Have you ever had a day when you just didn’t feel like going to work?
It can happen to anyone. Even someone whose job is playing golf.
Forgive Davis Riley, but 2026 has been that kind of season.
Wayward driving. Sloppy scoring. Missed cuts in half the tournaments he’s entered. Just one top-10 finish, and that came eight months ago. Not since a T6 at the Sony Open in January, where he played in the final group on Sunday, has the 29-year-old even caught a whiff of contention.
It’s been a grind.
So cut him some slack if there were mornings when getting to the golf course felt more like a burden than an opportunity.
Sunday at the Rocket Classic should feel different.
After firing a seven-under 63 on Saturday at Detroit Golf Club, Riley will begin the final round with a one-shot lead over Michael Brennan, and he’s suddenly in position to chase his third PGA Tour victory.
“There have been times where I wanted to just stay at home and not play golf, honestly,” Riley said. “That’s been tough. To see something that I love hit home really hard has been tough this year.”
He’s flashing signs of his old form. A two-time Tour winner — at the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge and the 2023 Zurich Classic alongside Nick Hardy — Riley said his driver has been his “Achilles heel” this season. This week, he’s found more fairways and paired that improvement with a putter he said has been reliable all year.
“My game’s been trending and getting in the right direction,” Riley said.
But Riley reserved most of the credit for the people around him.
“I’m just lucky, honestly, to have the people around me who picked me up when I’ve been down,” he said. “I couldn’t do that without the people around me, so I have them to thank just as much as anyone.”
He also has another reason to keep things in perspective. Riley and his wife, Alexandra, are expecting their first child later this month.
“She’s definitely at home working hard, just as hard as I am, if not harder than I am out here this week,” Riley said. “She’s growing a human and trying to get ready for all that.
“I owe her everything. I’m thankful for her to go through pregnancy and probably to deal with me on tough days on the golf course.”
Sunday doesn’t promise to be easy, either. But he’s got no reason not to want to go to work.
