Saturday, July 8, 2000
Relaxed Henninger takes lead
at Western Open
By NANCY ARMOUR
AP Sports Writer
LEMONT, Ill. (AP) - Brian Henninger knows
he's not like Tiger Woods. He doesn't have the booming drives
or those awe-inspiring shots that can humble everyone else on
the course.
But when he's relaxed, look out, because
he can swing with the best of them.
"I can't blow the course away. I can't
hit it far enough to bring it to its knees. I have to do everything
right, like I did today," he said after tying the Western
Open record with a 9-under-par 63 and taking a one-stroke lead
with an 11-under 133.
Henninger was the third player to tie the
record in the first two rounds of this year's Western Open, sponsored
by Advil. Stephen Ames did it earlier Friday, and Nick Price did
it Thursday.
Franklin Langham, who took a month off after
tying for second in the Kemper Open, was one stroke behind Henninger
after shooting a 65. Ames, Price, Fred Couples, Stuart Appleby
and Steve Flesch were two strokes back at 9-under 135.
"I needed a break," Langham said
of his layoff. "I played six weeks in a row up until then
and I kind of ran out of gas. I feel really good. I feel fresh
and ready to go."
Woods said the same thing after taking two
weeks off after his amazing, 15-stroke victory in the U.S. Open,
but he continued to struggle with his putter. After missing more
makable putts in one day than he did the entire week at Pebble
Beach, he's six strokes back at 139 after rounds of 70 and 69.
"I just need to go out there and play
a good solid weekend," Woods said before heading to the putting
green. "Hopefully I can get myself back in this tournament."
With the cut at 1-under 143, among those
sent home for the weekend were Phil Mickelson (144), Masters champion
Vijay Singh (145) and Casey Martin (149).
It wasn't long ago that Henninger was hoping
just to make the cut. He missed four straight early in the season,
and then missed another four heading into the U.S. Open.
Finally, after shooting a 77 in the opening
round at Pebble Beach, he decided he needed to make a change.
"Missing cuts by a shot every week
was telling me something was wrong," he said. "It was
all stress-related."
So Henninger sat down with Dr. Richard Coop,
a sports psychologist. They decided Henninger was just too tense,
so worried about hitting the ball he was holding his clubs in
a death grip. Relax, Coop said.
Not exactly an easy prescription, but Henninger
tried it. He still missed the cut in the U.S. Open, but he shot
a 73. He played better last weekend, tying for 48th in the Greater
Hartford Open.
Finally, this week, everything clicked.
"Yesterday, I really hit the ball well,"
he said. "I knew if I could get the putts to drop, and they
started to drop today."
He hit 15 of 18 greens Friday, and made
a couple of putts from 20-plus feet. But with so many players
hovering at 9 under, Henninger knew he needed something special
to take the lead.
So with 211 yards to go on the par-5 15th,
he pulled out his 3-iron.
"I cannot hit a 3-iron usually that
far," he said, smiling at the memory. "And I jacked
this one big-time up in the air."
The ball landed about 6 feet from the pin
and Henninger holed it for an eagle to reach 10 under.
He picked up another stroke and tied the
course record with a birdie on the par-4 16th. He knew he could
get the record all to himself with another birdie, but his 5-foot
putt lipped out on 17 and his 25-foot putt rolled around the edge
of the cup on 18.
No big deal, Henninger said. Stay relaxed,
remember?
"There's so much golf to go,"
he said. "If I continue to hit it good, I think I'll do pretty
good. But there are some world-class golfers out there."
Like Woods, for one.
"He's just incredible," Henninger
said. "He can throw a round in like I did the next two days,
and he's right there and he's scaring the pants off everybody
like he usually does."
Divots: Starting off the back nine, Price's
round fell apart on the 16th with two straight bogeys. He missed
a 3-foot par putt on 16 and a 10-footer stopped about a half-inch
from the hole on 17. ... Attendance on Friday was 42,336 - more
than 4,000 people more than last year. The number is even more
impressive because the Crosstown Series between the White Sox
and Cubs began Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field. ... The three
63s so far this year is a record of its own. Only three players
- Jeff Sluman, John Adams and Dudley Hart - had shot 63 since
the tournament moved to Cog Hill in 1991, and they did it in different
years.
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