4C
SPORTS/CI)e Cliarlotte
Thursday, July 5, 2007
i
IT’S GOOD FOR YOUR GAME
In a divot? You’re not
in a hole lot of trouble
By T.J. TOMASI
Universal Press Syndicate
Hitting into a divot may he a bad break, but
hitting out of one is not as difficult as most
golfers expect.
Based on the position of the ball in a divot,
there are different shots you can play that re
quire different techniques. If your ball lies in
toe front of the divot, your goal is to sweep it
out with your regular swing. If it's near toe
back Up, you’ll need to modify your swing and
punch it out.
Regardless of where the ball li^ in the
divot, always stand cl9ser to your baU. This
sets the club shaft more upright, reducing the
chance that your clubhead will catch the edge
of toe divot.
From the Front:
When your ball is in the front of the divot
with nothing between your clubface and the
back of the baU, you can take your normal
swing. The only modifications are in your
setup: Stand so the ball is about an inch for
ward of where you vrould normally position it
in your stance. This allows you to sweep the
ball cleanly, using the divot to direct the path
of your club.
If the divot is deep and points left of the tar
get, open your clubface to produce a fade back
to the target, then swing down the divot line. If
the divot points right of the target, close your
clubface subtly to promote a toaw back to the
target and simply let your swing path follow
the divot line.
From the Back;
Although the ball is resting toward the
back of the divot in this photo, it isn’t too
bad because I can get the clubface on
the back of the ball. I play the ball 1 inch -
behind the center of my stance and
choose one more club than normal.
I keep more weight on my front leg to
pick it dean with a more vertical
approach.
My goal is to swing abruptly down on
the back of the ball, using an
abbreviated follow-through.
Golfd Insider
Fulfilling finish
Kerr finally wins
a major at U.S.
Women’s Open
ByALANTAYS
Cox News Service
Southern Pines, N.C.
B y now, most golf fans know
the story of Crfetie Kerr los
ing 50 pounds and becoming
a top player on the LPGA Tour,
On Sunday at Pine Needles
Lodge & Golf Club, Kerr shed an
other heavy burden — her claim to
the (dubious) distinction of being
the best American player never to
win a major.
Kerr, 29, of Miami, grabbed the
lead Sunday morning by wrapping
up her third-round 66 (the best
round of toe week), then tacked on
a one-under 70 in the fourth round
to win toe U.S. Women’s Open by
two shots.
“I just knew I was going to win,”
Kerr said. “I know that’s kind of
odd to ^ but 1 just knew it I
knew since the last time I came
here, years and years and years
ago, that the next time I came here
that it was going to be my week."
Kerr outlasted the other tour
star with a claim to the no-majors
title —- Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa.
Ochoa, ranked No. 1 in the world,
started toe final round one behind
Kerr and finished tvra back. First-
round leader Angela Park birdied
No. 18 to tie for second.
The third player in the final
threesome, Morgan Pressel, pla^d
her final five holes in five over and
shot 77, eight shots behind,
Kerr and Ochoa were tied at four
under when they came to toe 14th
hole, a 426-yard par4 that had
given up only three birdies in the
final round.
Kerr had bogeyed it in the sec
ond and third rounds. This time
she made birdie, hitting a 190-yard
4-iron to 20 feet and making the
putt to take a one-shot lead she
never relinquished.
Ochoa had made an eagle on the
14th in the first round, improbably
holing a 5-wood from a fairway
bunker On Sunday, toe hole had
no more magic to offer Ochoa
failed to reach the green m two
and settled for a par
Ochoa’s tee bail deserted her on
the back nine. After hitting 6-of-7
fairways on the front, she missed
6-of-7 — including the final five —-
on the back.
BRUCE R. BENNETT/Cox News Service
Playing in her 42nd major, Cristie Kerr, shown above in a
2004 tournament in West Palm Beach, Fla., won the U.S.
Women’s Open by two shots Sunday at Southern Pines, N.C.
"The 17th hole was probably the
one that cost me—that driver, that
tee shot,” she said.
Ochoa’s drive at the 17th found
the left-side fairway bunker. She
tried to reach toe gr^n with a 5-
wood but topped toe shot, sending
it only about 70 yards forward into
the rough.
Ochoa’s resulting bogey gave
Iferr a two-shot cushion gofr^ to
the final hole.
Leaving without the trophy did
n’t faze Ochoa. “No, I’m doing
OK,” she said. “I’ve been in worse
places. It hurts, but I just did
everything I could. I tried really
hard every day, every shot. It just
didn’t happen for me.”
It did for Kerr, more than a
decade after she was the low ama
teur at Pine Needles in the 1996
Open. In 2001 she tied for fourth
here, 10 shots behind Karrie Webb.
She said she felt good vibes from
the North Carolina sandhills.
