THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 16, 1995 TAG: 9507160193
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
Curtis Strange found his Odyssey - and missing putting stroke - Saturday morning in the back room of his Kingsmill home.
Mark Carnevale completed his odyssey - and found some intestinal fortitude he wasn't sure he possessed - Saturday afternoon in the searing conditions at Kingsmill's River Course.
When the day was done, Strange and Carnevale, Williamsburg sports heroes with sketchy past performances before the home fans, were solidly in the hunt for a much-desired victory.
Strange, now at 6-under-par 207 after just barely making the cut Friday, trailed leader Jim Carter by four strokes.
Carnevale, who made just two cuts in 12 previous attempts here, is five behind Carter at 208.
``When you just make the cut, you're not doing anything,'' Strange said. ``But I went back and counted my shots, and it came down to putting. I wasn't making, and I was watching everyone else make theirs.''
Strange rifled through four putters he had at home Saturday morning and brought two to the practice green - the Ping he regularly uses and an Odyssey.
After stroking a few putts, Strange selected the Odyssey and will wield it again today.
``The Ping is second-string,'' Strange said. ``He'll be back. Hey, the Ping misbehaves, you've got to sit him down a while, make him think. He's crying over in the locker room right now. It's good for him.''
A 15-foot birdie putt on the second hole got him started in the desired direction. He then two-putted from 90 feet for birdie on the par-5 third hole, tapped in a 3-foot birdie effort on the fourth, made a 4-footer for birdie on the fifth, then rammed home a par-saving 10-footer on No. 8. On the back side, he nailed a 20-footer for birdie on 11, plus 5- and 20-footers for birdie on Nos. 15 and 17.
``I changed everything I could imagine with my putting,'' he said.
Carnevale was followed by a hearty group of followers Saturday. As he walked to the scorer's trailer after putting out on No. 18, several of his friends chanted his nickname: ``Moose . . . Moose . . . Moose.''
On his way to the locker room, Carnevale, his slacks soaked with perspiration from his waistband to his calves, slapped hands and accepted kudos from a steady line of well-wishers.
``I guess I've got a little more guts than I thought I had,'' Carnevale said after what he described as his first round in two years without a bogey. ``I've definitely proved something to myself today. I didn't give up today, which maybe I have in the past.''
When he reached the 12th hole Friday, Carnevale changed his putting stroke from the conventional style he normally uses to the increasingly popular cross-handed method. Two holes later he switched back, but he came to the course Saturday determined to affect a change. He did, back to cross-handed.
``I tried six different ways (Friday), and nothing was working,'' he said. ``I said to myself today, `Why not?' The people following me told me later that when I was putting cross-handed, it was the only time they saw me keep my head down, which I knew was my biggest problem.
``I putted better today than I have in a long time. I'm excited about playing good here.''
Carnevale missed a 5-footer for birdie on No. 1 and again on the 10th hole. He rolled in birdie putts of 4, 6 and 10 feet and did not three-putt a hole.
His putting style isn't the only thing Carnevale has changed. In December, he left Williamsburg for his new town home in Florida. Months of rigorous daily practice there have left Carnevale with minor back problems, but also a new, improved attitude.
``In the last six months I haven't done squat, but I've made six or seven cuts in a row,'' he said. ``The potential is there. I'm excited about it. I'm playing so good I couldn't give up if I wanted to.'' ILLUSTRATION: BILL TIERNAN
Staff
Curtis Strange, left, and Pat Bates trek to the green on No. 17 as
waders from Strange's ``Navy'' move in for a better view of his hot
round.
by CNB