Rule No. 1: Don't think

Forsman plays his way out of magical round

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Ticker) -- Dan Forsman was locked in Thursday during a string of five consecutive birdies, then distracted himself.

Forsman ran off his streak of birdies en route to a 6-under-par 29 on the front side at LaCantera Golf Club, but he had two bogeys on the back before settling for a 6-under 64 in the first round of the Texas Open.

"I was on the 14th hole with a 5-iron in my hand," he said. "I'm thinking, 'If I eagle this hole, I'm going to get to 10-under and I'll birdie one of the last two and I can shoot 59.' I allowed me to think about it."

The distraction of a 59 is understandable.

It is the best any pro has shot in competition. Al Geiberger did it in 1977 at Memphis, Chip Beck matched the feat in 1991 at Las Vegas and David Duval equaled it in 1999 at the Bob Hope Classic.

"I made a good swing at 14, but it came out to the right," the 45-year-old Forsman said. "Then, I wasn't able to birdie the hole, and it was a little bit of a letdown. Then, I bogeyed the next two holes.

"At that point, the momentum had switched entirely, and now it was whether or not I can par the rest of the holes coming in."

Forsman qualified for the PGA Tour in 1982 and joined it full-time in 1983. He ranked 118th on the money list that year, when the tour established a rule that the top 125 would be exempt from qualifying for the following season.

Forsman qualified every year until 2000, but he received some exemptions in 2001 and regained his card by placing 114th on the money list. He moved up to 44th in 2002 with more than $1.3 million, his best finish since 1993.

"My putting stats [140th] for the tour are weak," said Forsman, who is 74th on the money list. "I'm working hard on my putting. I'm one of the top guys in greens in regulation [second], so I'm spending a lot of time on my putting.

"And I made a discovery last night. I told my wife I made a discovery, and sure enough today I was making putts."

Forsman said fundamentals were the problem with his putting, which likely was the reason why he missed the cut last week at the 84 Lumber Classic.

"It's getting my eyes over the ball," the 6-4 Forsman said. "What happened is, being tall, I tend to get out over the ball so my eyes are out in front of it as opposed to being right over it.

"I was a little quick and stabbing at the ball last week at the 84 Lumber, and this week I'm a little more smooth."

Forsman is a good example of your touring pro, playing at one site one week and another the next, moving from course to course he likely hasn't seen in at least a year.

It hasn't been an easy journey for Forsman, who went 10 years without a win before claiming last year's SEI Pennsylvania Classic. He had earned his 2002 tour card on the last day of the last event in 2001.

There could be more to come for Forsman, as long as he doesn't distract himself.

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