Dear Bastiaan,
I certainly hope so, but I really won't know unless Shaun says something. I know he's studied my tips and he asked me to teach him last May when he came to Charlotte for the Wachovia Championship. We worked for a full day. He then went on two months later to win the PGA Championship. His victory was all putting, but then he struck that marvelous 7 iron to inches and that's all people seem to recall now. In the current issue of Golf Magazine, Shaun says: "Everyone remembers the 7 iron, but my putter won me the PGA Championship."
When I met Shaun he was a great ball striker (top 10) and an indifferent putter (about 130th). This is the perfect formula for which players I can help the most on Tour, and there are quite a few like this.
But I really don't know what else Shaun may have been working on or has worked on since he and I met. I've tried to stay out of his way, since the on-slaught of demands on his time set in: the buzz-saw of media attention, his new son, his new house, his new airplane, and his added events and other demands on his schedule. I can say that his putting technique at the PGA Championship was superb. It mostly looked like a wonderful tempo, a rock steady routine, and a simple back-and-thru stroke. He seems to have been posting some low scores, and he did well in Thailand recently.
Maybe he and I will get together again this year at some point. I'd love to hear what he says that has helped his putting, even if it's not something I can get credit for. And I really hope it sticks to elevate his level of success for the rest of his career.
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Theorist and Instructor
Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone
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