"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
weekly online golf column
by
Stan Crawley

May 20, 2003

Professional golfer Woody Austin, whose caddie is Chattanoogan Brent Henley, was ranked 177th in putting not long ago on the PGA Tour.

After Austin badly misread a putt in the Ford Championship at The Doral in Miami and was walking off the green, Henley turned to him and said, "That's it, you're fired.''

As in fired from reading his own putts.

"He had been letting me read maybe one putt per round,'' Henley said. "I told him to let me read them all, and then after he looked at them we could communicate to make sure we were seeing the same thing.

"It's not that I'm a great putt reader, but by making him commit to where the ball will go after we talk has helped him not be so tentative.''

The result has been good for Austin, who finished second in the MCI Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C. on Easter Sunday, losing in a playoff to Davis Love III. Austin also finished seventh in the HP Classic in New Orleans, eighth in the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and 11th in the Wakovia Championship in Charlotte, N.C. two weeks ago.

And the ranking has also improved. When Austin and Henley head for the Bank of America Colonial this week in Fort Worth, Texas, Austin's putting ranking is 65th.

The improved putting has helped Austin earn more than $1 million on the tour for the first time. And that, of course, has put more money in Henley's pocket.

"Woody has a lot more confidence in what he's doing,'' Henley said. "My first year with him last year I was hesitant to try to change things. Then I talked to some of the other caddies and they said if I don't try to change him that I'm not earning my keep.''

Austin is also in the top 30 on the money list, and that could lead to even better earnings for the twosome.

"He's around 21st now and that is huge,'' Henley said. "If he stays in the top 30 that means we'll be going to The Masters and all the majors.

"Woody has always been a great ball striker, and now the putting has improved. It's all a matter of confidence and a matter of getting another year on the tour under his belt. And of getting another year with me.''

RONNIE LAW SET FOR SURGERY: Retired railroad man Ronnie Law, who in the last few years has made an impact in local golf tournaments, will have surgery Thursday (May 22) on his left wrist.

Law has a cyst on his wrist that is causing a problem when he tries to grip the golf club.

"I've had this little knot there for 25 years,'' Law said. "It just started bothering me last year. I can do things around the house, but it hurts when I bend my last two fingers around the golf club.''

The surgery will be done by Dr. Marshall Jemesen.

"They will try to go arthroscophic and just clean it up,'' Law said. "If they do that, I would only be out for three or four weeks. That would tickle me.

"But I don't expect that. I'm afraid they will have to make an incision and that will cost me the rest of the year.''

FIRST TOP 20 OF YEAR: The first true Top 20 rankings among local amateurs will appear next week on the chattanoogatpc.com site after the completion of the rain-shortened Cleveland Invitational.

The 23 players who didn't finish in Cleveland will complete their round on Sunday, May 25, and the tournament will give prizes as a one-day event.

The web site has challenged the local PGA chapter to a Ryder Cup-style cup match at the end of the season. The amateur team will consist of web site owners Richard Keene and Mike Jenkins, plus the top eight players from the season-ending Top 20 list, plus two at-large selections.

The professional team will be chosen by the Chattanooga Chapter PGA. The challenge match will be played at Council Fire in October.

(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)

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