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Tour veteran tempers aggression
Posted: Saturday April 06, 2002 8:01 PM
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Former hockey player Jerry Kelly is one of 12 golfers who will be making their debut Masters appearance this year. Michael Holahan / The Augusta Chronicle |
By David Westin
The Augusta Chronicle
Most professional golfers with hockey backgrounds will tell you it helped them make it to the PGA Tour. Jerry Kelly said it hampered him.
Allen Doyle, the 2001 Senior PGA Tour player of the year, and current PGA Tour standout Mike Weir credit the slap shot they used in hockey with the development of their golf swing when they turned their attention to that sport.
Kelly, one of 12 players who will be making their Masters debuts this week, said he had trouble going from the team-oriented, physical hockey to the more sedate game of golf, which is an individual sport.
"I had a little different attitude (than Doyle and Weir)," said the 5-foot-11, 165-pound Kelly. "Allen's got some fire in him, but I had some major fire. I was a smaller guy who was always aggressive out there (in the hockey rink). You always carry a little bit of a chip on your shoulder when you're a tougher, small guy. The bigger guys think they can knock you down and get away with it.
"I carried the aggression into golf a little bit too much," he added. "I didn't have a good way to channel it. I've found better ways to channel it as I've matured. I handle it much better than I used to."
It showed in this season's first full-field event, the Sony Open. Kelly, a seven-year PGA Tour veteran, made that his first career victory, holding off John Cook for a one-shot victory. The win came in Kelly's 200th PGA Tour start.
"It's been a slow process, but I've definitely gotten better every year at it," Kelly said of keeping his head in the heat of battle.
In addition to Kelly, the other first-timers among professionals playing in their first Masters are Charles Howell, Niclas Fasth, Paul McGinley, Craig Perks, Adam Scott, Kevin Sutherland and Toru Taniguchi. Amateurs making their first appearances are Bubba Dickerson, Robert Hamilton, Michael Hoey and Chez Reavie.
Kelly nearly broke through with a victory in 2001. He carried a two-shot lead into the final round of The Players Championship, but closed with a 73 and was overtaken by Tiger Woods.
Kelly finished the season 35th on the PGA Tour money list with $1.49 million, which earned him a Masters invitation as a top 40 finisher on the money list.
When a title's on the line, Kelly still doesn't hide his feelings if things aren't going his way. He just makes sure they're not self-destructive.
"Under pressure situations, everybody's going to show it a little bit more," he said. "I show it more than most probably.
"I have fun whether I'm getting mad or smiling. My wife says I enjoy getting mad too much. There's a little bit of truth to that. That comes from the hockey. You kind of live your life going after something or somebody. I'm living my life going after those wins. When I'm not getting them, I get pretty steamed. You just learn to mature and know you can't do that on each shot."
The one regret that Kelly has about his victory in the Sony Open was that Woods, the world's No. 1-ranked player, wasn't in the field.
"You just want to say you beat the best," Kelly said. "I beat a lot of the best over there. There were a lot of people from the Mercedes Championship (for 2001 PGA Tour winners) that played there. It was a good field."
"He'll be in all the majors," Kelly said of Woods. "It's not like it's taking anything away from the win I had. I don't think it would have mattered if he was there or not. It was my week that week."
Kelly doesn't expect to struggle, as so many other Masters rookies have. Granted, Augusta National will be a new course for him, but with the changes to nine holes, half of it will be new to everyone.
Plus, Kelly's caddie is Tony Janis, who was on the bag for Mark O'Meara at the Masters prior to O'Meara's victory in 1998.
"There is no disadvantage except for the greens, and my caddie knows the greens very well," Kelly said. "I love undulating greens. I like long lag putts. I like playing 20 to 30 feet of break. I've got a great imagination for those things on the greens. I grew up playing heavily sloping greens in the Midwest. I know exactly what they're about.
"The severity of the greens, I don't think I'm ready for. I've been so overprepared from people telling me, that they're probably not going to be as bad as I thought.
"Nothing there is going to surprise me. I know it's going to impress me. If I can just get off that first tee and get into my golf, I'll be happy there."
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