Six-birdie stretch puts Warren back on track

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GRAND BLANC, Mich. -- A three-putt bogey on his first hole Thursday was hardly the way Charles Warren wanted to start the Buick Open.

"That was kind of a bummer," he acknowledged. Turns out, though, that adventure from 35 feet at the 10th hole was only a minor blip on the radar screen.

Once the putts started falling, Warren quickly regrouped. Starting at the 12th hole, he reeled off six straight birdies on the way to a 67 that left him three strokes off the lead held by Corey Pavin, Dudley Hart and Bo Van Pelt.

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Charles Warren tied the 2008 TOUR record with six consecutive birdies on Thursday.

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The birdie binge tied for the best streak on the PGA TOUR this year. It included putts from 7, 4, 10, 6 and 5 feet, as well as a bonus of a kick-in from 28 inches at the par-3 17th.

"Everybody knows there's lots of birdies on the back nine here," Warren said. "I felt like I got into a groove there, and that's the key to playing this course."

Warren couldn't maintain the torrid pace on the more difficult front side, but at least he has something to build on. Low rounds have been few and far between of late -- in fact, the 67 marked only his third round under 70 since he finished third in the FBR Open back in February.

So Warren has gone back to basics. His short game hasn't been sharp, and he's re-evaluated his practice sessions. He's worked on his mental approach, too -- trying to remain focused on the right shot at the right time.

"I think I've been a little off with everything and I've compounded that with poor concentration," said Warren, who has missed the cut in nine of his last 13 starts. "But I've worked really hard, really hard, the last six weeks on that.

"I think when it's all said and done at the end of the year I'm going to look back on that stretch as probably the stretch that got me going in the right direction -- not just this year but overall.

"I think today was a slice of what it's going to be able to offer me."

Warren has played golf long enough to know that one good round doesn't mean the task is done. Everyone, even the undisputed king, Tiger Woods, has stretches where he's not playing as well as he'd like -- and not just because of that bum knee.

"You know what? I played decent last week and I played good today, but it's not going to be the last time I deal with it," Warren said. "You're going to have those stretches. You never know when they're coming. You never know when they're leaving. ...

"Anyone can be in good moods and think well and play well when it's going good and you're shooting the kind of scores you want to. But it's times like this when you really learn a lot about yourself. I think it's been good for me. It really has."

The biggest change is that Warren is enjoying playing the game again. Sometimes it's hard to focus on the process when the results aren't there.

"It's such an easy rut to get into," he said. "You turn golf into a job and you approach it like a job and it becomes not very much fun."

That birdie streak helped Warren get back on an even keel. And regardless of what happens the rest of the week the stretch from Nos. 12 to No. 17 will pay dividends that even he can't imagine.

For every birdie and eagle he makes this year, money is being donated to the South Carolina Chapter of the ALS Association through the Charles Warren Birdie Challenge. The funds will go to help raise awareness of the sinister and devastating illness that has no cure.

Warren doesn't know anyone first-hand who is affected by the neurodegenerative condition commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease that progressively shuts down muscle movement. The more he learns about it, though, the more he wants to help.

"Once I got talking to people, it's amazing how ALS has affected people one degree away from me," Warren said. "It's shocking. It's just shocking. It's such an awful thing."

Pledges can be made on-line, here. With 120 birdies and five eagles this year, Warren knows he is well behind last year's totals of 340 and 12, respectively, but he's hoping that will change.

"I haven't been making that many birdies but hopefully I'll make a bunch this week," Warren said.

He's already off to a good start at Warwick Hills.