By doing things his way, Jacobson making impact
By Craid Dolch, PGATOUR.COM Contributor
Fredrik Jacobson has never been a Point A to Point B player on the golf course. He doesn't live by the mantra of fairways and greens.
That would be too boring for the Swede, who spent the first half of his childhood thinking he was going to be a professional ice hockey player or even a Ping-Pong professional. When he wasn't playing those quite-opposite sports, he dabbled in skateboarding, surfing and skiing.
Jacobson, in other words, was an X-Gamer long before they had the X Games.
But he settled on trying to become a professional golfer when he was 10, although the other elements of his youth can constantly seep in to his golf game. Did you see the shot he hit on the 17th hole at last week's final round of The Barclays? With the ball more than a foot below him in deep rough, Jacobson showed his athleticism by twisting his body in such a way that his left knee touched the ground, with the right knee soon to follow.
A slow-motion replay of the shot had CBS announcers Gary McCord and David Feherty wincing in pain at Jacobson's contortions on the difficult, sidehill shot. A less-coordinated player might have come up limping. Jacobson simply smiled afterward.
"It was fun hitting that shot out of the rough, watching it go right over the pin," Jacobson said Tuesday morning by phone in South Florida, after dropping off two of his three young children at day school. "Some weeks out here, you hit it in the rough, you just have to chip out. That's no fun."
Truth is, this season hasn't been a blast for Jacobson. He missed the cut in five of his first seven tournaments and was forced play catch-up most of the year. He had just one top-10 finish in his first 10 starts. That changed some of his plans to take the family back to his homeland of Sweden for most of the summer.
"It's no fun to take some time off when dad is stressing about not having his card wrapped up for the year," Jacobson said.
Jacobson stayed in a decent spot on the money list with fifth-place finishes at The Honda Classic and the Valero Texas Open. But when he showed up at the Wyndham Championship two weeks ago, he didn't know if he about to take another break -- not by his own doing -- if he missed qualifying for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.
That's when fate intervened. Struggling all year with his driver -- he ranks 130th in driving distance and 159th in driving accuracy -- Jacobson said he got a new driver from Callaway at the Wyndham Championship that suddenly made his tee shots more consistent. It had the same effect on the rest of his game.
Jacobson closed with a final-round 64 at Wyndham to improve to 17th place and clinch a spot in the playoffs at No. 107. But that meant he needed another impressive showing last week at The Barclays, and that's exactly what he got.
Jacobson opened with a 66 and stayed around the leaderboard the rest of the week. He finished sixth to earn his biggest check of the year ($260,625) that enabled him to make the biggest move in the FedExCup points other than Barclays winner Heath Slocum. Jacobson improved 59 spots, to No. 48, giving him a solid chance of being among the 70 players to advance to next week's BMW Championship if he makes the cut at this week's Deutsche Bank Championship.
"I have the same approach as last week," he said. "I know I've got to go low to have a chance to keep playing."
Jacobson can go low off the golf course, as well. He has such a deep baritone voice that makes the late Barry White sound almost tenor. Too often this year, it was only when Jacobson spoke that he went low.
What seemed to changes things was when Jacobson started using veteran caddie Lance Ten Broeck at the Buick Open. Ten Broeck has long caddied for another Swede, Jesper Parnevik, who underwent hip surgery last week and is sidelined for the season. A 17th-place finish at Wyndham and a sixth at The Barclays shows the connection is working so far.
"I felt like I had to make a chance after the British Open," Jacobson said. "I didn't want to change swing coaches and I didn't want to change what I was doing. Changing caddies to Lance was the easiest move to make."
It's easy to see why Jacobson doesn't want to alter his swing. It's so unorthodox, at times it seems like he's hitting the ball while playing a game of Twister. His swing has more moving parts than a Ford dealership.
But it works for Jacobson. He has earned more than $8 million during his six-plus seasons on the PGA TOUR and also won three times on the European Tour. Jacobson has done so well because of an impeccable short game -- he ranks seventh on the PGA TOUR this year in total putting.
With three children -- all 5 or younger -- Jacobson now has to juggle family responsibilities with being a golf professional. That's why he played only twice in a seven-week stretch earlier this summer. He wanted to spend time with his family.
Having a Monday finish to the Deutsche Bank Championship allowed Jacobson a chance to return to Jupiter, Fla., to spend three days at home this week. Then it's back on the course where he hopes to continue his momentum by hopefully cashing the his first winner's check in 140 career starts on the PGA TOUR.
"I think I have enough game to win when I'm on," Jacobson said. "It's all about giving yourself enough opportunities, that you're comfortable when you're in that position. It's about consistency. I don't want to win one and be off the planet for the next there years."
Jacobson, who turns 35 later this month, will eventually get to the winner's circle on the PGA TOUR. And soon. It just won't take the usual straight path.
Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.
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