Jinx lifted, Glover gets down to business

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Lucas Glover made his first cut in five PLAYERS Championship starts and stands three off the lead.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Just one bogey in the first two rounds of THE PLAYERS Championship is nothing short of a "miracle" for Lucas Glover.

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Second-round coverage

WEEKEND NOISE: Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods hope to make big moves back into contention the next two days. Column COURSE INSPECTION: Surprised by the low scores? You shouldn't be. Softened TPC Sawgrass will yield an unpredictable weekend. Column SUPER SLOCUM: Heath Slocum quietly moved up the leaderboard with a strong start and a superb finish. Story CUT WATCH: John Merrick's closing birdie moved the cut line and sent several stars home early. Story GLOVER LIFTS JINX: Lucas Glover accomplished a first in his fifth career PLAYERS start. He hopes more come this weekend. Story VIVA ITALIA: Francesco Molinari faced a tough decision. His choice paid off for him and his caddie. Story WESTWOOD'S WINDOW: Lee Westwood again has an opportunity for that major U.S. victory. Is he ready to seize it? Story

This is a man who made the cut at THE PLAYERS for the first time in five starts on Friday. Not to mention, his scoring average on the Stadium Course prior to this week was a whopping 76.75 and he had never shot lower than 73.

Glover is not just playing the weekend, though, he is among the contenders at the midway point of the PGA TOUR's marquee event after a 65 on Friday moved him to 9 under. He's just three strokes off the pace set by Lee Westwood.

And to what does the reigning U.S. Open champion attribute this reversal of fortune?

"I moved condos," Glover said with a grin.

A year ago, the South Carolinian didn't get to this toney coastal enclave until Tuesday night. After the futility of the first three years, he thought he might play better if he didn't arrive in Ponte Vedra on Monday, as he had in the past, to grind for three days.

That stategy didn't work. So he mixed it up again this year and told the good friend who annually offers his condo to Glover and his wife Jennifer that they were going to find another place to stay.

"I told him in Tucson at the match play, I said, 'Joe, I'm out; I'm changing it up ... I'm moving out," Glover said. "... So that was the change this year. That's got to be it. He's getting the blame for my career here for sure."

In reality, Glover has learned the value of patience on Pete Dye's signature creation. He's throttled back on his driver and put 3-woods in the fairways. His putter has cooperated as well.

"It's been solid," Glover acknowledged. "One bogey through two rounds is more than a miracle here for me. This is my first cut here. So I don't have much experience. I've got no ideas where the holes will be in the next couple of days.

"But I'm happy. I hit the ball great. You know, (I'm) making some putts, and I think any course suits you if you're hitting it on the fairway and hitting it on the green, so (I'm) very pleased."

Glover has only hit driver on the par 5s this week. He's found 19 of 28 fairways and all but nine greens in regulation. He's needed just 53 putts, too, and he's come up big on the kind of par-savers that eluded him in Charlotte last week like that 15-footer at the eighth hole Friday he said felt like a birdie.

"I had a great week last week as far as ball-striking," Glover said. "(I) didn't hole as many birdie putts, those 10- to 20-footers, as I have this week. So I think that's the difference. I'm still hitting it the same but making a few more of those mid-range putts and getting up and down a few more times.

"We've been having a good time. When you haven't had any success, that is about the last thing you can fall back on. So that's what I've done."

Glover calls the Stadium Course a "fairway-first" kind of golf course. He's normally a pretty aggressive player but has throttled back this week to make sure he can play out of the short grass rather than that 4-inch Bermuda rough.

"You've got to be in the fairway to attack the pins," he explained. "That's no secret. Pretty much everywhere now with the grooves the way they are that's just the way it is. But here for me it's more. ...

"I'm not as good out of the rough as some guys. I've got to be in the fairway to get birdie putts, and that was my focus Tuesday and Wednesday when I played was to figure out what club I could hit in the fairway as much as possible, and it's been 3-wood this week."

Glover made a couple of changes in his bag last week, adding a 64-degree wedge in an attempt to get a little more spin and taking out his 3-iron. That left a pretty big gap between his 5-wood and 4-iron, though, so he had Nike make a hybrid for those shots between 230-245 yards.

Glover didn't make a bogey on Friday. He started on the back nine and got up and down out of a greenside bunker at the par-5 11th for his first birdie. A 13-footer fell on the 13th hole and then he nearly flew a 7-iron into the cup at No. 16, setting up a 5-footer for eagle.

"(That) got the round going, I think," Glover said.

A pin-point wedge set up a 10-inch putt at the fourth hole. He made an uphill 15-footer at the seventh hole, then in one of his few really aggressive plays of the day went for the postage-stamp green at the ninth hole. He missed to the right but got up and down for his final birdie, rolling in an 8-foot putt.

Whether it was the 3-wood, new-found patience or new digs, looks like Glover's strategy has been rewarded.

"This is my first cut made, so I might retire," he said. "I haven't had much success here, and I knew it going in, and just changed the game plan a little bit and decided to have a little fun with it, see what happens."