The 19^th Hole

March 11, 2007

It’s An Epidemic

Heath Slocum should not feel all that bad.  On the 72^nd hole of the PODS Championship at Innisbrook, Slocum faced a four foot putt that would have forced a playoff with Mark Calcavecchia.  He did not play enough break on a putt he probably should have made and could not force the playoff that he perhaps would have won with the right amount of momentum.  Sure, he cost himself somewhere in the area of $400,000 and a shot at a second PGA Tour victory.  But, he is not alone in being among the (growing) list of choke jobs on the 2007 PGA Tour.

Even this week’s winner, the 46 year old Calcavecchia, tried to choke away the event.  He missed a three foot birdie putt on the par 3 15^th that would have made the final three holes a coronation ceremony.  Then, with it all in his own hands, he missed a fairly straight seven footer for par on 18.  Basically, Calc tried to let his nerves get in the way of his 13^th career victory on Tour.

If this sounds familiar, it is.  It happened last weekend at the Honda Classic.  Boo Weekley faced a 39 inch putt to win his first PGA Tour event in regulation.  It was a fairly straight, usually benign putt that he would have made 99 out of 100 times if it were on a putting green or any other hole of the tournament.  Because it was for the win, though, that putt seemed like a 25 foot double breaker.  Weekley missed the putt and actually only got two inches closer to the after blowing it three and a half feet past.  The miss caused a four way playoff that extended into Monday.

In that Monday playoff, Camilo Villegas missed a straight six footer to remain in the playoff.  Just one hole later, Jose Coceres could not sink an eight foot putt to match eventual champion Mark Wilson’s 10 foot birdie make.

Going back even a little further, Henrik Stenson may very well have Tiger Woods to thank for his first victory on US soil and his current position in the top five in the Official World Golf Ranking.  On the 19^th hole of Woods’ match with his match play foil Nick O’Hern, the world’s best player failed to fix an obvious ball mark and then missed a four foot putt to take the match.  As a result, Woods never had an opportunity to advance into the latter stages of the event, continue his supposed streak, and march into history.  What was his misfortune eventually turned out to be a great break for the rising Swede.

So, all of a sudden, putting has become a pretty high profile issue on the PGA Tour.  The 2007 season DVD for the PGA Tour would probably have a lot of missed putts.  At the same time, though, it was a reversal of a reputation with the flat stick that has turned around a player’s career this season.

Charles Howell III was recognized as one of the greatest pure golf talents on the Tour.  His game just seemed to lack one major component: poise with the putter when it mattered most.  This season, though, CH3 has turned that reputation into motivation for his fantastic play.

It was clutch putting that had earned Howell III two second place finishes in the early season at Sony Open and the Buick Invitational.  Riding the newfound putting stroke and confidence, Howell III made his move at Riviera in the Nissan Open.  A final nine charge on Sunday propelled CH3 to catch Phil Mickelson, who had dominated the course throughout the week.  It was clutch putting in the playoff that then allowed Howell III to outlast Lefty and pick up his second career Tour win.

Then on Sunday at the PODS Championship, Howell began the day on -1 and eight out of the lead.  He caught fire in the final round with the putter though and made six birdies on his way to 65 and a backdoor top ten finish.

Even while Calc’s putting almost allowed Heath Slocum to sneak away with a victory, it was the story of his putter that made this week compelling.  Calcavecchia went to the Edwin Watts golf shop near Innisbrook and selected a $256 Ping putter off the shelf to use this week.  He brought it out on Friday and moved from 112^th place after round one to inside the cut line.  Then on Saturday, Calc rode the putter to a course record 62.  On Sunday, it was just good enough to keep the nerves of a 46 year old in the twilight of his career at the top of the leaderboard.

In this early PGA Tour season, the axiom “drive for show, putt for dough” may have never been on such display.  For better and worse, it has been the putts that have not fallen that have defined so many events this year on Tour.  The players would tell you that they would prefer for events to be won and lost on positive shot making, not lucky opportunism.  As a fan, though, sometimes the train wreck is almost as entertaining as the masterpiece.

Ryan Ballengee is host of The 19th Hole Golf Show, found at The Golf Newsnet.com.  Having graduated from the University of Maryland in 2004 and 2006, Ballengee brings the perspective of the younger golf fan to the microphone and his columns.  Over the nearly five years he has been broadcasting and writing, Ballengee has developed a reputation for a unique interviewing style that asks both the difficult and fun questions. You can also get The 19th Hole on the go through podcasting by clicking here The Golf Newsnet Contact Ryan via e-mail at the19thholeshow@hotmail.com.