Australian Aaron Baddeley recently watched some old footage of his 1999 Australian Open victory in an effort to find his missing putting stroke.
Baddeley, for so long one of the world's best putters, has struggled on the greens by his own high standards over the past year.
Recalling that he putted magnificently that week at Royal Sydney nine years ago, when he won the Open as an 18-year-old amateur, the Victorian fired up his laptop and called up the video.
And it was time well spent, as he observed that he was more crouched over the ball back then, something he has tried to replicate in the past couple of weeks.
"I just haven't been putting well this year," he said today on the eve of the US PGA Championship.
"At the US Open I could have been right there if I had putted decently.
"Watching the old footage, I realised I needed to get a little more bent over at the hips.
"I have been too upright and my arms haven't been hanging correctly, but they are now."
Statistically, Baddeley's overall putting has been just about as good as ever this year. The Victorian is 13th on the US PGA Tour but, tellingly, he ranks a lowly 144th in putting from 15-to-20 feet, making only 15 percent of his putts in that mid-range.
With his putting stroke back on track, Baddeley may be a dark horse this week, because Oakland Hills has some severely sloping greens that will expose mediocre putters.
"Last week I putted really nicely the last three days," he said.
"I holed out really well at the British Open too, even though I didn't make any long ones."
Meanwhile, Mathew Goggin returns to action after missing the past four weeks with injury.
If you're wondering why Goggin has been missing in action since he tied for second at the Memorial two months ago, it's because he pulled an oblique muscle underneath his ribcage when he reached across his car to retrieve his baby's car seat.
"I heard a pop go under my rib," said the Tasmanian.
"I had a week off and was sore all week, and then I went to Milwaukee and couldn't hit a sand iron.
"I had to have a full month off, although I was still able to do a lot of short stuff, pitching and half shots. I didn't hit my first full shot until yesterday."
Goggin does not believe his enforced break will necessarily hurt his chances this week.
"The last couple of years I've had some of my best rounds after a long layoff," he said.
