Nagy Played Through Pain To Get First Victory

  For Corey Nagy, the former Charlotte 49ers All-American, 2011 could hardly have begun better.

  Nagy won his first pro event Saturday, beating two-time Walker Cup player Brian Harman in a a sudden-death playoff to win the Smithwick Shootout in the eGolf Professional Tour season-opener at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

   Financially, it was worth more than $31,000 to Nagy but its true value may be in how it reinforced his self-confidence. Disappointed after not advancing through the second round of PGA Tour qualifying school last fall, Nagy adjusted his focus, starting with a busy eGolf tour schedule that will lead into a series of Monday qualifiers on the Nationwide Tour later this spring.

   In winning at Hilton Head, Nagy played through a hand injury he suffered during the third round and left him uncertain if he could play the final round despite holding the lead. Nagy said he jammed a wedge into the turf on Friday and felt pain in his right hand.

   The pain persisted and it led to cautious swings early in the final round.

   "On the fifth hole in the final round, I told myself that pain is only for the moment. What happens in this tournament will last forever," Nagy said.

  He decided to live with the pain and make his normal, aggressive swing.

   "The win means even more because I wasn't 100 percent and I figured out a way to get it done," Nagy said. "I thought about Tiger winning the U.S. Open on a broken leg. I figured if he could win the Open with something like that, I could win here."

   The victory convinced Nagy to make the two-week trip to Morocco next month to play a pair of eGolf events there, getting a taste of international travel and competition in the process. When the Nationwide Tour swings closer to Charlotte in late March, Nagy will start trying to Monday qualify with the goal of earning status on the tour.

Five Quick Questions With Robert Karlsson

   Robert Karlsson, who moved from Monaco to Charlotte last year, begins his first full season on the PGA Tour this week at the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles.

   Before teeing it up, the world's 16th-ranked golfer answered five questions, most unrelated to golf.

   You've played 68 PGA Tour events in your career but this year you're officially a rookie by virtue of your full-time membership. What are you expectations for this season?

   RK: It’s one of my big things not to build up big expectations. I take every tournament as a separate event and see where we end up. If I build up too much, I get out of focus. I will enjoy every shot if I can. That’s my expectation.


   You were born in Sweden and still visit. What do you miss most about your homeland?

   RK: Not much actually. I’ve been away for such a long time. I come and go. I see myself as a world citizen. For 20 years I’ve been trvaeling around the world.

   You moved to Charlotte from Monaco. What's the biggest difference in the two places?

   RK: The attitude of the people. Monaco is a very small and very rich community. It’s a little bit of an enclosed island within a big country. It’s driven by money and flair. Charlotte is a place where people come and live and have their normal life and work. Monaco is not a place where people work,.

   Have you learned your way around Charlotte? Can you get to Southpark?
   RK: I don’t need directions (to Southpark). I can do that. I can get to the (uptown) arena. I’m pretty decent. If I get lost, I have my bearings. I’m trying to drive without much help from naviagtation system.

   On your website (www.robertkarlsson.com) there's a photo of you holding an accordion. Do you play?

   RK: I can’t play. It’s a picture we use for my biggest challenges in life. It was a fun illustration.

It's A New Day: Cell Phones Will Be Welcome At Wells Fargo Championship

   Spectators will be allowed to bring their cell phones to PGA Tour events, including the Wells Fargo Championship, starting at the Honda Classic later this month.

   The PGA Tour announced the new guidelines today after testing the policy at five events. There will still be restrictions-- the phones must be kept on silent; there will be designated talking areas; and the mobile devices can't be used for taking photos or video during tournament play -- but the change will be welcome news to most golf fans.

   It's a logical move by the tour. There's no doubt some fans have been reluctant to attend tournaments because they would not be allowed to have their cell phones with them.

      "Mobile devices are such a part of people's lives today and the tour understands that people don't want to be away from them for a long period of time," said Kym Hougham, executive director of the Wells Fargo Championship.

    "In fact, the mobile devices can help people at the course follow what's happening at the tournament and I'd expect to see the tour come up with an app that will fit every tournament."

    It's not as if fans hadn't been sneaking phones into tournaments before. Rather than work to keep phones off the course, tour and tournament officials will work to educate fans on when and how to use them on the course.

