After fast start, Walker eyes a stronger finish

JIMMY Walker has enjoyed most of his triumphs early in the golf season. There were the three wins in the first eight events of the 2014 PGA Tour season followed by two more wins early in 2015. The hot starts helped him qualify for the 2014 U.S. Ryder Cup team and the 2015 Presidents Cup team — experiences limited to the game’s top players.

But the final major of 2016 has arrived and Walker is still chasing his first victory of the year among a long list of other goals. He has only three top-10 finishes in 19 events this year, and after finishing tied for 29th at the Masters, he missed the cut at the U.S. Open and the British Open.

That’s why he was a surprise firstround leader of the 98th PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., where Walker posted an opening round 5-under-par 65 in the morning that held up all day. The Texan is hoping he can form some new habits, like finishing a season as successfully as he has started them.

“I would have loved to have had a better year than I’ve had so far to this point,” Walker said after a round that included six birdies and one bogey. “But I know there’s always time to play well at the end of the year. I haven’t really done that yet — play well at the end of the year. I feel like I’ve started strong and just haven’t quite capitalized on the end of the year.” Baltusrol was as benign as it could be. The morning was especially pleasant when temperatures were as hot as they would get and the wind was down. Walker, starting his round on the 10th hole, took advantage with four birdies over his first nine holes.

The putts that haven’t fallen most the year started to find the center of the cup. AAn 18-footer for birdie dropped at the first hole and after making his only bogey at the par-4 sixth, he dropped a 27-footer from off the fringe at the par-4 7th to get back to 5-under.

The 37-year- old veteran said he started feeling better about his game after shooting 68 in the final round of the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday.

“I felt like I was gaining some momentum and starting to see some go in,” he said of his putting. “It was nice to keep that rolling today. It felt good.”

A history of success can be a source of comfort, knowing there is enough proven talent to win again. It can also be a source of frustration, when the confidence and success proves difficult to recapture.

“It’s just the ebbs and flows of golf,” Walker said. “I haven’t been making the 10- to 15-, 18-footers you need to make to start running up the leader- board and to have high finishes.

“I hit a lot of good putts and they all look like they have a got a good shot,” he added. “For whatever reason, they lip out or quit breaking. I just haven’t been making a whole lot.”

Walker’s last top 10 came at the WGC-Cadillac at Doral in March. Since then he has missed four cuts and has just two landings in the top 20.

“Sometimes it’s hard,” Walker said. “I’m not going to lie. It’s tough. You feel like killing yourself and you’re giving it all you’ve got and you’re not seeing it. Sometimes hard work doesn’t always pay off. But over time, it will I think.”

There’s plenty of time to change the narrative of his season. Winning his first major would certainly help. He’s also looking to improve his standing on the FedEx Cup list as well as play his way onto the Ryder Cup team again.

“I definitely want to play Ryder Cup this year,” Walker said. “I know we do a lot of [captain’s] picks this year [four]. Solid play at the end of the year could get you the nod. I’ve been working hard to get there.”

It starts with three more hard days of work at Baltusrol.