Shaun has had some great putting rounds, including the WGA Matchplay last year against tiger, and the 2006 PGA Championship. But in general he had a bad year right after the 2003 PGA win. It was a medical condition in which his biochemistry was all messed up and it went undiagnosed and untreated for over a year. During that time, he wsn't able to follow up on his skills development. So it goes. Perhaps later.
Here is his take on his post-2003 PGA Championship play, from a story at the 2006 PGA Championship:
"Shaun Micheel knows how to play well at the PGA Championship.
He now has to figure out a way to play better in every other tournament.
Incredibly, his two best finishes in 248 PGA Tour events have come in the PGA Championship. He collected his lone tour win in the 2003 PGA at Oak Hill Country Club, and shot a final-round 69 on Sunday to finish second to Tiger Woods in the 88th PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club and collect $734,000.
Aside from the PGA, a third-place finish in the 2002 B.C. Open is the best he has been able to muster in his other 246 tournaments.
Micheel is coming off a dismal 2005 season - his worst since rejoining the tour in 2000. He finished 146th on the money list with less than $500,000 earned, and this year he's missed 10 of 22 cuts but also has seven top-30 finishes.
"I had some minor health issues last year, some poor swing habits, and that kind of transcended into just a total lack of confidence," Micheel said. "I started spending more time, I think, practicing the game."
Micheel saw his work on the practice range finally pay off this week.
"A couple years ago I was sick and tired of losing, and I'm kind of sick and tired of working on my golf game on the golf course instead of just playing," Micheel said. "I've noticed the last couple weeks I've just been playing golf instead of critiquing every swing or every missed putt. I finally quit doing it and I have confidence in what I'm doing."
So he went thru a rough time right after the 2003 win. Shaun has since changed caddies and swing teachers as well. And besides, with the help of just one lesson, he has now elevated his putting over 70 players to a level nearly twice what it was in 2003 (162nd on Tour). His 2006 year had him at $1.2 million versus his 2002 $640,000. His best year has been 2003 with $1.8 million plus a Mercedes invite and other perks worth another $200,000 or so (over three times his 2002 winnings). But he still ought to work in a more structured way on how to "play" with his putter.
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Coach and Theorist
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