   
| Help from coach has confidence back for Quinney  PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Jeff Quinney didn't exactly come into his first PLAYERS Championship brimming with confidence.  (Condon/PGATOUR/WireImage)
After all, the PGA TOUR rookie had missed his last four cuts and his best finish in the three prior events was a tie for 38th. Not to mention, he didn't break 80 in two rounds at the Quail Hollow Club last week during the Wachovia Championship. Quinney was able to get in plenty of practice at the TPC Sawgrass, as a result. And when he wasn't trying to learn the nuances of THE PLAYERS Stadium Course, he was e-mailing video of his swing to his coach, Mike LaBauve, back in Phoenix. Finally, the brain trust made a pragmatic and, as it turned out, prescient decision. "(We) just kind of said, the heck with it, just really go out there and just work on tempo and just things that have got me here, rather than trying to get something technical where I've got the perfect swing," Quinney said. "(I tried to) just get back to rhythm and positive thinking, and (it was) amazing how it just turned around real quick." Indeed. Quinney fired 8-under 64 on Saturday -- 10 strokes lower than his second round score and one off the course record -- to bolt into contention in the $9 million event. He stands at 7 under and trails Sean O'Hair by two entering the final round. "This is not a course you really want to come in struggling in your game because Pete Dye is known for just intimidating golf shots," Quinney said. "You know, golf is just a crazy game how it can turn so fast. I knew I wasn't far off, but at Wachovia the greens were so hard and the rough was so bad, you just got penalized." The 29-year-old Quinney said simply that he was in the "zone" on Saturday and then he tried to explain what that meant. "I think you're just at ease," the 2000 U.S. Amateur champion said. "You just don't really notice the surroundings, you just kind of are in another place. You don't think about score. At times, I was like, I don't know how many under par I'm at right now. I'm just going to the next shot, going to the next hole. "I just basically know I'm going to hit a good shot. I'm not looking where the trouble is. I'm just worried about what can go the right way." Come Sunday, when he plays with Australia's Peter Lonard in the penultimate group, the Arizona State grad will bidding to join Jack Nicklaus, Craig Perks and Hal Sutton with wins in their PLAYERS debut. Quinney's ball-striking on Saturday was nothing short of consistent. He didn't make a bogey on Saturday, and he hit all but four fairways and all but three greens in regulation. The struggles of the last seven weeks appeared long gone. Suddenly, Quinney was playing like the man who posted four straight top-10s at the start of the season, rather than the one who hadn't posted a round in the 60s since the second round of the PODS Championship in March. He's found a comfort zone with his swing again. "I think everyone gets guilty of that sometimes where you're trying to make the perfect swing and you're trying to think about too much," Quinney said. "You're still thinking about technical things, just maybe a little bit more simple and maybe just a little bit of self?talk to myself that I'm good enough to be here and just trust it. Quinney has already proven he belongs. During that sizzling stretch of top-10s, he led or held a share of the lead in the final round three straight weeks, including the FBR Open in his adopted hometown. He bogeyed the final two holes there -- while Aaron Baddeley made birdie on three of the last four -- and lost by two. The previous week, Quinney was paired with Tiger Woods at the Buick Invitational and shot 70. He had a share of the lead on the back nine that Sunday at Torrey Pines, but Woods would not be denied his third consecutive Buick Invitational crown. "It only gave me more confidence because I shot 70 with Tiger," Quinney said. "I shot 6?under at the FBR (Open). Even though I didn't win, I shot some good rounds. I kind of got caught from behind. I've really drawn back on those tournaments, gotten back into that one. "And the season kind of peaks and valleys, and I'm hoping this is the peak and (I want to) kind of ride out my confidence and just hopefully take advantage." |
