Putting game is hurtin', but Price ho-hums the pain

You see strange things when senior golfers reach the green.

Some of them use putters so long there are red lights at the top, to keep low-flying aircraft from crashing. Some tuck putters into their belly, some under their chin. Some put their left hand low on the grip, some use the "claw," some wedge the putter between the fingers on their right hand. Some look like they're trying to apply the sleeper hold to a garter snake.

Then there is Nick Price, who keeps it simple and sticks with what hasn't worked for years.

"I tried the long putter," Price said. "It's awful. And the belly. It's awful. It feels terrible."

Which is how Price felt Sunday afternoon. He had just shot a 71 in the final round of the 3M Championship. He began the day in the lead, made a birdie on No. 2, then shot even par for the rest of the round on a course set up for birdies, finishing in a tie for fifth.

Price said he played well, except for his putting. Golfers do this a lot. They intimate that putting is somehow separate from the rest of the game.

What if runners said they performed really well, except for not crossing the finish line?

"I'm very confident right now, because I hit some great shots today. And I hit a lot of really good tee shots. I'm hitting the ball 30 yards further than I was two months ago, and I've got some fire back in my game. If I can just finish it off now..."

Price is an affable guy who won three majors, including two in a row, in his prime. Working with renowned instructor David Leadbetter, he transformed his swing into a model of speed and efficiency. He rose to No. 1 in the world, and like so many outstanding golfers not named Jack or Tiger, he seemed to miss just enough putts to avoid becoming one of the greats.

Sunday, he sometimes ripped his drives 10, 20, 30 yards past Andy Bean and Gene Jones. Then he'd hit his approach so close he had no choice but to putt.

"Oh, yeah, I was frustrated," he said. "I made a good birdie on 8, and had a chance on 9, 10, 11, 12. On 13, I hit a really good putt. On 15 and 16, I had chances. I had my chances. I had chances on 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Anyway, that's one of those things. It's a little disappointing.

"One thing I must take positive out of all this is that my ball-striking is back now, and if I start making some putts ..."

"Nick hit the ball better than anybody in the tournament," Bean said. "He just didn't make the putts. I thought there was no doubt it was going to be his tournament to win. He's driving the ball well, he's hitting his irons well, his putting is just not where he would like it."

Bad putting darkens the soul and clouds the head. Price bombed his drive on 18, then hit his 4-iron off the rocks in front of the green.

"When you're putting well, it takes so much pressure off your long game," he said. "Like the last hole here. If I was putting well I would have just lobbed it out 30 feet left of the hole, but I'm not putting well, so I felt I had to hit it in there close, and I paid the penalty."

That's often been the story with Price, and yet he hasn't resorted to gimmicky putters. Winner Bernhard Langer, who has overcome various yips with various grips, won on Sunday with a long putter.

"If it worked for me, I'd use it," Price said. "But it feels so awful. I'd rather putt with my 3-wood."