Her tournament didn’t get off to
a good start, though. On Thursday
morning, she felt pain in one of
her knees and tried to climb the
staii-s to the fitness van.
“I about collapsed,” she said. “It
hurt so bad. I was crying. I didn’t
think I was going to be able to
play”
Advil and ice fixed the problem,
which was a flare-up of a long
standing case of tendinitis. Kerr
went out and shot even-par 71,
three shots off Park’s lead.
But Kerr was struggling with
her swing. She was coming up and
out of her posture, hitting shots to
the right. Satuixlay evening, before
a l^tning flash scared her off an
outdoor interview podium—- “Two
questions, guys, and I’m boogey-
ing. I'm not kidding." — she said
executing her shots properly
would make her happier than win
ning.
Kerr, playing in her 42nd major,
found toe ansvrer—she didn’t say
what it was—to her swing prob
lems on the 13th hole, a 190-yard
par 3. She parted that, then made
her memorable birdie on 14.
Now that she has a major (after
10 top-10 finishes), Kerr has anoth
er goal in mind.
“I’ve put on 7 or 8 pounds from
when I was most fit,” she said. “I’ll
attribute it to being married (to
Erik Stevens since December) and
being on a honeymoon.
“But I’m ready to get focused on
my fitness again and working real
ly hard on my golf. ” It should be
easier, now that she’s shed her
major burden.
THE GOLF DOCTOR
How does one putt?
Let me count the ways
When you look at great putters,
it almost seems as if their putttog
style matches their personality:
Hard-driving type A personalities
like Tiger Woods jam their putts
and smash toe ball into toe cup.
Gentle Ben Crenshaw types ease
'toe ball into toe hole.
It’s a nice theory, but q more ac
curate one is that great putters can
hit all kinds of putts, depending
on toe situation, and there is no
reason why you can’t learn to do
this also.
There are three ways to make a
putt:
1. You can “die” the ball into the
cup, so that its last roll barely car
ries it over toe edge as it falls into
the cup.
2. You can send the ball into the
cup at the optimum speed, so that
the ball contacts the backside of
the metal cup about halfway down.
3. You can “firm” the baU into
the cup, where every putt is played
as a strait one and the baU
strikes the dirt on the back of the
hole, just above the metal cup.
Die Speed
One advantage of the dying putt
is that there are three “entrances”
your slowly moving ball can use to
fall into the cup — the front of the
cup and the two sides. Another ad-
vant^e is that if you miss, your
baU alw^s finishes next to the
hole.
But there are some disadvan
tages. With a slight miscalcula
tion, toe dying putt won’t get to the
cup. And because of the putt’s
slow speed, the break is increased
and the ball is easily knocked off
line by the imperfections in the
green.
Cox News Service
The type of putt you use
often depends on the
circumstances of the shot.
Firm Speed
The advantages of the firm putt
are tliat it eliminates the break
and, because of its speed, it stays
on line despite imperfections on
the green. The disadvantages are
that the size of the hole is effec
tively reduced because the baU is
moving too fast to sneak in the
sides of toe cup.
Optimum Speed
For the optimum-speed putt, toe
hole is its true size, toe break and
imperfections are minimized, the
bail always gets there, and if it
rolls by the hole, you get informa
tion about your next putt by
watchii^ the break.
The optimum-speed putt really
doesn’t have disadvantages except
that optimum is always hard to fig
ure out.
Bottom line: Your choice de
pends on the circumstances.
Generally, you should jam toe up-
hfllers, die the down-hillers and
put the optimum-speed stroke on
flat putts. — T.J. Tomasi
SCHEDULE
All Times EDT
PGA'TOUR
AT&T National.
• Site: Betoesda, Md.
• Schedule: Thursday-
Sunday
• Course: Congressional
Country Club. Blue Course
(7,255 yards, par 70).
• Purse: $6 million,
. • TV: Golf Channel
(Thursday-Friday 3-6 p.m.,
8:30-11:30 p.m.) and CBS
(Saturday-Sunday 1-2:30 p.m.,
3-6 p.m.).
US. GOLF ASSOCIA'nON
US. Senior Open
• Site: Haven, Wis.
• Schedule: Thursda>’-
Smiday
• Course: Whistling Straits,
Straits Course (7,068 yards, par
72).
■ Purse: $2.6 million.
• TV: ESPN (Thursday-
Friday, 2-6 p.m.) and NBC
(Saturday-Sunday 3-6 p.m.).
PGA EUROPEAN TOUR
European Open
• Site: Straffan, Ireland.
• Schedule: Thursday-
Sunday.
• Couroe: The K Club,
Smurfit Course (7,313 yards,
par 72).
• Purse: $4.84 million.
