When Vijay Singh beat Tiger Woods in a head-to-head battle Saturday, then held him off the next day to win the 2005 Buick Open, it seemed to be business as usual for a man who had grown accustomed to winning. A year later, however, it seems a great deal has changed for the Fijian.
From the time of that victory, Singh would make 21 starts before he won again, at this year’s Barclay’s Classic. Even since then, there have been some hiccups. After finishing tied for sixth at the U.S. Open and tied for fourth at the Western, Singh missed the cut at the British Open, marking the first time since 2002 he didn’t play over the weekend in a major.
While a balky putter has often been cited as the reason Singh hasn’t accomplished even more than he has already done in his career, this season finding the fairway has been a bigger problem. Singh is actually 14th on the tour in putting, but he has hit just 57.6 percent of his fairways, 168th on tour. Last season, in winning four times, he was on the short grass 60.2 percent of the time.
While that difference may seem minimal, rest assured that it isn’t – especially for PGA Tour players who have little margin for error when it comes to perceived failure and success.
“It’s such a fine line,” David Duval said recently. “I remember a stat that showed a guy who made $500,000 on tour. If he could have saved a quarter of a shot a round, he would have made $800,000. If he could have saved half a shot a round, that’s two shots for the week, he would have made $1.6 million, and if he could have saved a shot a round, four shots, just four shots for the week, he’d have been second on the money list.
“If you can figure that out, just a half a shot a day, it adds up quick. You go from one win to three, to six – it’s almost exponential.”
Finding your level
Corey Pavin’s victory last week at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee reminded us of a story his coach, Butch Harmon, related in his new book, “The Pro: Lessons from My Father About Golf and Life.”
A few years ago, Pavin tried in vain to get some time with Harmon before a tournament, but was constantly put off by other players, first by Adam Scott on Tuesday, then by Fred Couples the following morning.
Later that day, Pavin expressed irritation with the instructor.
“So I told him, ‘Corey, there’s a totem pole.”‘
“Am I on the bottom?” he asked.
“I said, ‘No, but you’re not on the top.”‘
Harmon, who most famously tutored Tiger Woods during his rise to the top of the golf world, chucked recently when recalling that moment.
“It’s a true story,” he said. “There are some long days, but it’s a labor of love. I’m really fortunate to have guys who are fun and nice to be around. They know I have obligations, but they also know if they’re having trouble that I’ll get to them at some point in time.”
Pavin was effusive in his praise of Harmon after his win Sunday. How far up the totem pole will he move now?
Coach ’em up
And from the “do as I say, not as I do” department, one of the great ironies of Hank Haney replacing Harmon as Woods’ swing coach is that not too long ago Haney was unable to hit a golf ball, struggling with a case of what he called “the full-swing yips.”
“Really, I had suffered from it for about 20 years,” Haney said. “I did a lot of studying and research on it and finally made a big breakthrough.
“It’s been really fun; obviously, working with Tiger, I get to practice and play with him a lot – and that’s pretty cool. You’d like to enjoy being able to do things like that, and I am.”
International additions
Fred Couples and Mark O’Meara, two former Masters champions, on Wednesday joined the field for The International at Castle Pines.
O’Meara will play in his 13th International, but his first since 2003. Couples will make his ninth appearance.
Staff writer Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or at acotton@denverpost.com.
