Jose Maria Olazabal's good start at the St Jude Classic is the latest instalment of a gradual improvement in the Spaniard's game.
Jose Maria Olazabal has been gradually improving after his injury, coming back at his own pace. He has only played nine times this year, and his opening 66 did not have a bogey on the card.
This golf course at Southwind is tricky, 7200 yards, a par 70 with lots of doglegs. Justin Leonard is the defending champion here, and it is a course that rewards Steady Eddie players. This course will reward Olazabal’s game, one that requires good arm shots.
Watching Padraig Harrington’s 72, however, I worry that he has lost that edge of enthusiasm. He is such a hard worker, his successes have come from hard work and diligent practice.
Sometimes, when things are not working, that can count against you. You keep grinding out to try to find the magic answer.
He is trying to change his swing, but I saw him in the practice the Wednesday before the Players Championship, and though he hit some wonderful shots, there was also an odd, low, hook to the left which is a scary shot to play for a golfer who wants to win major championships.
I have been impressed by the start in the first nine holes that John Daly has made, though. The ban he has had has done him some good. He has made the decision to get off the booze, and he had a gastric band put on that has helped him lose sixty pounds.
He played some wonderful golf in the four or five weeks he has spent in Europe, and finished second in the Italian Open. He looks revitalised. We have had false dawns in the past, where it has looked like John has sorted himself out, only to be disappointed. But maybe he has this time.
He is playing here at the St Jude on a sponsor’s invitation, and though it is not going to be so easy for him to get sponsors’ invitations now, the fact remains that, after Tiger Woods, he is probably the most popular player in the world.
Ken Brown was talking as part of Setanta Golf's coverage of the St Jude Classic.