THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 11, 1995 TAG: 9507110399
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
Despair isn't the reason former Old Dominion University star Jim McGovern says golf has never been less important in his life.
It's fatherhood.
Five-month-old Melanie arrived on what already was one of McGovern's favorite days of the year - Feb. 5, his birthday.
``My wife always goes me one better,'' McGovern joked shortly before making his way to Kingsmill for this week's $1.1 million Anheuser-Busch Classic. ``For her birthday, I buy her whatever she wants. She gives me a daughter.
``Golf is my job and my living, but it never really meant everything to me. Now, it means just about nothing. She means everything.''
Lauren McGovern's patience - and a higher threshold of pain than normal - allowed her husband to witness Melanie's birth. Considering Lauren entered labor in New Jersey while Jim was competing in the AT&T National Pro-Am in California, that was no mean feat.
``At 4:30 Saturday AT&T week, I spoke to my wife and everything was fine,'' McGovern recalled.
Two hours later, Lauren was back on the phone:
``Jim, want to do me a favor?''
``Sure. What?''
``Look at the flights.''
``For when?''
``Tonight.''
When a red-eyed McGovern reached the hospital the next morning, he was met by an awe-struck obstetrician.
``He had told her at 7 a.m. she should start pushing,'' McGovern said. ``And she said, `Can we wait? He's not here yet.' I walk in around 7:15. The doctor says, `I can't believe it, she told me she'd wait.' Three hours later, we had Melanie.
``The person I was most worried about was my wife. I never considered her very tough. You go to a (action) movie and she doesn't watch half of it. But after that . . . man, she is the toughest woman I've ever met. She came through like a champ. It was unbelievable, the greatest thing I've ever seen.''
By the time his work at Kingsmill is through, it will have been three weeks since McGovern saw his firstborn.
``I'm dyin','' he moaned.
Fatherhood had caused McGovern to go from having a one-track mind to a two-track mentality. The man who played 101 tournaments his first three seasons - earning him the label ``Ironman'' - now counts the days until he is reunited with his wife and baby girl.
A more upsetting calculation is the number of putts McGovern has needed, round after round, for more than a year now. He is 111th on the tour in that crucial category, averaging 1.801 putts per hole. By comparison, tour leader Jim Furyk averages 1.713 putts.
Putting kept McGovern from having a spectacular 1994 season - his $224,764 was $350,000 less than the previous year. He has made $82,000 this year.
``I try something different almost every other stroke, it seems,'' he said. ``It's become bothersome. I'm so uncomfortable. I'm thinking about so much over every putt. I've gotten so confused with myself, with my hands, my weight, which way I'm leaning on my putter, how far I take it back. ``Some days I hit a lot of good putts and some fall. Some days I hit a lot of good putts and none fall. I know I don't capitalize on the ones you're supposed to make, the 6- to 8-footers.''
A self-taught player hesitant to commit to outside advice, McGovern recently sought out putting wizard Ben Crenshaw for a tip.
``He said he just tried to get the speed of the greens and the right read,'' McGovern said. ``Line it up, hit it, and see what happens.
``As of Saturday, I've gone back to my old way of putting. I'm going to try and get comfortable, get a feel for it, and try and just let it happen.''
Until his putting woes end, McGovern isn't as concerned with winning as he is with giving himself an opportunity to win.
``When I won I thought it happened maybe quicker than I thought,'' he admits. ``I knew I could play, but it took me a year or so to realize I could play with these guys. Now, it's a matter of being more consistent. You must do it week in, week out.
``Funny, everyone tells me that I'm having a bad year. But this is the best year of my life. It really is. I couldn't have anything more in my life than I've had this year.''
A-B QUALIFIERS: Bill Malley, Kevin Boynton, Marty Stanovich and Tom Dyer earned qualifying spots and Scott Causby and Rich Meadows won alternate spots for the Anheuser-Busch Classic, which begins Thursday.
Malley shot a 68 Monday at Ford's Colony. Boynton, of Alexandria, Stanovich, Dyer and Causby, of Hampton, shot a 70; the first three entered the field after a three-hole playoff. Meadows, the second alternate, had a 71. ILLUSTRATION: FILE PHOTO
After the Anheuser-Busch Classic at Kingsmill, Jim McGovern will
hurry home to be with 5-month-old Melanie.
by CNB