TOUR Insider: Turning Stone Resort Championship

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What a difference a gear makes.

Steve Flesch kicked his game into overdrive at this time a year ago, and the results were impressive. Over a seven-week stretch beginning at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, Flesch scored three top-five finishes, and two of them were victories, including the inaugural Turning Stone Resort Championship in Verona, N.Y.

Steve Flesch has a PGA TOUR victory already this season.

"I was just hitting it really well, was doing everything well," Flesch, 41, remembers of his hot streak that doubled his career victory total to four. "The strength of my game is my irons, and that was solid, but for about two months I had everything going for me. It was fun."

Indeed, the veteran left-hander handily won the Reno-Tahoe Open by five shots in early August, and then four weeks later he cruised to victory at Atunyote Golf Club. Flesch, who produced an 89 percent performance in the greens in regulation category on the 7,482-yard course, led by four through 54 holes and won at 18-under 270 despite a closing 1-over 73.

He defeated Michael Allen by two shots, and the $1.08 check gave him $1.99 million in earnings over that seven-week period.

Flesch isn't enjoying quite the same form, although he finished sixth at last month's PGA Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club.

That said, he isn't quite sure what form he will bring to the $6 million event in chilly New York, where the forecast calls for some wet fall weather (highs around 50 degrees compared to the mid-70s a year ago). Other than some important matches in Kentucky, Flesch hasn't been active since he tied for 15th at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

No, Flesch didn't play in the Ryder Cup, though he was on hand as a GOLF CHANNEL analyst to witness Team USA's victory at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville. Flesch has played often with his 10-year-old son, Griffin, at his home course, Triple Crown Country Club, in Union, Ky.

"My son is really into golf, and he driving me to play more," said Flesch, whose '08 season also has included a tie for fifth at the Masters. "It's fun to see someone with a fresh perspective and an excitement about the game. It's kind of cool. Kudos to him if I play well this week."

INSIDER NOTES

• Some guys apparently didn't get enough golf during the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Five men who competed in THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca Cola are in this week's Turning Stone Resort Championship. Dudley Hart, who tied for 10th at The TOUR Championship, heads the list. The other four: Robert Allenby, Briny Baird, Ryuji Imada and Carl Pettersson.

• Last year, the Turning Stone Championship was the first event in the Fall Series, but the Viking Classic opposite the Ryder Cup kicked off the closing stretch. With six events left to go, Vaughn Taylor is 125th on the PGA TOUR money list. He is in the field, as are the next seven behind him in earnings -- not a surprise given the tournament's $6 million purse is the biggest of the series.

• The victory at the BMW Championship by Camilo Villegas made Colombia the 25th country to produce a PGA TOUR winner. Now he's the country's first two-time winner after winning THE TOUR Championship, the second year in a row a player turned that double. Tiger Woods did it last year.

• David Duval's tie for 22nd at the Viking Classic marked his best finish on the PGA TOUR since a tie for 16th in the 2006 U.S. Open. He is 222nd in TOUR earnings, so he needs a few more of those in the Fall Series.

• Another veteran who plans to try to move up on the money list this fall is Davis Love III. Love stands 155th in earnings, and he said last week at THE TOUR Championship that he plans to play five of the final six weeks.

• Flesch used greens in regulation to earn the inaugural title. Runner-up Michael Allen used his putter. Last year, he entered the week ranked 128th in putting average, but he ranked fourth on the greens at Atunyote Golf Club over 72 holes and did not suffer a three-putt.