Raleigh resident and former N.C. State standout Carl Pettersson begins his PGA Tour season this week at the Sony Open at Hawaii. One of the tour's most consistent players for several years, Pettersson saw his play take a dramatic dip in 2009.
The three-time tour winner had only one top-10 finish in 29 starts last year. Pettersson lost 30 pounds early in 2009, and, in the process, his golf swing began to suffer.
Pettersson's game began to come around late last season, and as he prepared for his season debut, he talked about the state of his game.
Q. What are your thoughts on what happened last year?
Last year was a big disappointment, but I finished the year pretty well. I played solidly in the Fall Finish. I didn't get anything out of it until [the Children's Miracle Network Classic], where I had a good chance to win. I was within one starting the day, two back with five to play.
I could feel my game was coming back. I just ran out of time to rectify last year. I hope I can carry it over.
Q. What did you take away from your struggles last year?
I finally looked at some video of my swing and started working with Josh Points here in Raleigh. He had video of me from 2003 through 2008, and he compared the swing. It was the same every year until '09, then it was a lot different.
Part of it was losing the weight last year. I lost it too quickly. It just changed my swing a little bit and threw everything off. Playing competitively with a bad motion, I kept losing confidence.
When I didn't make the [FedEx Cup] playoffs, I had five weeks to work on it. I started to play well then.
Q. What was the problem?
I kept getting the club too much underneath and inside. I would either push it or hit a snap hook. I had never had a coach before. I had always been able to figure it out myself. I had a few tricks up my sleeve, but nothing worked. [My coach] kept it simple. I don't want to get too technical. It's been good so far.
Q. Had you ever been through a year when you couldn't find what was missing?
I had improved every year on Tour here. That was a huge step backward. It hurt me mentally. I couldn't figure out what to do. I still don't feel as confident as in [2006 to 2008].
Q. Sounds like you're excited to play this year.
I'm always excited to start a new year. I enjoy playing. I'm a bit of a golf nut. This year is a little different. I really want to prove to myself and other people that I belong in the top 30 on the money list.
Q. This is a Ryder Cup year. Is making the European team a big motivation for you?
I've come really close twice. Somebody told me I would have made last two U.S. teams. It's kind of funny because I'm in the process of getting my U.S. citizenship, but I would love to play in the Ryder Cup one year. It's the sort of thing that if you play well, it takes care of itself. I have one goal every year - that's to win. If I win once, my goal is to win again.
Q. There's been a lot of discussion about the new rules related to grooves and how they might affect scoring. How big an impact will it have on you?
I've used the same type of irons, Nike Pro Combos, and they're not making those with the [now-required] V-grooves. So, I changed to the Nike VR blades. It's a bit of a change.
I don't notice it so much out of the fairway. ... Out of the rough, the ball might jump a hair more. With chipping, I notice a little difference but not a huge amount.
