Weekley growing to like TPC Sawgrass, playing with Kim

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Boo Weekley is fast becoming a Pete Dye aficionado. Now, he'd probably tell you he doesn't know what that word means, of course, but Weekley's a fan, nonetheless.

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At the midway point of THE PLAYERS Championship, which is being played on Dye's signature layout, Weekley is in the thick of things at 3 under after shooting a 71 on Friday. A month ago, he won the Verizon Heritage for the second time in as many years on another of the famed architect's designs.

"Some golf courses just kind of set up," Weekley said simply. "When you get on these greens see, I like Bermuda greens; I grew up on them, so I've got a confidence right there of, OK, I know I can read these greens pretty good.

"So it's a matter of just hitting them on the right line and getting it where I want to go. That to me is one confident thing that I've got when I came into here, and the other is just trying to hit the ball online and keeping it solid."

Weekley has done both well this week -- hitting 10 fairways and 14 greens on Friday -- but he's looking for a little more cooperation from his putter. He's had five three-putts in the first 36 holes, costing him three bogeys, and he's had a combined total of 64 putts.

"I struck the ball real well off the tee," Weekley said. "Got it where I can keep it in play right now and hit a lot of good iron shots. It's just that putter has been awful the last two days. I think I've had five 3 putts today, and that's including ones off the green.

"Overall, I'm in great position. I think I gave myself a chance, at least; if I can just go out and figure out something with that putter, maybe we can see what happens on the weekend."

Weekley is one of the TOUR's best ball-strikers, which explains his success on courses that require a player to pick his spots carefully. His speed with the putter, though, has been just a little bit off this week, and he's given the uphill putts "too much gas.

"I might not have had enough beer or something, I don't know," Weekley said, chuckling. "But that is probably my weakest part of my game, you know, that, and chipping."

Weekley has another putter in his locker, but the one he is using now is heavier. With the wind gusting to 20 mph and those fast greens on the Stadium Course, he likes the extra weight so don't expect a change any time soon.

The 34-year-old from Milton, Fla., also enjoyed playing with Anthony Kim in the first and second rounds. They both shot 70s on Thursday but the 22-year-old whiz kid and Wachovia Championship winner bested Weekley by a shot in the second round.

"He's a good kid, and he's got all the potential of being the superstar, I mean seriously," Weekley said. "He loves the game, and I love the respect that he gives other people as we're out there playing.

"We played together a couple times and played a couple practice rounds together. We both kind of know each other's irons and how far we hit our driver. There's different shots that we know, and that makes it a lot easier for both of us because we can kind of judge what's going on that way."

Although the two couldn't be much more different in background, the feeling, as they say, is mutual.

"I like Boo off the golf course as much as I do on," said Kim, the son of Korean immigrants who grew up in Los Angeles. "He's a great guy and he's become a good friend, and I enjoy playing with him very much."

Wonder if Ryder Cup Captain Paul Azinger is listening. Kim ranks fifth in the standings while Weekley is sixth. Weekley thinks the two would make a good team in Louisville.

"He rolls his rock real good, hits his irons real good and drives the ball real good," he said with that delightful Southern drawl of his. "If I can get off my rear end and maybe help him out a little bit, I think we'd do good."

That is, if Weekley and Kim can keep their minds on golf. On Friday, the two happened upon a turtle at the end of a tee box and Weekley, the naturalist of the two, couldn't resist showing the city boy something.

"Anthony was sitting there touching it with his wedge on the shell and I was leaning down was rubbing his back and getting him to feel it," Weekley recalled. Suddenly the head shot right out of the shell.

"And (Anthony) jumped and backed up real fast."

Come to think of it, maybe some of that levity is just what the American Ryder Cup team needs.