•TV: Golf Channel
(Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-
1 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-l p.ra.,
6:30-9 p-m.; Sunday 10 a.m.-
1 p.m., 7-9 p.m.).
NATIONWIDE TOUR
E^egend Financial
Group Classic
• Site: Highland Heights,
Ohio.
• Schedule: Thursday-
Sunday
• Course: StoneWater Golf
Club (7,045 yanls, par 71).
• Purse: $525,000. Winner’s
share: $94,500.
•TV; None.
LPGA TOUR
• Next event: Jamie Farr
Owens Corning Classic, July
12-L5, Highland Meadows Golf
Club, Syivania, Ohio.
LEADERS
WORLD RANKINGS
1. Tiger Woods 19.86
2. Phil Mickeison 8.84
3. Jim Furyk 8.46
4. Adam Scott 6.93
5. Ernie Els 6.70
6. VijaySingh 6,19
7. Henrik Stenson 5.75
8. Geoff Ogiivy 5.57
9. Luke Donald 5.22
10. P. Harrington 4.98
11. Rebef Goosen 4.92
12. Sergio Garcia 4.88
13. Rory Sabbatini' 4.75
14. Zach Johnson 4.58
15. Angel Cabrera . 4.377
MONEY LEADERS
PGATOUR
Player Money
1. TigerWoods $4,885,427
2. Phil Mickeison $4,120,588
3. VijaySingh $3,719,393
4. Zach Johnson $2,985,910
5. Rory Sabbatini $2,820,390
6. G. Howell 111 $2,521,999
7. Adam Scott $2,504,266
8. Jim Furyk $2,465,808
g.ScottVerplank $2,194,581
10. John Rollins $2,177,304
LPGATOUR
Player Money
1. Lorena Ochoa $1,795,426
2. S. Pettersen $1,044,770
3. Cristie Kerr $955,180
4. B. Lincicome $744,654
5. Paula Creamer $729,9489
CHAMPIONSTOUR
Player Money
1. JayHaas $1,796,158
2. Loren Roberts $1,187,047
3. Brad Bryant $1,149,748
4. TomPurtzer $915,587
5. Hale Irwin , • $895,451 j
ASKTHE PRO
Don’t overthink the 18th hole
Q: I hit most of my tee shots pretty good, except the last
one. I don't feel much different on the 18th tee than on toe
others, but I always screw it up. I check out my swing to
make sure I’m ready then it goes way off line, usually to
the right. - Bob/?.. jTnm toe Web
A: Ben Hogan once commented that the downswing was
no place to give yourself a lesson, and if there’s one time
you need to abide by tliis, it's the last tee shot of the day a
time when it’s all too easy to get “more personally in
volved" in your swing.
Scientific studies show that once toe downswing starts,
you can't stop (the brain simply doesn't work that fast),
and since it pl^sically can’t be done, if you by to do some
thing during the downswing, you will no doubt do it at the
wrong time and ruin your swuig. So stay calm on toe 18th
tee, take a relaxing breath, remain committed to your plan
and don’t try to give yourself a lesson while you swing!
Commentary: Tears can’t flow forever for Pressel
By GREG STODA
Cox News Seiwice
Morgan Pressel isn’t about to apolo
gize for the tears, because that would
mean apologizing for who she is.
She’s 19.
She’s not going to cry forever. She’s
not going to turn herself into a punch
line who weeps every time she’s in con
tention to win an important golf toim-
nament but fails to do so. She’s too
strong for that, even though she might
not look the part right now.
She’ll mature. She’ll handle defeat
better than she handled the one
Sunday afternoon in the U.S. Women’s
Open at Pine Needles Lodge & Country
Club in Southern
Pines, N.C., where she
fell apart dovra the
stretch... and then
just fell apart.
She pulled her sun
glasses off her cap to
cowrhereyes—as
-p-ecp, theybegantomist?—
KHtaatL while double-bogey
botching the last hole in a miserable
conclusion to a miserable back nine,
dropping her from contention to a tie
for lOto place.'
Pressel cried in the embrare of her
agent upon finishing, spoke to a United
States Golf Association interviewer
and addressed the media mc^t thor
oughly only throi^ e-mails with se
lected South Florida representatives.
Did that make her appear petulant
and pouty? Yes, on both counts.
It wjsn’t the first time Pressel had
dissolved in anguish after a loss, and it
probably won’t be the last. But she’ll
learn, or she’ll never be as good as she
aspires to be.
Anger, said 19to century orator
Ifobert Ingersoll, is “a wind which
blows out the lamp of the mind.”
Pressel’s too bri^t not to find her
way to understanding that message.
She is famously harsh on herself when
it comes to demanding excellent, and
especially so when involved in a chj^
for toe trophy in a high-profile event.
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate for Cox News Service. (800) 255-6734. *For release the week of July 2, 2007.