TOUR Insider: '07 victory led to re-tooling for Chopra

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If there is such a thing as winning ugly, then Daniel Chopra knows what it looks like.

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Daniel Chopra won the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship.

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Inside the Field
Video: Chopra wins in 2007

Last October, in his 133rd career start, Chopra broke through for his first PGA TOUR victory at the weather-plagued Ginn sur Mer Classic at the Tesoro Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Riding a wave of unfettered confidence, Chopra followed up by nearly winning the Australian Masters -- falling to Aaron Baddeley in a playoff -- before showing up at Kapalua Resort in Maui and capturing the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship.

Those accomplishments were a source of pride for Chopra, but he was far from satisfied. So sufficiently troubled by the manner in which he achieved the victory, he decided to use the 2008 season to rebuild his game from the ground up.

"I sacrificed this year because I was tired of mediocrity," Chopra admitted in a telephone interview Sunday as he prepared to defend his title at the $4.5 million Ginn sur Mer Classic, which this year moves to another Ginn property, the Conservatory Course at Hammock Beach in Palm Coast, Fla.

Obviously two wins in three TOUR starts isn't mediocrity; it's a mighty fine effort. But while you might fool some people, you can never fool yourself. Chopra, who shot 19-under 273 at Tesoro Club, isn't inclined to self-delusion.

"I got some momentum and fed off that, and I was able to have it go my way for awhile," Chopra, 34, said of his winning spurt. "I was playing with confidence, and I was so comfortable with my game. My experience and course management carried me through. But deep down I knew, being honest with myself, that I needed to make some changes or I wasn't going to be nearly as successful as I want to be."

Bottom line, Chopra decided to rework his swing. He went it alone for a stretch before seeking help from Jason McCarty, the head professional at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., whom Chopra has known for a couple of years.

His grip, ball position and swing plane all have undergone significant alterations -- Chopra's swing plane is so radically different that he had to change the lie angle on all of his irons.

Though his only top 10 in 2008 is his win in Hawaii, and though he has missed the cut in four of his last five starts, Chopra is heartened by his lone finish in the money, a tie for 15th at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open. When Chopra -- who ranks third on TOUR in putting but 187th in greens in regulation and 192nd in driving accuracy -- arrives at the Tom Watson-designed Conservatory Course at Hammock Dunes, he'll be relying on a swing he is starting to trust more.

"In Vegas, that was the best I've hit the ball in two years," Chopra said effusively. "I am very excited about the future, because I know how my game was before, and how hard I had to work to get those wins, and I knew it wasn't going to hold up over time.

"I want to win on my terms and not have my golf game hold me hostage. I've been willing to take the time to make it better, and I'm fortunate that I won and I have the time. My putting and short game have always carried me. To have a swing that can hold up and match up with the rest of my game is going to make me a stronger player. I have no doubts."

FALL SERIES NOTES

• The Conservatory Course will be a much different test than the Tesoro Club, which was a par-73, 7,381-yard layout notable for penal rough. The Conservatory Course can stretch up to 7,776 yards, par 72, giving long hitters a distinct advantage. Add the fact that it will be set up with minimal rough, and the 132-player field needs to gird for a bomb-and-gouge shootout in the TOUR's penultimate event.

• Shigeki Maruyama, who tied for second at the 2007 Ginn sur Mer Classic at Tesoro, is returning to regular competition on the Japan Tour in 2009, according to a Kyodo News report. Maruyama, 39, and a three-time TOUR winner whose last title came at the '03 Wyndham Championship, has been hampered by shoulder problems for several years. He has been competing in Japan for the last month and hasn't played on the TOUR since withdrawing from the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, site of his first TOUR victory in '01.

• Stuart Appleby, an eight-time TOUR winner, is thinking a little like Daniel Chopra. Appleby had a fine year with seven top-10 finishes and 14 top-25s, but he isn't satisfied. After being in contention at the U.S. Open before falling back, Appleby decided to make a change. Rather than change his swing, he hired a mental coach, Gio Valiante, whose clients have included Chris DiMarco, Justin Leonard, Davis Love III and Camilo Villegas. Appleby is done on the TOUR this year, but plans to play at the Australian Masters at the end of November.

• Tom Lehman has withdrawn from his last two starts, including the Fry's.com Open near his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., because of tendonitis in his elbow, and he hasn't completed a tournament since The Barclays. At 134th on the money list, the former British Open champion is in danger of losing his PGA TOUR card for 2009. However, since he turns 50 in March, and could use a one-time exemption of being in the top 50 on the career money list, Lehman might feel more urgency for getting healthy as opposed to making any more cash in '08.

• After announcing that the Fry's.com Open was to be his last start of the year, Nathan Green is entered in the Ginn sur Mer Classic. He withdrew from the Fry's.com Open after opening with an 8-over 78. Wouldn't blame him for not wanting to end the year on that note.