Justin Leonard- Hopeful for that bill from Dr Mo

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Justin Leonard joked that he hasn’t gotten an invoice from either one. Yet.

But if Leonard keeps playing the way he did on Friday at the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic, Dr. Morris Pickens and Dave Stockton Jr. will surely be sending their bills to his Texas home.

Leonard fired a 63 on the Palm Course, which was his low round of the season, to seize a share of the lead in the final event of the PGA TOUR’s Fall Series. He’s tied at 12 under with Bio Kim and Henrik Stenson, two strokes ahead of Nick O’Hern.

Leonard has won 12 times on the PGA TOUR, including the 1997 British Open, but he has yet to finish in the top 10 in a decidedly sub-par 20111 season. He even missed the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup for the first time in his career.

“It hasn’t been a good year,” Leonard acknowledged. “I’m looking forward to the year being over.  But it’s nice to have a chance this week to finish it off on a good note.”

Leonard credits the turnaround to some chances he made in the last few months. He sought the advice of Pickens, a sports psychologist based in Sea Island, Ga., and Stockton, a putting whiz, as well as putting in the hours with his long-time swing coach Randy Smith.

Leonard first met with Pickens on Sunday at the British Open, then the two continued their work at Greensboro and spent a day together in Dallas about a month ago. Under his guidance, Leonard has changed the way he practices to include more targeted drills rather than randomly ramming putts into the hole.

“I’m kind of moving around and each one kind of has a finish, whether it’s making 90 percent in order to be done,” Leonard said.

As far as the invoice is concerned, “I haven’t gotten it yet,” Leonard said. “We were supposed to chat about it last week, and he was very sympathetic to how I played (Leonard missed the cut). So I think he’s waiting for a good week and then it’s going to come.”

This certainly appears like it could be the week.

Complementing Leonard’s new practice strategy is Stockton. The two hooked up after the Frys.com Open and  spent several hours together in San Diego 10 days ago.

Leonard, who used just 26 putts on Friday, felt the time has paid dividends as well. He made seven birdies and holed a wedge from 114 yards at the 14th hole for eagle in the 63.

“The things we talked about really resonated with me,” Leonard said. “I mean, getting back to being more natural and getting my hands a little more forward and really speeding up my routine, which has been great, because I’m kind of getting out of my own way a little bit. So it’s good.

“Haven’t gotten that bill yet either, but hoping for another phone call on Monday or Tuesday

Rookie McGirt – Walking the Line

This season, Dr Mo has been working with PGA Tour rookie William McGirt.  McGirt who has quickly become a fan favorite is just happy to be playing golf for a living.

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A few weeks ago, Williams McGirt found himself walking the line.   The autograph line.

He was just loading his car. But every time he made the roundtrip from the TPC Boston locker room to the parking lot, a new bunch of kids were waiting with programs, flags, tickets, whatever. And, yes, they wanted his autograph.

Another week, another new experience. McGirt chuckled.

Yep, he signed them all.

“I signed anything that was put in front of me,” said the 32-year-old rookie. “It’s something I decided I’d do. As a kid I was snubbed a few times and I knew how it felt.”

One more thing. His signature is legible. Not just two initials and lines.

“One thing I wanted to make sure of is they could read my signature,” he said. “Why are you going to take the time to sign something if they can’t read it when you hand it back?

“At the Deutche Bank (Championship), I handed a flag back and the lady said, ‘Hey, this is the first one I can read.’ The flag was full.”

A little thing? Maybe. But McGirt knows that each piece of this PGA TOUR puzzle has a point and a purpose. Like his brain coach Dr. Morris Pickens preaches, “Play every round, every shot, every tournament for all its worth.”

McGirt has done just that this year. His rookie year. After six years playing every mini-tour imaginable and a year on the Nationwide Tour, McGirt has embraced his first season in primetime. And, while it hasn’t been without its bumps and bruises, he’s heading into the Fall Series with a new-found celebrity and a solid chance to keep his card.

Chances are you couldn’t have picked McGirt out of a lineup a month ago. You’d figure he was from the Carolinas when he spoke, but other than that? Not really.

He had missed 13 of 25 cuts and was ready to head from the Wyndam Championship in Greensboro to Knoxville for a Nationwide event when Justin Leonard missed a putt and McGirt grabbed the final spot in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. People noticed.

