Once again, Christian goes low to open the season finale  PGATOUR.com Correspondent LAKEVIEW, Ca. -- Was it live or Memorex? Or maybe just an ironic case of deja vu all over again? How about it, Mr. Christian? Ah, that's Gary Christian of the Nationwide Tour, not Fletcher Christian from the Bounty trilogy.  Gary Christian thrived on the greens Thursday at Barona Creek. (Badz/PGA TOUR/WireImage)
And the questions revolved around Christian's preponderance for going low in the first round of the Nationwide Tour Championship, not some mutiny on a wooden ship on the open seas. Christian did it in 2006 at The Houstonian Golf and Country Club, shooting a 67 to share the lead with Andrew Buckle and Cliff Kresge. He did it while fighting a back injury. Christian did it again Thursday at Barona Creek Golf Club. Only this time he did it better, going four shots deeper with an 8-under-par 63. Naturally, Christian was troubled by a back injury. Again! But he was forced to settle for a tie for second with Tjaart van der Walt after Michael Letzig, who is No. 26 on the Nationwide Tour money list, opened with an eye-popping course-record 60. Letzig's lights-out performance didn't put the damper on the chipper Christian's effort, though. "You know, this should be a slightly more regular occurrence for me,'' Christian cracked when he arrived in media center to face the press for the first time in 2007. Christian spoke the truth since his last visit was following last year's first round of the Nationwide Tour Championship. That's a pattern the Englishman would love to break no later than Friday, considering that his '06 trip was the only one he made last year. If nothing else, Christian can say he completed a 51-week circle. Now the idea is to follow up with three more good rounds, something he didn't do in last year's season's finale as he closed 76-73-71 to tie for 22nd. A repeat performance wouldn't do Christian much good this year because he came in 57th on the 2007 money list. Matter of fact, only one thing can save his season -- a victory. "Too early to be thinking about that,'' Christian said after signing scorecard that didn't have a '5' or a blemish on it. "Maybe Saturday evening I can. But that would also mean double sleeping pills that night. But since I'm basically the last man in the field, it's nice to know I at least have a chance.'' It was difficult for Christian to pinpoint what led to his superlative effort. There was nothing on his performance chart since the middle of July that indicated this bolt out of the blue was coming. "I don't know what to say,'' said Christian, 37. "I've been playing putrid golf for the last four months.'' Seems Christian got caught up in expectations -- all of them low -- since finishing in a tie for fifth at the Showdown at Somerby, his 13th start of 2007. His paycheck moved him inside "THE 25'' at 25th, a fact he had trouble deal with it. "I didn't believe I was good enough to make the top 25,'' said Christian, who beat around golf's professional bushes for six years before beginning a three-season stint on the Nationwide Tour. "It was my fault for not setting my goals high enough.'' The minute Christian did, his golf game staged, well, a mutiny. It went into the tank and Christian began dropping like a rock on the money list. That happens you miss six cuts and withdraw from another tournament in your next 13 starts; when your best finish in that "putrid'' stretch is a tie for 34th. "I just put too much pressure on myself,'' he said. That was about the same time Christian started feeling pressure in his lower back again. He believes the demands of the game he plays and the travel stress of flying coach ("I've sat next to too many corpulent people,'' he said) are the culprits. Although he's not completely out of the woods with the injury, he did get some relief after a trip to the chiropractor in Chattanooga two weeks ago. The treatment he received was different from any he had before. "The chiropractor was into advanced bio-something or other and he pulled my spine out rather than push down on it,'' he said. "Then he gave me some karate chops.'' The chiropractor also gave wedge. Don't ask him for the degree of loft. This one, in the shape of a triangle, helps his posture when he is sitting and, consequently, his golf game by lessening the pressure on his back. One other thing didn't hurt Christian on Thursday. That would be his putter. He used it only 27 times, a marked improvement over his recent past. "I think you have to hit your lowest point and I did at one point when I was hitting great shots, many of them to 10 feet,'' he said. "Then I was tapping in for par. I knew in my heart of hearts I wasn't putting great. I got hung up with mechanics.'' The oddity is, Christian considers himself a good putter. "So maybe I'm owed some,'' he said, hoping he didn't use up his allotment Thursday. |
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