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The comeback kid Sutton resurrects his game to a new level
Posted: Friday April 28, 2000 07:17 PM
By Jim Huber, CNNSI.com HOUSTON -- It is not as though Hal Sutton suddenly just appeared as a viable rival to Tiger Woods. No, the surprise is that he has re-appeared. Gone for so many years into a black hole that nearly ended his golfing career, he's back now, better than ever before. "I think the Hal Sutton of today would beat the Hal Sutton of 1983 seven out of 10 times," Sutton says now. Consider the numbers; in his first five years on tour beginning in 1982, he won seven tournaments including the Players Championship and the PGA in 1983, and finished second seven times. In the next eleven years, he won just once, falling as far as 185th on the money list before scratching his way back. Since the fall of 1998, he has won five times. Only two players, Tiger Woods and David Duval have won as many in that space of time.
"I think I relied on my ball-striking back then a great deal more than I do today," he said. "My short game today is so much better than it was back then that I don't have to totally rely on my ball-striking. My short game will help me out when it has to." He has talked often about being so ashamed of his swing in those dark years that he wouldn't come to the range while other pros were there. But while his swing and game has worked itself out in the last few years, it is his family life that has truly brought him all the way back. "My wife keeps me pretty straight as far as where my priorities ought to be," Sutton admitted. "My wife and I have three beautiful little girls and it's so much fun to go home to them. They're smiling, they don't care what you shoot. I still worry about what I'm doing out here, but I don't think about it now until the next day." What he might not think about, but which most golf fans do is how he stared down Tiger Woods in a fabled head-to-head matchup in the final round of The Players Championship. While other players were whispering about being intimidated by Woods, Sutton refused to buckle under. "Let's be real honest about this, Tiger lives up to his No. 1 billing every time he plays and to expect anything less than the best from him would be underestimating his ability," Sutton said. "So, if you want to beat him, you've got to elevate your game to the level he plays at." And so far, Hal Sutton, who was gone for so long, has found a way to do just that again.
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