Mkes Diary Frys Electronics Open
Fri, 27 Feb 2009 01:30:21
Since Sunday afternoon, it's been a busy time and there have been all sorts of calls from people congratulating me on my victory. Being able to share the win with my family, the people who work with me - Brennan, Dr. Rich, Jeff, my coaches Andy and Mike - and of course all the fans is a very special feeling.
This caps off a tremendous month for me. Although we didn't win the Presidents Cup, I had some personal satisfaction in playing very well and being able to defeat Tiger Woods in my singles matches. I was playing well heading into that event but I'd be fibbing if I said that the singles win didn't boost my confidence. That week, I really felt my game was good enough to take to the course. I wasn't really worried about the mechanics of the swing; it just felt natural. Winning put it over the top in terms of confidence.
That continued when I went back out on Tour. I had a Top 10 the
week before in Vegas and then sealed it with a win in my last PGA
Tour start for the year. It's funny but I was thinking back that
three of my victories have now come in my last event of the year -
the Tour Championship, the WGC - American Express and now the
Fry's.
Since my last win in 2004, there have been some disappointing
moments for me. I'd say that in 2005 and early 2006, was when it
was the worst. I was frustrated with the way I was hitting the ball
and I wasn't seeing any results. I also couldn't practice as I
wanted because of my neck and back injuries. It was really a tough
period and I learned a lot. Golf is such a game of ups and downs,
and you have to be prepared that you're going to go through down
periods. I don't think I ever lost perspective of that, but some
people did.
It's funny, but when you're doing great everybody jumps on the bandwagon. When you're not doing so well, that's when you find out who's on your side and who's not. You find out a lot about different people.
The ones that never left me however, were the fans. That was obvious by their reaction at the Canadian Open and the Presidents Cup and out in PEI when I played against Vijay and really every time I tee it up in Canada. I'm grateful for that.
Speaking of
the Presidents Cup, I do want to clear up one thing. There's been
some talk that Gary Player changed my swing when we were in
Montreal. That's not true. Before the event, Gary phoned me and
said it looked like I was finishing with a reverse C, meaning my
weight was on my back foot when I finished. I told him that wasn't
right, explained to him what I was working on and told him that
there's a drill I do that may make it look as if I'm doing that. To
emphasize my point, I actually found a page in one of Gary's
instruction books, photocopied it and took it to him in Montreal.
We laughed at that - Gary couldn't really tell me not to do
something he had written about in his book!
In a couple of weeks, I'm off to Asia for two final events on my
2007 calendar, the UBS Hong Kong Open and then the World Cup. I'll
be playing the latter of those with Wes Heffernan, who is one of
Canada's top young players. He plays on the Canadian Tour. I don't
know Wes that well but I know we'll play as well as we can and try
to bring that Cup back home to Canada.
It reminds me somewhat of when I played the World Cup along with
Rick Gibson. I was a Canadian Tour player at that time and I
learned a lot from Rick.
After that, I'm going to take some time at home. I've had a busy
year, been away from my family a lot and thanks to the win, my 2008
season will be starting up earlier than expected in Hawaii.
Thanks for all your support this year,
Mike
