By staying within his game, Wilson succeeds on TOUR
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
DUBLIN, Ohio -- Mark Wilson will be the first to admit that if his father had given him the same advice, he probably wouldn't have listened.
Bob Rotella, though, was another story.
Wilson had gone to see the noted sports psychologist back in 2006 just before he headed to q-school for the third time. Among the things he asked Rotella was whether to trust his game or take a few months and try to change the things he disliked about his swing.
"He just looked at me and said, 'The sooner you decide to love your golf game is the sooner you're going to succeed,'" Wilson remembered.
Those words struck a chord with the UNC graduate, who started practicing less and believing in himself more. Wilson made it through q-school that December and three months later picked up his first PGA TOUR victory.
All with the swing that got him there.
"It sounds weird that I'm not trying to get better," the 34-year-old acknowledged. "That's what everyone says. Amateurs always want to get better. What's the next tip? How can I be better? I just want to stay the same.
"I just want to stay where I'm at and each day believe in myself a little bit more, and that's going to produce the low scores."
And Wilson should have plenty of self-confidence after rounds of 68 and 70 that have left him tied for second at the midway point of the Memorial Tournament. He's tied with Mike Weir, one stroke off the pace set by Jonathan Byrd and Jim Furyk.
Four birdies on the front nine Friday actually gave Wilson a share of the top spot at 8 under with first-round leader Luke Donald, who was playing in the opposite end of the draw. He couldn't maintain the pace on the homeward nine, but was hardly complaining.
"I'm thrilled where I'm at," Wilson said. "I haven't really felt like I've hit the ball as precisely as I'd like to, but the putter's really bailed me out."
Wilson knows a thing or two about Muirfield Village's greens, too. He had seven birdies in a row during the third round of the 2007 Memorial Tournament and he used just 22 on Thursday, another 27 Friday to rank second in the elite field.
"The greens are just the main test out here, and I was really happy my stroke held up," Wilson said. "... Hey, if I can do it, the way things are rolling this early in the week, why not do it for the rest of the week?"
A win on Sunday would be Wilson's second of the season. He captured the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun in March and is coming off two top-25 finishes in the last three weeks in Texas. His plan for the weekend is simple.
"For myself, I just need to play my own game and not get suckered into going to the pin just because I want to make another birdie," Wilson said. "... That's when disasters happen. So just being patient out there and plodding your way around."
Wilson, who still struggles with a love-hate affair with his swing at times, says he was tempted to tinker in Mexico earlier this year. He went through what he called a "rolodex of swing thoughts" and finally hit on something to try in the pro-am.
"I used it for a few holes, and it didn't work as good," Wilson recalled. "So then by the end of the round, I was just like, oh, forget it. I'm just going to try to hit at my target, and I went out and played great that week. Go figure.
"You grind your whole life. I'm 34 years old. I kind of think you have to put in a lot of time and a lot of hours. I've tried all kinds of different methods. How about we just perfect the method I have?"
After all, Wilson has plenty of feedback that says he's on the right track.
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