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 Taking the advice of his fellow pros, Jonathan Kaye finally cured his putting woes and jarred a dramatic 12-footer for eagle to prevail in a playoff
By Tom Patri
Jonathan Kaye hit two fantastic 254-yard approaches to the 18th green on Sunday at the Buick Classic. In regulation he reached the fringe of the 526-yard par-5 and two-putted for a birdie to force a playoff with John Rollins, and in OT, Kaye flushed his hybrid iron to 12 feet to set up his victory-clinching eagle. As good as those shots were, however, they weren't the key to his win. Kaye prevailed because he snapped a four-month funk on the greens. (He ranked 145th in putting entering the Buick.) Kaye had been prematurely lifting his head and shoulders during his stroke, causing his swing path to swerve and the club face to twist. To fix that, Kaye solicited advice from Tommy Armour III and Paul Azinger, and now, says Kaye, "I focus on keeping my eyes still and hitting the ball, and then looking up." Last week everything jelled on the greens, which I know from the 11 years I taught at Westchester are among the Tour's trickiest. Kaye's best strokes included a pressure-packed six-foot par save at 10 to regain momentum after a bogey at the 9th and the must-make downhill four-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole. During the playoff Kaye could have two-putted to win, but riding a wave of confidence, he made his 12-footer for eagle (above) to secure his first victory in 195 starts on Tour.
Tom Patri runs the TP Golf School at Naples Grande Golf Club in Naples, Fla. and is a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher. Issue date: June 30, 2003
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Courtesy of ABC
