February 7 2011 Last updated at 04:28 PM ET
Let's hear it for the power of cheese.
One day after his beloved Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl, Wisconsin native Mark Wilson, who briefly wore a plastic Cheesehead as he played Sunday, returned to TPC Scottsdale Monday and won the frost-delayed Waste Management Phoenix Open, beating Jason Dufner in a playoff. Wilson, who in January won the Sony Open, became a four-time career winner by making a nine-foot birdie putt on the second hole of sudden-death.
Wilson has now won two of his last three starts and becomes this season's first multiple winner.
"I think I've been a little bit better practicer," Wilson said. "I've got a new green-reading technique that I learned from Dr. Greg Rose there at (the) Titleist Performance Institute, and then Ping has been really good with me working with my wedges trying to dial in the grooves just right. I spin the ball more than most guys, so the whole groove thing last year was supposed to be good for me, but I still was spinning it back too much from the fairway. So Ping has been working with me good. I've got some good equipment now, and just -- but the putting really has been the big thing.
"Dr. Rose helped me split the putts into two parts always, and that really has helped me see the line better for some reason. I started that. The first time I did that was at Disney and finished 6th and have had two wins since, so I'm just going with that.
I'm a quick learner in that sense. I've worked with Bob Rotella, too, and it just took me a couple days with him to understand what he was saying about the mental side of the game. And same thing when Dr. Rose told me this thing; when it clicks for me, I just take it and run with it, and that's what's really been good, that putting and working more on the short game and not stressing about missing tee shots or something like that." Wilson was two strokes ahead with just over five holes remaining when play resumed Monday. He closed with a 2-under 69 to match Dufner at 18 under. Dufner shot a 66, making birdies on Nos. 16 and 17.
Wilson was asked if he was more nervous Sunday night watching the Super Bowl or coming down the stretch Monday trying to win a golf tournament.
"I'm more nervous, I guess, before I get started," he said. "Once I'm out there, and each shot I'm not as nervous as leading up to it. So when I was warming up, when I was getting here, in the locker room, I did something silly. My caddie has been picking me up all week and I left my wife with the car keys. I show up in the locker room and the car keys to our car are in my bag, so now she's stuck. So I run out, I'm like, Chris, I hate to do this to you, I know I've only got 20 minutes, but can you run these back to her. This is not what I needed right now. So now my heart is beating a little faster. But once I get out there and hit the shots, I'm not as nervous as before.
"You know, watching the Packers, I don't have any control over what they're doing. I don't know why I'm nervous. I guess just because I grew up watching games every Sunday. I don't understand the whole fan thing. But I do get nervous watching them because I want them to win. I know how much joy it brings to the people back there in America's Dairyland."
road runner sports rules of basketball simple basketball plays sky sports wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment