Pettersson has long been one of the PGA Tour's almost-there stars, a guy who has the talent to win but not necessarily break away from the pack. He's also part of a long lineage of portly golf champions, from Craig Stadler to Mark Calcavecchia to John Daly. He's listed at 5-11, 195 pounds, which seems like someone might be shaving a few strokes off that figure. And to hear him tell it, getting fit was the worst thing that could happen to him.
In 2008, his game came together, as he won once, made 25 of 29 cuts, and earned a tidy $2.5 million in prize money. And then he did the unthinkable: He decided to lose a little weight and come back even stronger in 2009.
"I was thinking: What can I do to get better?" he said over the weekend. "Obviously I was a little overweight and I thought, well, I’ll get fit. I actually lost 30 pounds and my game completely left me. I guess the timing of the swing and everything was thrown out and I really struggled in '09."
That's like saying country-fried steak and gravy might be a tad unhealthy. In 2009, Pettersson made only 15 of 29 cuts with but a single top 10, and earned "only" $564,000. But, once off the fitness bandwagon and back on the Krispy Kreme truck, or whatever his poison of choice may be, Pettersson found his game again. He's already got four top-10 finishes and he's nearly quadrupled his 2009 earnings.
He's also of a much calmer mindset. He was looking at missing the cut on Friday afternoon at the RBC. So to ease his nerves, he headed to the St. George clubhouse. "And I walked in the locker room and Jay Williamson had all the scenarios written out, and he’s like, ‘Grab a beer.’ Before you know it I’d had seven beers (and) made the cut." Two days later, he was the champ.
"I’d love to be fitter," Pettersson said, "but I’m not going to go down that road again."
Hey, whatever works. He's already a millionaire. And if he can figure a way to teach a gut-momentum golf swing, he'll be a billionaire.
Ottawa International Poets and Writers for human Rights (OIPWHR)
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