an opportunity that we had recruited here and for whatever reason was looking for another place to go, so I reached out to him a couple different times on a couple different players that had opportunities

Turnarounds happen all the time in golf. Players work their way up from mini-tours to the big time, raise their profile at an elite level once they get there and strive to improve year to year -- like a companys bottom line, thats the idea. According to one of the sports old axioms, youre either getting better or youre getting worse.Improvement doesnt come at the same pace for everyone, of course. To cite a recent and obvious example, Dustin Johnson took multiple major-championship bruisings before figuring out how to win one, and that he did so at this years U.S. Open in the maelstrom of a weird, unprecedented rules situation at Oakmont made it all the more memorable.When it comes to divining how to succeed, however, Johnsons season pales in comparison to that of Ariya Jutanugarn. Rarely does a golfer make the strides that Jutanugarn has in 2016. Heading into the start of the Evian Championship on Thursday morning in France, the 20-year-old from Bangkok is No. 2 in the Rolex Rankings -- a year ago she was No. 57.Jutanugarn has won five tournaments in 2016, highlighted by the Ricoh Womens British Open. Her first three victories -- not only of the season but also of her career -- were in consecutive starts this spring, something never before accomplished in the LPGA. The success has come on the heels of a disappointing 2015 season in which Jutanugarn missed 10 consecutive cuts as well as a devastating defeat at the 2016 ANA Inspiration in which she had a two-stroke lead with three holes to play but bogeyed in and lost to Lydia Ko.It was the kind of failure that could haunt a young golfer for a long time, especially because Jutanugarn was still looking for her first LPGA victory and wasnt far removed from an extended period of futility. Instead, it led to consultation with performance coaches Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson of Vision54.In just her fourth start after the ANA, Jutanugarn won the Yokohama Tire Classic. She has been a different type of player ever since connecting with Marriott and Nilsson -- seeing the game as a joy not a chore, avoiding a tendency to criticize herself, not being bugged by less-than-perfect shots, letting her talent flourish.They have taught me how to be happy before I hit the shot, Jutanugarn said earlier this season.A smile before settling in to the ball is sign of Jutanugarns new approach, but there is more to it than that.She had not been aware enough and trained enough in how to manage herself on the course, knowing that all of us are always variable and never consistent, Nilsson said in an email to espnW, speaking for herself and Marriott, who collaborate in their coaching. Her missing 10 cuts had many reasons -- coming back from injury, fear with her driver, not trained in the human skills of the game, not knowing what to focus on beyond outcome and technique. She is very quick. She is very honest about herself. She keeps it simple.Jutanugarns skill has been evident for nearly a decade, since she qualified to play in the 2007 Honda LPGA Thailand as an 11-year-old. She won the 2011 U.S. Girls Junior and was a two-time American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year. As a 17-year-old pro without exempt status in 2013, Jutanugarn won nearly half a million dollars in a handful of LPGA events before injuring her shoulder.Lynn and I can never predict how good players can be, since there are too many factors in play, but Ariyas natural gift to hit a golf ball and touch on and around the greens is more than spectacular, Nilsson said. She is now combining that with the other essential skills to play and compete in golf. Of course with that, she does feel more confident in herself and her abilities.In embracing Vision54s holistic approach to golf performance, Jutanugarn has evolved a great deal since she wobbled to the clubhouse at the ANA.She has learned to be OK with great, good and good-enough shots while competing and not being super critical and annoyed at any shot less than perfection, Nilsson said. Its possible to be focused on being happy on the course, being focused on playing each shot and enjoying the round and not forcing outcomes. We have supported Ariya to find a way to actually enjoy hitting golf shots and have a more productive way of reacting to her shots. All performance and outcomes improves when we put our energy on things under our control. Ariya had not been clear on that.The coaches have also encouraged Jutanugarn to have an efficient preshot routine, and they say that is something that can help other golfers.So many today make their routines way too long and complicated, Nilsson said. It doesnt only slow down the game but also it takes too much energy to do it for a whole round/tournament. Make up your mind, get present, connect to the target and go.This is not the first time Marriott and Nilsson have seen an LPGA player make a drastic turnaround after she began working with them. A decade ago, Suzann Pettersen started winning regularly and rocketed up the world rankings, going from No. 52 to No. 2 in 2007 after getting support from the Vision54 founders in December 2006.Yes, Ariyas turnaround is amazing, said Nilsson, and it just shows how much of her abilities had not been accessible to her.Having taken her game to new heights, Jutanugarns challenge -- like that of other players who become among the best in the world -- not only comes with what happens on the course. The spotlight at the top can be intense and broad.We are in touch with Ariya a lot and we are supporting her to get used to her new status as a top player and find her flow and how to manage everything around her, Nilsson said. She seems very pleased with it and also realizes there are so much more going on around her now with the media, requests and other peoples opinions. She is still quite an introvert and a little shy, so its just not playing great golf she needs to pay attention to.Whatever happens from this point, it has been a season Jutanugarn -- as well as Marriott and Nilsson -- wont forget. Air Max Black Friday 2019 .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Wholesale Air Max Black Friday . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. http://www.blackfridayairmax.com/ .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. Air Max Black Friday Online . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Air Max Black Friday For Sale . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Clemsons Dabo Swinney and Virginia Techs Justin Fuente will be on opposite sidelines in Saturdays ACC Championship game, but they were almost much closer than that.Then the offensive coordinator at TCU, Fuente was a finalist in 2011 when Swinney was looking for a young and innovative coach to direct the Tigers offense.I really had kind of done my homework and research kind of independently, and then confirmed it with some people that I trusted, and I kind of got it down to three guys, and Chad Morris and Justin were the top two that I wanted to actually bring in and meet with and then kind of go from there, Swinney recalled this week.I just had a lot of respect for the job he had done and watched him closely.Swinney eventually hired Morris, and Fuente earned his first head coaching job at Memphis, turning around a program that had gone 5-31 in the previous years. The Tigers were 7-17 in his first two seasons, but then 10-3 in 2014, including a double-overtime victory against BYU in the Miami Beach Bowl, and 9-3 in the 2015 season.That team also went to a bowl game, but Fuente was already on his way to replacing Frank Beamer, the winningest active coach in the game, with the Hokies.The interview process at No. 3 Clemson (11-1; No. 3 CFP) created the foundation for a friendship.We just got along well, Fuente said of his day-and-a-half in Clemson. I mean, we certainly didnt spend two days talking about how he runs his program. I mean, we talked a little bit about offensive football, but I just enjoyed being around him, enjoyed having conversatioons about different ways to do things.ddddddddddddThe coaches now exchange occasional text messages and spend time together at ACC coaches meetings.I would shoot him just an encouragement text from time to time or he might send me one and then we talked a little bit about some recruiting, Swinney said. I had a couple players that had an opportunity that we had recruited here and for whatever reason was looking for another place to go, so I reached out to him a couple different times on a couple different players that had opportunities to go and play for him.On Saturday night, Swinneys Tigers will be looking to not only claim their second consecutive ACC championship, but preserve their spot in the College Football Playoff against a four-time ACC champion back on the rise.The Hokies (9-3; No. 23 CFP) had to win their final game three times in Beamers last four seasons to achieve the six victories needed to ensure an bowl opportunity, but they had no such concerns with Fuente taking over this season, installing his up-tempo offense and retaining longtime defensive coordinator Bud Foster to guide the defense.For them to be back in the championship game, I think, is just an incredible accomplishment, Swinney said, and I knew when they hired him that it wouldnt take long for him to get them back to this point.---More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Hank on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hankkurzjr ' ' '