Trahan's not flashy, but you better keep an eye on him
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
He'd be hard-pressed to contort that 6-foot-3 body into a Spider-Man pose.
D.J. Trahan's fashion sense doesn't include oversized, diamond-studded belt buckles, either. And for goodness sake, don't look for him to make the gossip columns or see his name attached to a Hollywood actress.
Make no mistake about it, though. Trahan has game.
The 28-year-old is not as flashy as Camilo Villegas or Anthony Kim. Some would call him ruggedly handsome, but he's not a heartthrob like Adam Scott.
Still, the man who will defend his title this week at the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer is one of just nine players -- including Villegas, Kim and Scott -- under the age of 30 who have at least two PGA TOUR victories.
That's heady company, to be sure. To those on the outside looking in, though, Trahan might not seem to fit the mold -- yet -- and that's something he's working hard to change.
"That certainly is a big goal of mine," he said. "I don't want to be left out of that category, as would anyone else who is still in their 20s and trying to make a name for themselves out here. I feel like I can play with those guys, I feel like I can compete with those guys and I feel like I can beat those guys.
"I just need to continue to try and work on the things I've been working on. My game, I feel like, has been going in the right direction and if it'll keep going that way, I feel like I'll be in that little group that they've got going with these young guns -- with Camilo and Anthony and some of these other young guys they can't get enough of and who have played so well."
A solid performer since his amateur days when he won the U.S. Amateur Public Links, Trahan has made steady progress as a pro. He is coming off his best season after earning more than $2.3 million and making a run through the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup that landed him in THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola for the first time.
With the exception of last year's U.S. Open, though, Trahan has yet to step up in the majors and that's one place he needs to excel to catch the Kims and Villegases of the world. He did make his first cut at Torrey Pines, though, and the resulting tie for fourth was a big confidence boost.
"I had my chances on the back nine on Sunday, and obviously it didn't work out for me," said Trahan, who compares playing in a major with a mountain climber reaching the summit of Mount Everest. "But I was right there. ... Obviously, I took a lifetime's worth of experience away from it."
Trahan's goals for 2009 aren't that different from those of Villegas, Kim & Co. He wants to win again, a major preferably, and he's eyeing a berth on Fred Couples' Presidents Cup team. He currently stands 12th.
A year ago, Trahan finished 12th in the standings for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. So close that Paul Azinger told him he was on his radar screen, but in the end, the American captain went with four other picks, including twentysomethings J.B. Holmes and Hunter Mahan.
"Not getting picked for that kind of put a little spur in me," Trahan acknowledged. "(It) lit a fire under my butt. I want to play well and make that Presidents Cup team. ... To win and get on that Presidents Cup team -- that would be a tremendous year for me."
As a player, Trahan is substance over style. He's got distance, averaging 291 yards last year, and still finds fairways (65 percent) and greens (66). Trahan considers himself a pretty "straight forward golfer," who never tries to take more than the course offers.
"I think the TOUR has taught me that," he said. "I used to be more aggressive, but playing out here for 4-5 years like that I've learned you can play like that but it's going to burn you more than it's going to help you. So I've kind of changed the way I play golf a little. I just try and hit fairways and greens. That's what I tell myself every day when I tee it up."
At the same time, though, Trahan can turn up the heat as he did a year ago in overcoming a four-stroke deficit on Sunday to beat Justin Leonard in the desert a year ago. He led the field in putting that week, and that's an area in which he wants to continue to improve.
"For the love of God, I just hope that one day I can figure out how to really become a great putter because I think that's the only thing holding me back," Trahan said.
The offseason switch in equipment from Wilson to Titleist appears to have been seamless. The well-rested South Carolinian -- who spent the bulk of the off-season hunting with friends -- tied for sixth at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship and 32nd last week at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
"I'm looking forward to (this) week," Trahan said. "If I can get the putter going and make a few putts and keep hitting it the way I'm hitting it, I feel like I should have a good title defense. I guess that's all you can ask for.
"Every week you play you just want to have a chance to win hopefully and I feel like I'm playing well enough to be able to do that."
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