Chrysler Championship Not Only About Money
The Chrysler Championship isn't only about money to everyone at Innisbrook.
Most of the focus is on Charles Howell III, who's trying to hold down his precarious position at No. 30 on the PGA Tour money list to get into the Tour Championship. Trailing by $2,570 - chump change on this circuit - is Jason Bohn, with Peter Lonard and Zach Johnson not far behind.
Further down the food chain, Rocco Mediate is No. 125 on the money list and has two weeks to stay there so he can keep his PGA Tour card next year, with players such as Tag Ridings, Hunter Mahan and Patrick Sheehan also feeling heat.
But players such as Davis Love III and Adam Scott are just as eager for the trophy.
"That's really all that's left for me," Love said Wednesday. "This time of the year, everybody is playing for something. I'm just trying to get a win."
Love is 15th on the money list with nearly $2.3 million, but he has only the Chrysler Championship and Tour Championship to avoid going without a victory for the fifth time in seven years.
Adam Scott only wants a win that counts toward getting him to Hawaii for the winners-only Mercedes Championships.
The 25-year-old Australian was impressive in winning the Johnnie Walker Championship in China, and he rallied to win the Singapore Open last month. All he lacks is a trophy in the United States. He won the Nissan Open, although rain cut short the tournament to 36 holes, so while Scott was able to put the $864,000 in the bank, it didn't count as an official victory.
"I've been pretty disappointed with my performance the last half of this year," Scott said. "I certainly would like to win one of the next two events and get into Kapalua."
Those seem like small problems to those on the bubble, who can feel the pressure building at the end of the year.
Olin Browne knows how they feel.
A year ago, he was at No. 125 on the money list and made a U-turn whenever he saw a reporter's notepad or a television camera, knowing the conversation that was sure to follow.
"It's a hard place to be," Browne said. "Everybody wants a piece of you. Guys are crawling out of the booth to interview you on the putting green. What you want to do is focus on preparing, not what you're up against. But what everyone else wants to talk about is what you're up against."
The idea is to think only about the next shot, but not thinking about the consequences is difficult. Rounds can take up to five hours, about 30 minutes of which is spent on actually hitting the golf ball.
The mind can be a tough thing to control.
"If you're playing great, you start thinking about what could happen and your game could fall apart," Browne said. "And if you're not playing well, you think about what could happen and it could fall apart.
Everyone wants to know how you feel. Everyone wants to hug you if you mess up or do well. Guys are pulling for you, some are pulling against you."
The solution?
"You've got to play good," Howell said.
He knows this having been on the Tour Championship bubble last year, when he was No. 33 on the money list, shot 3 over par on the weekend and failed to advance to East Lake. And he was reminded what it takes last week at Disney, when he tied for 15th to earn $68,200 just to stay in the 30th spot.
"It's going to take a good week," Howell said. "It doesn't matter if you're 25th or 40th."
Browne knows the feeling, considering his amazing turnaround.
He had to rely on sponsor's exemption and his status as a past champion on the PGA Tour, but his 18 months of grinding over swing changes with coach Jim Hardy finally paid off.
The first sign came at the U.S. Open, where he was in the second-to-last group Sunday at Pinehurst No. 2, only three shots behind Goosen, until shooting 80 in the final round. But the 46-year-old hit broke though outside Boston, winning the Deutsche Bank Championship for his first victory in six years.
Looking back at where he was a year ago, it's hard to fathom going to the Tour Championship.
"I have never made top 30 in my career. I hadn't done anything to feel confident enough that top 30 was attainable," Browne said. "It's a pat on the back for the guys who have played great. But this is all about a couple of years of hunkering down and doing better."
Asked about his goals, Browne said he doesn't bother setting any.
"If I set my goals too low, I get to them too easily. If I set them too high, I go insane," he said. "I just want to play well. Because if you play well, and you give yourself a chance to play well every day, all that stuff takes care of itself."
