By BOB HARIG, Times Staff Writer
Published September 1, 2005
DIVOTS
SEEING IS BELIEVING: New Zealand's Michael Campbell took some good-natured ribbing after winning the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, where he made frequent visits to the portable restrooms on the course. Turns out, it had nothing to do with a nervous stomach. Campbell's bathroom breaks were for eye exercises that he didn't want anyone to see him doing. They were performed to strengthen eye muscles, allowing him to see the putting line better, improve his focus and help him relax. Campbell started doing the exercises earlier this year after having his eyes tested and being told that one of his eyes was not looking at the same point as the other. Now Campbell goes through a routine every day in which he puts a tee about 15 inches in front of his face and then pulls it in until he sees two tees. Then he pushes it back until he sees one. He then moves the tee in circles and in figure-eights. It all takes about 20 seconds. "If I did that in front of the TV cameras, everyone would have thought I was loony," Campbell said recently at the NEC Invitational. "So what I do is plot out where all the port-a-loos are."
KOREA ON THE RISE: Se Ri Pak began it all seven years ago when she captured the LPGA Championship and U.S. Women's Open at age 20, becoming a national hero in the process. Now, Koreans are a force on the LPGA Tour, having won five of the past 12 events. Two of those were major championships and all five were first-time winners. Two weeks ago, the top four finishers were Koreans: winner Soo-Yun Kang, Jeong Jang (who won the Women's British Open), Gloria Park and Joo Mi Kim. Birdie Kim won the U.S. Women's Open in June. They joined other prominent Koreans in the victory circle such as Pak, Grace Park and Mi Hyun Kim.
QUOTABLE
"I didn't really think about the money until I kind of tapped in my putt on 18. I realized I just made 100 times what's in my bank account."
- Michael Putnam, after tying for fourth at the Buick Championship, his first tournament as a pro. He earned $177,733.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Italy's Edoardo Molinari became the first European to capture the U.S. Amateur since Harold Hilton in 1911.
