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Spotlight no longer bothers DiMarco
Posted: Saturday April 06, 2002 8:00 PM
Updated: Saturday April 06, 2002 8:01 PM
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Chris DiMarco tees off on the 18th hole during the second round of The Players Championship on March 22 at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. AP |
By Scott Michaux
The Augusta Chronicle
Raise your hand if you expected Chris DiMarco to implode at any minute during his rookie run at the 2001 Masters. Go ahead, admit it.
Masters rookies usually fall apart. Adrenalin frequently carries first-time participants to the heights of the leaderboard in the first round. More often than not, the ensuing crash is equally dramatic.
DiMarco, however, refused to follow the pattern. He slept two nights on the lead and was still just two shots behind eventual champion Tiger Woods heading into Sunday's final round. The closing 74 he posted wasn't exactly crash-and-burn material, leaving him a more-than-respectable tie for 10th in his debut appearance.
"I know the course set up good for me, and I'm assuming it still does," said DiMarco of his more-anticipated return. "I can't wait."
The 2001 Masters established DiMarco as a major player to be reckoned with. He's become a fixture on leaderboards the past two years, with 10 top-10 finishes in 2001 and four more already this season, including a win at the Phoenix Open, his third career victory.
The new DiMarco doesn't resemble the version who first earned his PGA Tour card in 1994 or worked his way back up from the Buy.com Tour in 1997.
"I can honestly admit, up until a couple of years ago, I didn't want the ball at the end," DiMarco said. "I do now. It's something you have to learn. Instead of being scared like I used to be, it's fun.
"You look at Tiger. Look at (David) Duval. Look at (Phil) Mickelson. They never look nervous, and it shows. That's why they play good all the time. That's where I feel like I've gotten to."
DiMarco has had the ball in his hands, so to speak, much more often. He hasn't always been successful, collapsing last year at the International and failing to win after sharing leads on the final nine in this year's Mercedes Championship and Bob Hope Classic.
But he beat Duval in a playoff at Callaway Gardens and came within a whisper of making the Ryder Cup team.
"I know it sounds cliche, but you want to be there on Sunday on the back nine, and that's all you want to do," DiMarco said. "If you can get there, I tell you what, it's an awesome feeling. I remember Tiger always saying it's like a drug, it's like an addiction to get up to the lead. And I got a lot of that on the West Coast, the last year and a half, and it's a lot of fun. It's addicting."
The addiction took time to take hold for a player better known for his unconventional putting grip than his mettle under fire. The spotlight takes some getting used to.
"I know that was the hardest thing for me to learn out here, knowing that the cameras were on me and people were watching me," he said. "Once I got over that, I don't really see anybody out there any more. I was able to just play golf and relax."
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