That's good advice to the guys on the bubble, a spot Browne knows all too well.
Most of the focus is on Charles Howell III, who's trying to hold down his precarious position at No. 30 on the PGA Tour money list to get into the Tour Championship. Trailing by $2,570 - chump change on this circuit - is Jason Bohn, with Peter Lonard and Zach Johnson not far behind.
Further down the food chain, Rocco Mediate is No. 125 on the money list and has two weeks to stay there so he can keep his PGA Tour card next year, with players such as Tag Ridings, Hunter Mahan and Patrick Sheehan also feeling heat.
But players such as Davis Love III and Adam Scott are just as eager for the trophy.
"That's really all that's left for me," Love said Wednesday. "This time of the year, everybody is playing for something. I'm just trying to get a win."
Love is 15th on the money list with nearly $2.3 million, but he has only the Chrysler Championship and Tour Championship to avoid going without a victory for the fifth time in seven years.
Adam Scott only wants a win that counts toward getting him to Hawaii for the winners-only Mercedes Championships.
The 25-year-old Australian was impressive in winning the Johnnie Walker Championship in China, and he rallied to win the Singapore Open last month. All he lacks is a trophy in the United States. He won the Nissan Open, although rain cut short the tournament to 36 holes, so while Scott was able to put the $864,000 in the bank, it didn't count as an official victory.
"I've been pretty disappointed with my performance the last half of this year," Scott said. "I certainly would like to win one of the next two events and get into Kapalua."
Those seem like small problems to those on the bubble, who can feel the pressure building at the end of the year.
Olin Browne knows how they feel.
A year ago, he was at No. 125 on the money list and made a U-turn whenever he saw a reporter's notepad or a television camera, knowing the conversation that was sure to follow.
"It's a hard place to be," Browne said. "Everybody wants a piece of you. Guys are crawling out of the booth to interview you on the putting green. What you want to do is focus on preparing, not what you're up against. But what everyone else wants to talk about is what you're up against."
The idea is to think only about the next shot, but not thinking about the consequences is difficult. Rounds can take up to five hours, about 30 minutes of which is spent on actually hitting the golf ball.
The mind can be a tough thing to control.
"If you're playing great, you start thinking about what could happen and your game could fall apart," Browne said. "And if you're not playing well, you think about what could happen and it could fall apart.
Everyone wants to know how you feel. Everyone wants to hug you if you mess up or do well. Guys are pulling for you, some are pulling against you."
The solution?
"You've got to play good," Howell said.
He knows this having been on the Tour Championship bubble last year, when he was No. 33 on the money list, shot 3 over par on the weekend and failed to advance to East Lake. And he was reminded what it takes last week at Disney, when he tied for 15th to earn $68,200 just to stay in the 30th spot.
"It's going to take a good week," Howell said. "It doesn't matter if you're 25th or 40th."
Browne knows the feeling, considering his amazing turnaround.
He had to rely on sponsor's exemption and his status as a past champion on the PGA Tour, but his 18 months of grinding over swing changes with coach Jim Hardy finally paid off.
The first sign came at the U.S. Open, where he was in the second-to-last group Sunday at Pinehurst No. 2, only three shots behind Goosen, until shooting 80 in the final round. But the 46-year-old hit broke though outside Boston, winning the Deutsche Bank Championship for his first victory in six years.
Looking back at where he was a year ago, it's hard to fathom going to the Tour Championship.
"I have never made top 30 in my career. I hadn't done anything to feel confident enough that top 30 was attainable," Browne said. "It's a pat on the back for the guys who have played great. But this is all about a couple of years of hunkering down and doing better."
Asked about his goals, Browne said he doesn't bother setting any.
"If I set my goals too low, I get to them too easily. If I set them too high, I go insane," he said. "I just want to play well. Because if you play well, and you give yourself a chance to play well every day, all that stuff takes care of itself."
That's good advice to the guys on the bubble, a spot Browne knows all too well.
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