By Bruce Berlet
Special to PGATOUR.com

CROMWELL, Conn. -- Corey Pavin might be the PGA TOUR's shortest hitter, but he sure is long on the Buick Championship.

Several of Pavin's best shots at victory since his last title in the 1996 Colonial have come at the TPC River Highlands, including the past two years when he challenged on the final nine before finishing in a tie for sixth and eighth. And the 1995 U.S. Open champion had a tie for second, fourth and a tie for third in 1991, '93 and '94 when the tournament was known as the Greater Hartford Open.

But Pavin was quick to make a point after a bogey-free, 4-under-par 66 put him in a share of fourth place after the first round of the Buick Championship.

"There is one I haven't gotten," a smiling Pavin said in obvious reference to a No. 1. "That's what I'm here for, to see if I can work on that."

An unusually balky putter has led to Pavin missing eight of 15 cuts this year and being 110th on the money list with $429,891. But his best finishes have come at two shortish, classic courses -- Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas (11th in the Bank of America Colonial ) and Harbor Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, S.C. (tie for 12th in the Verizon Heritage).

River Highlands can't match those gems for tradition and world ranking, but it also is a shotmaker's course that suits Pavin, who is 188th and last on the TOUR in driving distance at 264.7 yards.

"There are a lot of different shots you have to hit on this course," Pavin said. "Positioning is really important, especially on a lot of shots into the green. I just love to hit a little fade or little draw, keep it below the hole, don't hit it over here, keep it on the side.

"There is a lot on this golf course. And over the years, those are the kind of golf courses I play my best golf on."

Pavin was a perfect 14-for-14 hitting fairways Thursday, and though he missed seven greens in regulation, he saved par each time.

"This is a course that if you bomb it, it doesn't really make that much difference, so the important thing is to hit the fairways and play smart into the greens," Pavin said. "Over the years I've played well here, so I always like coming back and see what I can do this year, and so far so good. Even my chips were not very difficult. It was a nice, clean round, pretty stress-free for the most part."

Pavin's lack of length as modern technology transformed the game helped lead to finishing 148th on the money list in 2002 and 2003. Since then, he began working with Butch Harmon and an associate, Greg LaBelle. They focused on having Pavin use his body more and widen his swing to increase power and trajectory. He improved to 89th and 108th in earnings in 2004-05.

"Last year I played a lot better," Pavin said. "The whole year was a lot more consistent, and it's just working on the right things. And the changes I made with Butch were good changes in my swing. It takes time to get those to a comfort kind of point, and I'm getting more and more comfortable and feeling a little bit better."

Pavin hit approaches to 8 and 12 feet for birdies at Nos. 3 and 9, then converted from 20 and 25 feet at Nos. 14 and 15 to tie his low round of the year.

And to think that Pavin -- and the rest of the PGA TOUR -- were nearly having their final go-round at River Highlands. Buick ended its three-year sponsorship in January, and the event that started in 1952 was headed to the Champions Tour until St. Paul Travelers agreed to become title sponsor for four years, with an option for two more.

Corey Pavin's best finish in 2006 was 11th at the Bank of America Colonial. (WireImage)

"I was happy [it stayed], for very selfish reasons," Pavin said with a smile. "I've always loved coming here. I've known [TOUR liaison] Ted May for 23 years, and he's great, and everybody that runs the tournament are so nice. And the fans have supported the tournament all the time, and you hate to see a tournament like that go, especially one where I've played well.

"I'm glad it's here. I'm glad it's back. I told [PGA TOUR Commissioner] Tim Finchem a few months ago that I was sad that this tournament might be going. And then I was pleased to see it was back on the schedule. I think it's very important because that's what the TOUR is all about: community and charity and giving back.

"It sounds like a record or something, but that's one of the things that I think everybody on TOUR is so proud of, all the money that goes to charity every week. We hit a billion last year, and I think that's a very big focal point and what makes this TOUR so wonderful. So it's nice to see it's staying."