Hot hand rides broomstick into contention

Tag : Hole Punch Tool


He’s not quite sure how he feels about that.

“I don’t want to use it, but I’m a better playerwith it, so I can’t fight it,’’ said Williamson,a journeyman pro from St. Louis who can clean up the confusion ofan undistinguished year and career with that broom handle today.

The 41-year-old Williamson swept himself into the fight for a$756,000 first-place payday with a tourney-low round of 62 Saturdaythat featured 25 putts, 10 on an inward 29 that is believed to be aTPC Deere Run back-nine record.

It was a 9-under dance that matched his lowest score in 12 years onthe premier circuit in the professional game.

And it lifted him from a share of 30th place at Saturday’sstart into fourth starting today, a mere shot behind a trio ofleaders that includes Tuesday dinner partner Kenny Perry, thehottest shot in this JDC field.

So why so conflicted?

“Because it just doesn’t seem athletic tome,’’ Williamson confessed of a putter he has employedfor the past two weeks. “It almost seems like cheating. Butit’s not.’’

Nope. In a game with a list of arcane rules longer than the puttingstick that stretches nearly to the 5-foot-10 Williamson’schin, virtually anything goes on the greens.

Williamson and several other long-putter practitioners merely arerolling with the legally allowed punches.

Perry very nearly rolled to victory here last year with a putter ofsimilar length. And while he is employing a shorter, moreconventional putting tool in a year that ranks just short of TigerWoods’ lengthy yardstick, he hardly shares Williamson’sreticence about the righteousness of the broomstick stick.

“I never felt like I was cheating, no,’’ he said.“I never felt that way with a long putter. It helped me whenI went back to the short putter.’’

Will MacKenzie, who shares fourth place with Williamson, almostagreed.

“If they are going to let us do that, then, yeah, by allmeans, you should do it,’’ he said.

“I think it would be cool if it was all the same. …Istarted putting with the claw and I won. And then, of course, Ileft it. I felt a little guilty. It just felt a little weird.

“Everybody wants to go conventional and do it theold-fashioned way. That’s what we all want to do. But we gothrough phases, and if you (can) go out there and win a tournamentwith the long putter or the claw (putting grip) or the belly(putter), then by all means, do it.’’

That’s golf. Any way to get the ball in the hole within thelegally mandated means works.

Certainly, Williamson’s wife, Marnie, understands. She wasthe one who recently convinced him to re-employ the long putter hehas used and then forsaken several times in the course of hiscareer.

“She said, ‘You need to commit to this — you needto marry the long putter for better or for worse,’ ” hereported. “And that is really what I have done.’’

To good effect. Williamson was 138th in Tour putting and afrustrating 161st on the money list on arrival at Deere Run. He istied for 12th on the greens this week, his average of 27.3 puttsper round a key factor in what is shaping up to be his best finishsince he lost a playoff last year in Hartford, Conn.

He said he took a hard look at his Tour standing while standing ata locker room urinal, of all places, on Tuesday.

“I probably made a mistake doing that,’’ he saidof his quick perusal of Tour statistics posted there.“Because it took me an hour to come to grips with where I amon the money list. I think this is the 12th cut I have made, and Ihaven’t performed well on the weekends.’’

Stats bear that out, foremost among those a final-round scoringaverage of 74.2 that ranks 196th.

He will try and clean that up with the broom handle today.

“I think the putter is going to help me because Ihaven’t putted well on Sunday,’’ he said.“And if you watch Tiger play golf, Tiger doesn’t winwith his driver on Sunday, he wins with his putter.’’

If Williamson should do likewise to day, trust this: He’llgladly ride that broomstick straight to the bank.