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The ex-Gator may have UM-covered clubs after losing a wager, but he leads by two in his hometown Disney Classic.
By BOB HARIG, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 19, 2002
LAKE BUENA VISTA -- There is plenty of bad karma for golfers to overcome, and Chris DiMarco need look no farther than his golf bag.
Sitting atop the woods in his bag are University of Miami head covers, not put there by choice. DiMarco lost a bet to fellow PGA Tour pro Briny Baird over the Florida-Miami football game.
DiMarco, a former Gator golfer and huge fan, agreed to don Sebastian the Ibis (UM mascot) head covers at his hometown Disney Golf Classic.
"The head cover is gone as soon as I sink my last putt on the last hole on 18," DiMarco said. "You know, the good thing is it's got orange and green in it. It kind of looks like a Gator. Everybody would expect a Gator on there. So I have not been getting that much grief. And right now, the way the Gators are playing, I don't know if I'd much rather have that on there or not."
That hurts, but there's been nothing painful about the way DiMarco has played for two rounds at the Walt Disney World Resort.
DiMarco shot 9-under 63 on Disney's Palm course Friday. Combined with his opening-round 64 on the Magnolia, he was at 17-under 127, good for a two-shot lead over Scott Hoch (65) and three-shot advantage over first-round co-leader Hidemichi Tanaka (67). Bob Burns followed his co-leading 63 with 68, and Jeff Sluman shot 63-70.
And all of it is amusing to Baird, a Miami Beach native and lifelong UM fan.
"I can't believe he's playing that well having to look at Sebastian every time he pulls the driver," Baird said. "It couldn't have worked out any better. I can't win this week. The second guy I want to see win is DiMarco. Not because I'm rooting for him, but the better he plays, the more this gets talked about, the funnier it becomes. The only thing that would make him sicker is to have to wear a 'Nole head cover."
DiMarco might not be happy with the Gators, but he can't complain about his game.
"I've made 17 birdies and an eagle through 36 holes," said DiMarco, 34, a three-time tour winner who captured the Phoenix Open this year. "I've been putting absolutely phenomenal. I'm just seeing the line so good and my speed has been perfect. My putts are going in dead center and I'm making all the little ones that can be tricky out here."
And that is amazing, considering where DiMarco has been in his career with the putter.
Six years ago, DiMarco considered quitting, his putting causing him so much grief. That's when, out of desperation, he learned an unorthodox putting style from fellow pro Skip Kendall.
Called the "Claw" or "Psycho" grip, DiMarco uses a normal left-hand grip on the club, with the right grabbing the club as if it were a long putter. In essence, his right hand is upside down.
DiMarco has needed just 44 putts, putting him on pace to set the 72-hole record for fewest putts (93) in a PGA Tour event. And this is a good week to be on a record-setting pace, because the numbers are low. Consider that Tiger Woods was at 135, 9 under -- and he was eight shots back and tied for 22nd. The 36-hole cut came at 138, 6 under.
"That is ridiculous," Woods said. "I think that is as low as it has ever been. We may have a record. I have never seen anything like that before, this many guys going that low."
Indeed, it was a record-low 36-hole cut on tour.
"It's a weird game," said DiMarco, who has missed one cut this year but has only one other top 10 in addition to his win. "Two months ago I could have shot 63 but it would have been 69. It's just peaks and valleys out here. And when you're going good and scoring good, it really doesn't matter how you hit it. You just tend to score good."
Now if he could do something about the Gators.
"I've almost gotten to the point where it doesn't matter anymore," he said. "Once you've got three losses in seven games it doesn't really matter. We'll see."