they play,” he said. “If I can focus on myself and doing my best, then the results will follow.”

That philosophy has become especially important over the past two weeks.

Last week Redman competed in Raleigh, his hometown. This week he returns to a region where Clemson fans still remember his record-setting college career and his dramatic U.S. Amateur victory.

Friends, family and fans will be in the galleries.

They want to see him play well.

They want to see him contend.

They want to see him win.

Redman appreciates the support, but he also understands the danger of allowing outside expectations to become his own.

“I think in the past I definitely fell into that trap,” he said. “But now I’m a little bit more aware of it and know that I’m doing well and I can’t let other people’s opinions crop into my mind too much.”

Instead, he keeps coming back to the same foundation that has carried him through the first half of the season.

The process.

That means trusting his preparation, accepting that bad shots and unlucky breaks are part of golf and believing that over four rounds his game is good enough to compete with anyone in the field.

“As long as I keep believing that I can handle that, and that over 72 holes my game is good enough, then I think I will have done a good job,” he said.

The mindset has helped him navigate a journey that has included both success and setbacks.

After starring at Clemson, where he broke the school scoring average record and earned All-America honors, Redman captured the 2017 U.S. Amateur championship before turning professional. He later spent four seasons on the PGA Tour and advanced to the FedEx Cup Playoffs in both 2020 and 2021 before eventually finding himself back on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Now, in his third consecutive season on the circuit, he appears to have rediscovered the formula for success.

Part of that formula is refusing to chase victories, even after winning twice.

“The first two times I won, I wasn’t really trying to win,” Redman said. “I don’t want that to become too much of a focus going forward. If I start thinking I’ve got to win, then I think I’ll put too much pressure on myself and try too hard. I’ve got to stick with the same game plan and do the best I can.”

There is, however, an obvious reward waiting at the end of the process.

Redman’s two victories have already placed him among the top players on the Korn Ferry Tour. One more win would earn an immediate promotion to the PGA Tour through the circuit’s battlefield promotion program.

It is a rare accomplishment. In fact, two of the first players to earn the immediate jump, Chris Smith and Michael Christie had victories in Greenville in what eventually became today’s BMW Charity Pro-Am.

For Redman, another victory this week would accomplish the same thing.

But even that possibility is not something he wants occupying too much space in his thoughts.

Instead, his focus remains on the long view.

“My goal is to be feeling my best at the end of the season, most confident, feeling the best with my game and continue to get better,” he said.

That answer says as much about Redman’s season as any statistic.

Twelve starts. Twelve cuts made. Two wins.

Second place in the points race.

The results have been impressive, but they are not the goal.

They are simply evidence that the process is working.

And if it continues to work through the end of the season, Redman’s return to the PGA Tour may be only when not if.

Followng former area players is part of the coverage we bring golf fans almost every day at SCgolfclub.com. Subscribe and get our latest golf posts delivered to your email.