   "We'll still confiscate phones if they're taking pictures or video with them from Thursday through Sunday," Hougham said. "But it's a nice move by the tour."

   The new guidelines do not apply to the four major championships including the Masters. Those tournaments will set their own policies about cell phones.

Where Does Tiger Go From Here?

   I'm sitting here looking at a photo of Tiger Woods' new digs in Florida, a reported $80-million compound that includes a four-hole practice facility, three pools, a track, a tennis court and a 5,700-square foot workout facility, not to mention beach access and room to park his yacht.

   Cozy.

   And a few minutes ago I was watching Tiger Woods finishing 20th in Dubai, shooting 75 on Sunday, closing with a double bogey and catching some justifiable flak for spitting on the 12th green. Not the kind of Tiger Sunday we used to know.

   The game that helped build the house has gone missing. So has the confidence. And, so has the certainty that he will eventually break Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 major championship victories.

   Woods used to make it look easy. Even when he was grinding, there was an elegance about it. And now golf has become work for Woods. He's always worked at it, maybe harder than anyone and that it was part of the secret of his success. But his work was producing symphonies, not radio jingles.

   Woods is working at it again, trying to recreate his old magic with a new technique and it's a slow process with no promises.

   Because of what he's done on the golf course, Woods has created the impossible expectations that come every time he steps to the first tee and we went along for the ride. Now it's bumpy. Now every round is like a check of the thermometer when the patient is sick.

   Is he getting better? Is he getting worse? What's the prognosis?

   There's every reason to believe he's going to be fine but in two starts this year -- the fresh start season -- Tiger has been ordinary. He continues to talk a good game, saying he's making progress, sounding like a man reinforcing his own convictions. That's part of what he needs to do, committing to his third major swing change.

   It's strange watching Woods play golf like this. It feels awkward.

   Is it possible Woods never gets it back? Yes.

   Is that likely? No.

   He has more major championships in him, a few more I think. He's struggled through swing changes before but this time it feels different because it is different. There's more involved than swing planes.

   Tiger's next start is expected to be the World Golf Championship Accenture Match Play Championship in another week. Wonder what happens there?

  

  

  

Couples Dealing With A Familiar Problem Again

Fred Couples has lived with back problems for years but it doesn’t get any easier.

 Couples is visiting another back specialist today in California to see if he can get any relief from continuing back issues that are affecting his golf game. When he plays – and Couples has kept a busy schedule recently – he’s driving the ball spectacularly but he’s struggling with short irons shots.

   Then there’s the issue of sleeping.  Or, as Couples explained it on a conference call this week, not sleeping.

“You know, I have dealt with it a long time.  Never have I really ever thought it was a bad deal,” Couples said.

“But the last month, I lay in bed, and I used to be able to do a couple things where I would find, in my terms, like pockets in my back where I could crack my back and it would feel good for a while. I'm not getting any comfort at night. I'm not sleeping very much

“I mean, I was laughing because at Hualalai, I physically could not have driven the ball any better. I never really hit a bad drive. I'm not saying I don't hit balls to the right or left. But the same at Phoenix. If I did anything at Phoenix, I drove the ball very, very long.  I played 33 holes on Sunday. And the last few holes, I was ‑‑ these guys were laughing at me because I was still driving it with them or past them, but I couldn't hit a green with an 8 iron. I couldn't swing once I kind of hinged and bent over a little bit. 

So those are things I've got to get fixed. You know, taking time off from golf is not the end of the world, but it's when I come back and I don't feel any better, then I get a little frustrated.  Then I start to think like this is crazy. But the not sleeping at night, that's no bargain at all. “

   Couples, who has a home in Charlotte, is operating out of his home in Palm Springs, Cal., through the early part of the season. After playing two Champions Tour events in Hawaii, he was able to drive to Phoenix last week and play the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Open where he made the cut and kept himself fresh as captain of the 2011 Presidents Cup team.

  

   He’s planning to play the PGA Tour’s Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles next week, one of his favorite stops through the years, then defend his title in the Toshiba Classic on the Champions Tour. Playing Los Angeles means Couples won’t defend his Champions Tour title in Naples, Fla., the same week.

