Pavin does it his way, begins Buick Open with 8-under 64

text size

GRAND BLANC, Mich. -- With the exception of the close cropped hair that's now turned snow white, not much has changed for Corey Pavin since he turned pro 26 years ago.

The former UCLA Bruin is still using the same Bulls Eye putter he first put in the bag back in 1984. He remains a little man in a big-hitter's game, but what else is new?

Over the years, Pavin has learned to play within himself and prosper. And Thursday's first round of the Buick Open at Warwick Hills was a perfect example as the diminutive 48-year-old fired a sterling 64 that landed him atop the leaderboard.

Shamus/Getty Images

Corey Pavin used just 21 putts on Thursday.

RELATED

More: Pavin's 8-under 64
Video: Pavin's chip at 16
Stats: Pavin's 2008 results
More: Pavin's transcript

Pavin made eight birdies and refused to surrender a shot to par as he matched his best round of the year -- shot Sunday as he bolted into a tie for 10th at the Travelers Championship. He needed just 21 putts with that gleaming brass blade of his, too.

"I played nicely today," Pavin admitted. "My putter was working rather well. I just made some really nice mid-range putts today and one kind of bombed. But I was in position and hit most of the fairways. So it was good. Good day."

As reporters filed into the interview room around noon on Thursday, Pavin sat in his chair busily sending a text message. So it's clear the 1995 U.S. Open champ and 15-time TOUR winner can change with the times.

At 5-foot-9 and 155 pounds, though, Pavin is simply not going to be blasting it by the likes of Bubba Watson -- who, by the way, he beat by three shots on Thursday. So he's resigned to being something of an anachronism in this power game.

Pavin ranks 196th in driving distance with an average of 262.1 yards -- some 50 behind Watson, the current leader. Conversely, only one player, Larry Mize, who turns 50 later this year, ranks below Pavin and that's by just 7/10ths of a yard.

What Pavin does do well, though, is hit fairways and greens. He ranks 10th on TOUR in driving accuracy, 31st in putting and 16th in scoring average at 69.81. He has five top-15 finishes in 12 starts and earnings of more than $770,000.

"Length helps. It always has. It's nothing new," Pavin said with a wry smile. "If you can hit it long and straight you're better off than hitting it shorter and straight. So all I try to do is play my own game. I can't do anything else. I can't hit it any further than I do now.

"I've tried and I've worked on it. And I just try to play within myself and hit the ball in the fairway and try knocking it on the green and maybe if I can make up for it in chipping and putting, that's fine.

"But all I can do is what I can do and hopefully at the end of the day that's good enough."

It certainly was on Thursday.

Pavin started the day with a bang -- holing a 60-footer on the fifth hole -- then made five straight beginning at No. 7 on putts of 12, 15, 10, 15 and 22 feet. He tapped in for birdie on the par-5 16th and capped his round with a 20-footer on the 18th.

Warwick Hills isn't overly long, as TOUR venues go, but it does require well-placed shots, which is where Pavin excels. But he did find himself hitting two approaches with his 22-degree rescue club, which replaces his 3- or 2-iron -- each of which set up a birdie.

Courses like Warwick Hills, which have four par 5s, put Pavin at something of a disadvantage, though. While the big hitters are staring at eagle attempts and two-putt birdies, he's trying to chip close, as he did on the 16th hole after hitting a driver off the deck to get there.

"It's hard for me to reach (the par 5s) in two but everybody else can," Pavin said. "That's kind of a tricky thing for me here where there's four par 5s on a golf course. I always prefer a par 70 golf course because that takes the length out of the equation a little bit."

That's what Pavin's been doing all his life, though.