Lean, mean Corey Pavin has bright outlook on 2022

A stronger, leaner Corey Pavin started the 2022 PGA TOUR Champions season off with a bang, posting his first top-10 since the end of 2020.

Rounds of 69-69-67 put him in a tie for 10th at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, just six shots back of the winning score. Pavin tied for second in birdies for the week with 17 and his putting average ranked 10th.

Moreover he felt good about his game, physically and mentally, for the first time in a while.

“At the end of the season last year, obviously I was not very pleased with how I played (No. 73 in the final Charles Schwab Cup standings), to say the least,” Pavin, 62, said Thursday. “I tipped the scales a little bit higher than I should be tipping scales at. So I went on a heathy diet, worked out really hard for three months basically … and still am … and lost about 25 pounds.

“I did a lot of work on my golf game, too. I did a lot of work with Greg LaBelle, my teacher, mostly through video, in November and December. I went to see Greg in early January to try to get ready for Hualalai. We found something pretty good to work on. Really, he did. I hit it a lot better and my chipping is getting better and my putting was a lot better.”

Pavin said the particular problem LaBelle located was in his takeaway. So they adjusted it until the player was comfortable and in a groove.

As far as his weight, it’s not like anyone noticed Pavin looked chunky last season. But he felt it, particularly after rounds. He was tired and had little energy.

“I guess apparently I hide my weight pretty well,” said Pavin, who added one of the keys to his weight loss was not eating after dinner. “I told a couple of people I lost 25 pounds and they go, ‘No way!’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, pretty much. As the kids say … way!’

“It’s nice. The biggest thing is I feel good, I feel strong. Having lost some waistline inches, I feel a little more capable of swinging the club a little more like I like to swing the club. It has helped mentally, too, because I feel good about the work I’ve done. I just have a better attitude.”

Any player with his mind and body right at the same time can be dangerous on PGA TOUR Champions because it can be difficult to get both to link up. It’s surprising that Pavin has won only once since turning 50, at the TimberTech Championship in 2012. He was a 15-time winner on the PGA TOUR, including a U.S. Open.

Even Pavin figured he’d have more titles on his resume, but the competition on PGA TOUR Champions was stiffer than he realized. And now, after 12 years, the fields are deeper than ever.

Does he still think he has one in him?

“I do still feel like I can win,” Pavin said. “I wouldn’t play out there if I didn’t think I could compete and have an opportunity to win. Certainly the last couple of years have raised that question. It was a little over a year ago in Phoenix, I was one or two shots back going into the back nine. I was in position to compete even though I hadn’t played well for a fair stretch.

“I can do this. I just haven’t felt confident with my game in general. And I felt a lot more confident in Hualalai this year. It was a combination of working out, getting in better shape, working on my game and having some things happen in practice.

“I kind of know when things are clicking or about to click, and I was really looking forward to Hualalai to see if my feelings were accurate, and they were pretty good. I played well, but I certainly can play better. But it was nice to play pretty good and finish in the top 10 as opposed to feeling I played great and finished top-10. There was room for improvement, so I feel pretty good.”