Print this page  |  Close Window

By Bruce Berlet
Special to PGATOUR.com

CROMWELL, Conn. -- Olin Browne spent far too much time at his home in Florida late in 2006 and the first four months of this year.

Olin Browne is making just his sixth start of 2007. (WireImage)

Torn ligaments in his left wrist kept Browne sidelined from the Chrysler Championship in October until THE PLAYERS Championship in mid-May.

Browne played 27 holes before the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in January, but the pain was so bad, he couldn't make it to the first tee in Palm Desert, Calif. After two more months off, he prepped for THE PLAYERS by hitting eight balls one day, 15 the next and 25 the third. He then played nine holes and teed it up at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Fla.

"It ate me for lunch," Browne said of his 81-75 showing.

A week later, Browne closed with 6-under-par 66 for a 10-under 278 total and a tie for ninth in the AT&T Classic. He missed the cut in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and Stanford St. Jude Championship before shooting 20-over 300 to tie for 45th in the U.S. Open.

"I really didn't mind it," Browne said of the sadistic conditions at Oakmont Country Club. "It was really difficult, but if you hit it in the fairway, you could play."

Playing on a "cranky" course in what he called "cantankerous" conditions, Browne shot a second straight, 3-under-par 67 in gusting wind Friday to move into contention in the second round of the first Travelers Championship at the TPC River Highlands.

"I didn't strike the ball too awfully well, but I missed it in good places and was able to make some good ups and downs," Browne said. "It was one of those days where things just went my way."

After starting bogey-bogey off the 10th tee, Browne holed a 117-yard sand wedge shot for eagle at the par-4 12th.

"I hit one of those shots that you hit once a year where it just comes off perfectly, just like it was planned," Browne said. "And everyone is yelling, 'Go in,' and usually that one ends up two to three feet behind the hole, and you think, 'Man, that was close.' But this one dropped and got me going for the day."

Browne then did a personal best, hitting a 240-yard 7-wood on the par-5 13th to 22 feet and making the putt for a second straight eagle.

"From looking at my stats, I've gotten my eagles for the year out of the way, apparently," said a smiling Browne, who had had none in 2007. "I've had two eagles in a row a few times, but I don't ever remember back-to-back. ... The putt on 13 was one of those lines you can see really nicely, and I hit a good putt and it wiggled its way into the hole, so it got me right in the game right out of the box."

Browne's spectacular play didn't end there. He closed with 13 pars and a birdie at No. 5 as he holed a 20-foot bunker shot on the par 3.

Browne, who first played in the tournament as a qualifier in 1986, wasn't surprised he was able to handle the gusting winds that blew in the opposite direction from the first round.

"I really like this course, especially with the wind," Browne said. "It swirls a lot; it's a capricious wind out there, so you have to be attentive to what it's doing. After you've hit it in the water once or twice, thinking it's one way and it's actually another, you learn to figure that out.

"The course is edgy. You're going to get good birdie opportunities, but you're also going to have your head handed to you on a couple of holes if you're not careful. Once you get to play a course for [15] years, you get to see all the conditions, what happens when pins are in certain locations, and that definitely helped me today."

Browne won the first of his three PGA TOUR titles here at the 1998 Canon Greater Hartford Open, holing a 40-foot birdie chip on the first playoff hole to beat Larry Mize and Stewart Cink, who was attempting to become the tournament's first repeat winner.

Then in 2005, Browne completed the New England Daily Double when he won the 2005 Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass.

Now he'd like to join Billy Casper, Paul Azinger, Peter Jacobsen and Phil Mickelson as the only multiple winners since the Travelers Championship began in 1952.

"There are some great two-time winners here, and I would certainly love to join them," Browne said. "This was my first win on TOUR, and that has a special place for me. Frankly, I was disappointed when Travelers saved this event because I was going to be on the Champions Tour [in 23 months], and I thought I was going to get to play it again for another 15 years. I was going to be happy with that, but that's not the case."

Browne's tongue was planted firmly in his cheek as he uttered those words, but the meaning was clear.

"One of the [fans] mentioned, 'Hey, thanks for coming back,' " Browne said. "And I said, 'I'm coming back as long as you guys invite me.' I love coming here. When you come to play with good memories and good feelings about it, it sets the table for the week."