A Strange move to alter Mart’s swing
THERE are overnight sensations – then there’s Jimmy Walker, writes ADAM LANIGAN.
In the space of eight tournaments between October and February, Walker changed from a PGA Tour journeyman to a serious player.
He won not just once, but three times as he shot from outside the top 50 to become a fixture in the top 20.
Those victories took him to the top of the FedEx Cup standings, where he remains.
They also guaranteed him entry into all four Majors in 2014 for the first time in his career.
After seven previous years on Tour, the 35-year-old from Oklahoma struggles to explain how he made his big breakthrough.
“It’s hard to put my finger on the X-Factor,” he admits.
“I had been playing well and doing the right things, so I liked to think it was a matter of time.
“A win happened and then you couldn’t predict what might happen after that. It was nice to get a couple more fairly quickly and continue to play well.
“When the situation comes up, you have to be ready to seize your chance and get it done. That is the fun part.
“This year has been great and I’ve achieved a lot of goals. But there are more to obtain and I’m now more driven than I’ve ever been.
“There’s nothing like winning. In golf, you win a few and lose a bunch, so I’d definitely love to do it again.”
Walker is virtually guaranteed a spot in Tom Watson’s US team at the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.
“I’m excited about the Ryder Cup and the chance to come and represent Team USA,” he says.“The crowds over here have been great to me. A lot of people at the Scottish Open said they were looking forward to seeing me at Gleneagles.
“They might not be so friendly towards me, however, when I come back for the Ryder Cup!” MARTIN KAYMER arrived at Hoylake wearing the mantle of US Open Champion.
Proof, if it is required, of the old adage:‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.
The German got to No. 1 in the world when winning the US PGA Championship in 2010.
Yet he then decided to alter his classic left- to- right fade into a right-to-left draw with an eye to adding to his Major haul with a Green Jacket the following April.
What followed was a long fight against the odds to make the new swing work.
But now he is back in the game’s top echelon, and former two time winner of the US Open, Curtis Strange, believes the sky is the limit.
“He was trying to get better and better, and compete with Tiger at the time,” said Strange.
“However, he went away from his natural way to swing a golf club, and I question why did he do that.”
Kaymer himself now admits he filled his head with too much theory, and it was only after he cleared his head that he returned to the swing that first made him.
Strange (below) continued: “I marvel at his golf swing. I think it is unbelievable.
“He swings the club in an aggressive fashion but under control, and he hits down and through the ball as well as anybody out there in the game today,
“And I also marvel at his ability to generate the speed that he displayed at Pinehurst.
“That course was not nearly as easy as he made it look the first tw o days on his way to winning the US Open.”
But, probably mindful of Kaymer’s fall from grace after his US PGA win, Strange ponders what’s next for the US Open Champion.
“Can he hold it together? Can he stay focused? Can he stay driven? We’ll wait and see,” said the ESPN analyst. “But I think he’s fantastic. “You know what, if I was a young kid now, I’d want to emulate Martin Kaymer’s swing.
“He’s swinging well and his long game is confident, because when you’re swinging well and you know you’re going to hit the ball pretty solidly and straight day to day, then your mind does clear.
“That comes from thinking: ‘I’m not scoring real well but I know I’m swinging well. I know my ball is in the middle of the club face, and I know it’s starting out on the trajectory I want it to.’
“‘ I’ve been doing it for a month, and it’s going to come around when I start making a few putts’.
“That’s the way I see Martin looking at it.
“Sports psychologists say you’ve got to go out there with a positive attitude every day, and I agree with that. “But that positive attitude is tough to stick to when you start shanking it on the second tee, and you think to yourself: ‘ I’m doing it again!’ “Right n o w, however, Kaymer’s mind looks clear, and he seems to feel pretty damn good about his
golf game.”