   Driving back from Phoenix to Palm Springs, Couples said his back bothered him to the point he had made occasional stops to get out of the car.

   “I drove home from Arizona around 6, and I stopped in Quartzite, and you're going to laugh. I didn't even get gas. I walked around the car. I went in and got a candy bar, and I stopped in Blythe, which is only another 50 miles, and I made it into Palm Springs. I took an Epsom bath. I feel like I'm 400 years old.”

   In the next breath, Couples said he feels okay.

“I must be honest. After playing 33 holes, I felt pretty good. It's just ‑‑ it's crazy that I can hit a driver, and then I get up there from 150 yards, and I just ‑‑ I can't bend over, the slight tilt in my back and swing and hit the ground.  And I'm manufacturing a lot of these shots. 

But I hit some beautiful shots last week, and I just laugh because on the par 5s, you know, I hit a driver and a 4 wood or a 5 in the middle of the green.  And I play a hole that's 400, and I hit a good drive.  And I'm hoping to hit the green from 120 yards. It doesn't make any sense to me right now. “

How To See The New No. 2 As The Restoration Unfolds

   If you've heard about the restoration project currently underway at Pinehurst No. 2 but haven't entirely gotten your head around what's going on and why, there's a new dedicated website -- PinehurstNumber2.com -- that allows you to see what's happening and hear from Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, the men handling the project.

   The site offers fascinating flyovers of different holes, showing how they looked before the project began and showcasing the differences now that the rough has been removed and sandy waste areas have returned alongside fairways. Coore and Crenshaw provide voiceovers explaining the thought process behind the project, offering context to what is an historic restoration.

   The site will be updated as various elements of the project are completed.

   No. 2 is closed until March 4 while work near the greens is completed but much of the work has been done. It will take some time for new natural areas to be weathered in but the overall impact of the course changes will be spectacular. Seeing the before and after images brings into focus how much No. 2 had gotten away from what it originally was and highlights the artistry of Coore and Crenshaw.

  When No. 2 hosts the 2014 men's and women's U.S. Opens, it will be the first Open venue without rough. The idea is to bring back what Donald Ross originally created in the scruffy sandhills, replacing acres of bermuda rough with sandy areas dotted with wire grass, pine cones and pine needles.

   It's a month before No. 2 reopens but you don't have to wait to get a look at it.

Hoping Tommy 'Two Gloves' Gets Another Chance

   Tommy 'Two Gloves' Gainey already knew how cruel golf can be.

    You don't toil all those years on mini-tours, scratching out a living while driving golf's backroads without knowing that the game can have all the charm of a piranha at feeding time.

   But just in case Two Gloves needed a reminder, he got it today.

   Gainey was a stroke out of the lead in the final round of the Waste Management Open in Phoenix standing on the tee of the driveable par-4 17th hole at TPC Scottsdale. That's when golf gave him a pie in the face -- again.

   Two Gloves took that homemade slash of his -- it looks like a man who stepped into a swarm of bees -- and watched his tee shot ricochet of a red stake beside the green and roll into the water. That part wasn't so bad. Gainey had made the gamble of trying to drive the green, knowing he needed at least one more birdie to have a chance to win.

   Then it got worse. He chunked his third shot and watched it roll down the greenside bank and into the same water hazard, taking six figures with it into the little pond. Gainey, whose mind had to be filled with flying monkeys about that time, eventually made a triple-bogey seven.

    The math goes like this: Two closing pars would have gotten Gainey a solo third and $414,800. Instead, he spent $250,100 with his triple bogey and, while $164,700 isn't a bad week's work, it probably didn't feel very satisfying to Gainey, who's trying to make it on the PGA Tour in his second chance.

    Gainey is perfect for the tour because he's not like everyone else. He's homemade, down to earth and as colorful as a box of Crayolas. You can see him grinding, slapping shots with that snake-killing swing of his and treating every shot as if the fate of the world hangs on it.

   He cares, he tries and he doesn't often find himself in the position he found himself with two holes remaining in the Waste Management Open. Maybe it will work out differently for him the next time.

    I'm hoping there is a next time for him.