Kelly fights bronchitis, shoots 65 at Waialae  PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents HONOLULU, Hawaii -- Jerry Kelly leaned away from the people he was talking with and covered his mouth with his fist. "Don't worry," he said as yet another raspy cough erupted from his chest. "I'm not contagious."  Bronchitis isn't holding Jerry Kelly back. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
Kelly does have bronchitis, though -- which has plagued him since Dec. 27 when he woke up that morning in Mexico, where the Wisconsin native went to escape winter and practice, "and it felt like somebody was sitting on my chest." Kelly says he hasn't slept much since, but you certainly didn't sense any fatigue as he shot 65 in the second round of the Sony Open in Hawaii. He didn't make a bogey on a sunny, windy Friday and found himself five strokes off the lead, as a result. Among the others tied at 6 under is Kelly's good friend and fellow cheesehead, Steve Stricker, who shot 67 on Friday. The two happened to play together in the first two rounds. "I'm pleased," Kelly said. "Starting 3 over after seven (holes) yesterday, I'm happy I brought it back. There were a lot of them out there for both Steve and me. I hope we get to play together tomorrow. It's a good pairing for both of us. "We root each other on and get stuff going." Not that Kelly needs too much help when he comes to Waialae Country Club. He won the tournament in 2002 and had top-five finishes the next two years. His accuracy off the tee and pinpoint irons serve him well on this course nestled up to the Pacific Ocean. Kelly hit 85.7 percent of his fairways on Friday, compared with 64.3 percent when he shot 1 under in the first round. He also hit 77.8 percent of his greens in regulation, versus 55.6 in the first round. "I think it's very difficult to get the ball in the fairways here," Kelly said. "That's No. 1 for me around here. You've got to be able to control your ball and the only way to do that is from the fairway. I put a premium on that and I'm hitting it long. So it's working out good." Kelly credits some of his success to the new Cleveland HiBORE XL driver that he's using -- which he calls a "world apart" from its first incarnation. He said that Cleveland refined the club with input from him and Vijay Singh, and the results speak for themselves. "I think it's best for a company, if you're going to launch new technology to probably get some player input and see how it works in the real world," Kelly said. "It's a fantastic idea. I think it's revolutionary and it's showing up now." Kelly thought the bronchitis was beginning to clear up when he arrived in Hawaii. Wednesday night, though, it came back "with a vengeance," Kelly said, and he went to the hospital Thursday afternoon to get some antibiotics. "He wanted to give me a shot of cortisone and I said, uh-uh. I can't play and do that," Kelly said. "I took a shot for my allergies one time at THE PLAYERS Championship and I felt like I could lift up a Volkswagen bug." The near-constant coughing has made Kelly dizzy, and he even threw up twice during his round on Thursday. The medicine kicked in on Friday, though, and he was beginning to feel human again. "Playing with a little head cold is a lot worse than this," Kelly said. "It sounds a lot worse, and it's no fun, but having a fever and a stuffed up head is a lot worse." Kelly spent Thanksgiving week in Iraq as part of the USO's Operation Links Handshake Tour. He joined fellow PGA TOUR veterans Frank Lickliter and Corey Pavin, as well as Howard Twitty, on the trip and calls it "the coolest thing I've ever done." The group visited military bases all over the country, often traveling in Black Hawk helicopters. Kelly said the soldiers were buoyed by the support, and he was impressed by all the good will they are fostering. "Once they realize how much you're behind them, then they get the big smile," Kelly said. "But they're getting beat up so much in the media that it's hard for them to look at people and not wonder what they're thinking. ... "When I see all the good will that they were doing (it's amazing). They weren't being soldiers over there, they were being diplomats. There are privates in the street being hugged by kids, giving out the clothes and the food. You don't see those things on TV. Several weeks after he got back, despite battling the bronchitis, Kelly was able to get in some serious practice time in Mexico with his teacher, Jim Schuman, the University of Wisconsin golf coach who also happens to be his brother-in-law. "He and I both learned more in those 10 days than probably have in the last 10 years," Kelly said. "It was a great, great start to the year. ... Coming out of 3 over, I knew how to fix things a little bit. I don't like that I needed to, but at least I know what's there." Kelly admitted he felt some pressure teeing off on Thursday. It was the first tournament of the year on a course he enjoys playing a lot. He wanted to play well but his swing refused to cooperate on those first seven holes. That's where the session with Schuman helped. "I tried to turn it really good, but as I turned it really good, I got really long with my arms," he said. "I know where they're supposed to be now and how they work in the turn and once I finally said, OK, I've got to pay attention to it (I was fine). "It's just really doing the same things that I should have been paying attention to from the beginning. I see what can happen now. It's great. I'm pretty happy about my process. And he could be even happier on Sunday. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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