Thursday, August 14, 2003

By Gerry Dulac, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

PRO'S TIP

Lesson: How to develop a repetitive putting stroke

Instructor: Ned Weaver, director of golf, Southpointe Golf Club

When I'm trying to get myself to repeat my putting stroke, I always try this drill on the putting green: Get four balls and line them up in a straight line, starting 4 feet from the hole and placing each ball about 2 feet apart. To help with the line, take the brand name of the ball and line it up with the desired path of your stroke. What you want to do is putt all four balls into the hole into succession, meaning you'll make a putt from 4, 6, 8 and 10 feet. Whenever you miss a putt, start over with the drill until you make four in a row. It might take awhile, but the routine will help you develop a repetitive putting stroke, and, give you some confidence on those shorter putts.

PIN PLACEMENT

Today: The 16th hole at Olde Stonewall Golf Club

There might not be a more dramatic tee shot in Western Pennsylvania than the one from the back tee of this 474-yard par-4. It's a 100-foot drop to the fairway from the tee, which is majestically framed with boulders. Your ball needs to carry a ravine approximately 200 yards, but that's not all the trouble. The left side of the fairway is a ravine from which there is no play. And two fairway bunkers, between 34 and 46 yards, protect the right side. What's more, your approach needs to carry another ravine to a two-tiered green that is well protected with sand bunkers. Because of the elevation change, the hole does not play as long as the yardage would indicate. Nonetheless, the view from the top is breathtaking. Even if you don't play the back tees, go hit one from there on this hole.

Each week the Post-Gazette highlights a hole or an element of a course in Western Pennsylvania and the Tri-State area.

HANDICAPPING THE FIELD

The 85th PGA Championship begins today at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., site of the 1989 U.S. Open and '95 Ryder Cup, and, for a change, Tiger Woods is not the favorite. Woods, who has won four times in 2003 and leads the PGA Tour in stroke average, has not won a major in his past five attempts. Moreover, this year's majors -- Masters (Mike Weir), U.S. Open (Jim Furyk) and British Open (Ben Curtis) -- have all been won by players who had never won a major before 2003. Same is true with last year's PGA champion, Rich Beem. Post-Gazette golf writer Gerry Dulac handicaps the field in the last major of the season.

Player -- Odds -- Comment

Tiger Woods -- 4-1 -- Hasn't finished under par in 2003 majors

Davis Love III -- 8-1 -- Remember, Beem won last year after winning the International

Vijay Singh -- 10-1 -- Major log: Sixth at Masters, second at British Open

Jim Furyk -- 15-1 -- U.S. Open champion also beat strong field at Buick Open

Kenny Perry -- 20-1 -- Three wins among seven consecutive top 10s

Ernie Els -- 20-1 -- Worst major performance was 18th at British Open

Retief Goosen -- 22-1 -- Game is strong after 2nd at the International

Mike Weir -- 25-1 -- Masters champion missed cut last week

Charles Howell III -- 30-1 -- Missed only two cuts in 22 events

Phil Mickelson -- 35-1 -- Amazingly, has not won in 2003

Nick Price -- 40-1 -- Former PGA champion is tough in Open-like conditions

Sergio Garcia -- 50-1 -- Saves his best for the majors

Chris DiMarco -- 60-1 -- Could he be this year's Rich Beem?

Padraig Harrington -- 70-1 -- His wife is due any day ... so is he

Rich Beem -- 75-1 -- Hasn't won since last year's PGA

Bob Estes -- 80-1 -- Just the kind of guy nobody expects to win

And the winner is ... Vijay Singh. He is always a contender in the majors, and hje has won this event in 1998. Plus, he's finished five times in the top four in his past nine starts.

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