Verizon Heritage round one: Something for Els to get his head around

Score one for Lanny Bassham, the Dallas-based “mental coach” Jerry Kelly credits for turning his game around. In fact, score two, because Bassham also mentors Fred Funk, who is having one heck of a season and sits in fifth place at the Verizon Heritage. It was Funk who put Kelly Bassham’s way and the mentor’s website carries a quote from Fred to the effect that “if you want to find the missing ingredient for the mental game of golf, see Lanny.”

It’s obviously made a difference. Kelly saw Bassham, a 1976 Olympic gold medallist in pistol shooting who teaches athletes and US military personnel, before the Masters, where he came a rather surprising fifth in some of the toughest golfing conditions he is ever likely to encounter.

Kelly says it has stopped him getting ahead of himself when he’s doing well and over-egging the pudding. It’s also helped him control his temper and cope better with being separated from his family. “He’s put me in a different league mentally. I wish I would have seen him a long time ago.”

But luck also played a part in Kelly’s good fortune Thursday. It was virtually dead calm when he went out and he only caught the first gusts of a wind that added more than a shot to later average rounds. Kelly finished top for both putting and greens in regulation. The force still seems to be with him Friday, because when he goes out in the afternoon the wind is forecast to be quite a bit milder than on day one.

Jose Coceres, the man beaten by Funk in a playoff down in Mexico, should likewise benefit from Thursday afternoon’s more benign conditions.

But Ernie Els will hopefully have the advantage of the morning calm for his second round after finishing Thursday just two shots off the pace in the worst of the wind. He missed three quite makeable putts that would have had him already out ahead.

I’m hoping he is able to put a spurt on Friday and push things forward, rather than the bunching we generally see on day two.

Otherwise, I’d suggest he has a few sessions with Mr Bassham too. I reckon Jim Furyk would benefit from a visit as well after his lacklustre par round.