Say nice things to yourself, they say. When you can’t? Just keep your mouth shut.

Korn Ferry Tour veteran Ryan McCormick has struggled to control his anger on the course in recent months, and he has explored several approaches to rectify a hostile mind. Nothing has helped. So for Friday’s second round at the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club, he took an extreme approach.

He taped his mouth shut.

McCormick carded a second-round 72 at the Club Car Championship, the Korn Ferry Tour’s first domestic stop of 2025, to finish a few strokes outside the cut line at 1-over 145. It marked the continuation of recent struggles on the course, but it made for an interesting Friday in coastal Georgia – and a reminder that there’s no shortage of possibilities when it comes to game-improvement avenues in professional golf, or golf at large.

Was McCormick nicer to himself with tape over his mouth? Verbally, yes. Though generally speaking, the jury is still out.

“Having a not-so-fun time this year on the golf course, pretty angry and mad, so I figured … I’ve tried a lot of things, and I just figured I’d just shut myself up,” McCormick said Friday. “So I put tape over my mouth. At this point, I’ve tried about everything. I’ve read a lot of books, I’ve talked to people … just too angry on the golf course, so I have run out of ideas, and I thought about the tape thing a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately came down to that today.

“I was hoping maybe that it would help me. Can’t say that it did or didn’t. It certainly makes you breathe. I felt like Bane, like Batman, muzzle myself. I mean, I’m not like proud, I don’t want to create an experience for my playing partners that’s not fair. And, you know, it’s not fair to me either or other people. Having a tough time, and that was my solution today.”

How did McCormick communicate with his caddie on Friday, he was asked afterward?

“Mostly just writing down the numbers,” McCormick said with a laugh. I would just point and ask him for a read sometimes. It made things a lot simpler, I’ll tell you that.”

McCormick’s on-course results have been slow to come by in 2025. After losing his PGA TOUR card at No. 161 on the 2024 FedExCup Fall standings, he entered the Club Car Championship at No. 126 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, and he’ll fall further after a missed cut at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club.

But you can’t say he’s leaving any stones unturned.

PGA TOUR’s Nichole Mell contributed to this report