Hamilton makes presence felt

2007-08-16

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GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Ticker) - Todd Hamilton emerged from hibernation with an impressive 6-under-par 66 in the opening round at the Wyndham Championship on Thursday.

Hamilton has hardly been sighted since his surprise victory at the 2004 British Open at Royal Troon, which has prompted many scribes to describe his major triumph as a fluke.

They overlook that Hamilton won a PGA Tour event just four months before his Open victory, and also won four times on the Japan Tour in 2003.

All of which makes Hamilton's slide all the more puzzling. He is the first to admit he was overwhelmed by the international travel and demands on his time in the 12 months following his major triumph, but how does he explain his mediocrity the past two years?

"I don't know why," he said. "I played pretty solid for the first half of '05, then after that I didn't do anything. Maybe it all caught up with me. I was pressing too hard, thinking I had to play like a major champion. I really didn't let it happen. It seemed I was chasing the game instead of letting the game come to me.

"I used to consider myself a pretty good putter. Maybe it's just old age. I don't seem to make the 15-20 footers I used to make. Also, length really comes into play on the par-5s, and I haven't really had those easy two-putt birdies."

Hamilton, 41, has struggled to put all facets of the game together at the same time, but he did on Thursday, making an eagle, five birdies and just one bogey at Forest Oaks.

"I hit a lot of quality shots and didn't hit any awful shots," Hamilton said. "I finally put some good putts together with some good shots. It was nice to get the good shots and the good putts together for a day at least.

"I don't think it's going to turn my year around, but it's nice to sign for something under par instead of something over par for a change."

When you're 205th on the PGA Tour money list, one good round is better than nothing, whether or not you're a British Open champion.