Then he played so well at The Barclays, he made it to the Deutsche Bank. More people noticed. Don’t forget about his wife, who once went four months seeing him just 8 days during the stretch, signaling his position — he needed to move up one spot — from the gallery, too.

He didn’t make it past Boston, but he didn’t stop playing. Last week, he played anyway, finishing T42 at the Albertsons Boise Open. Now, it’s four huge weeks in a row, starting at this week’s Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

McGirt enters this stretch run at 137th on the money list. By the end of it, he hopes to be nestled inside the magic top 125 — hey, 125th will do — and planning his 2012 schedule.

“It’s more excitement than anything,” he said before heading out for a practice round. “If you go into it dreading it, you’re setting self up for failure. I’ve gone in embracing it every week. ”

So why change it? When he did forget that for a bit earlier this year? He had to snap himself back.

Like every rookie, McGirt has faced the challenge of having just a day or two to learn new courses. He’d only played five of the courses on the PGA TOUR schedule prior to this year, so since he had the chance to get to Vegas early? He jumped on it, arriving at TPC Summerlin last Thursday afternoon. Of course, that came on the end of a Boise-Vegas-Atlanta-Vegas trip, so… he’s pacing himself.

He might just play nine holes today. Depends. The point is, he finally has the luxury. Good planning.

“I kind of struggle with desert golf, mountain affect,” he said. “At altitude the ball goes so much farther out here. All of a sudden you’re hitting irons, 20, 25 yards longer.”

And there’s the terrain. “When I miss fairways at home, I’m in trees,” he said. “When miss them here, you’re down in the rocks with rattlesnakes and scorpions.”

This season has been an adventure. His game has been thisclose and this . . far. . away. He’s embraced it all and one reason is Sarah — the two met at Wofford College and have been married seven years — has, for the first time, been traveling with him.

“Last year she was still working and I couldn’t wait to get home,” McGirt said. “Now, we go home and after two days we’re ready to go again. We’ve both had a blast.”

Sometimes it has been little things, other times, big things like playing — and winning — a pro-am with Carlton Fisk as a partner or watching buddy Keegan Bradley throw out the first pitch at a Red Sox game. Yes, McGirt is a serious fan, too.

“I went to a game up there seven or eight years ago and I was hooked first trip up,” he said. “Been a huge Red Sox fan since. It’s just the whole atmosphere. Everyone is so into the game.”

And Bradley? “I could see him the whole time,” he said. “I told (the people he was sitting with) he’s so nervous. It would be easier for him to hit a 6-footer for par than throw out this pitch.”

He was right.

This year, McGirt has made an effort to play practice rounds with veterans like David Duval, Jerry Kelly and Rory Sabbatini. He likes to pick their brains and learn. “You can’t,” he said, “put a price on that.”

Until the Playoffs, McGirt’s season was up and down. The best example was at the Waste Management Phoenix Open where he made his first PGA TOUR cut. He was looking at a top-10 finish, too, until the last two holes. And two 3-wood shots.

At the 17th, he wanted to get it in front of the green and hit the perfect shot. “Then it bounces left, really hard, rolls off the green and off the front left part into the water,” he said.

At 18, the 3-wood doesn’t turn over. “So I fall from right around top 10 to 24th and ended up making half what I would have if par-par,” he said.

“…The thing is, I’ve played a lot better every single week than where I finished and how I’ve scored.”

What cost him at Deutsche Bank? A triple at the 14th in the final round. His tee shot hit and bounced into the rough. The marshal moved to avoid it and they never found the ball.

McGirt, who has only skipped one tournament he’s been eligible for this year, can’t do anything about the past, but he can bear down on his future. Four weeks, four chances to work his way into the top 125.

“Going in, I know what I need to do,” he said. “I probably have to make little over $200,000, but that’s just one good week out here. If can play well for a couple weeks, then everything will be fine.”

He’s already entered q-school, just in case. He’s prepared. But, like last year when he skipped a stage, he’s hoping to make a nice call at the end of the year.

“Trust me, nothing more that I would enjoy than calling the TOUR office and saying, ‘Hey, I need a refund.’

“I know how much I enjoyed calling them last year for a $500 refund. I’d love to call them for a $5,000 refund.”

Melanie Hauser is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM and can be reached at melaniehauser@gmail.com. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR. Follow her on Twitter @melaniehauser.