Putting tip propels Kevin Streelman into contention

John Cook was a Minneapolis club pro who also played a handful of PGA TOUR events per year, mostly in the winter months when the weather back home left snow was on the ground and kept the courses closed. He played nearly 100 TOUR events, his best finish a tie for fourth at the 1967 Azalea Open. But that wasn’t the tournament that his grandson Austin heard the most about. The highlight of John Cook’s career was his brush with greatness in the 1965 Memphis Open, when he played with Jack Nicklaus in the final round at Colonial Country Club. Nicklaus was just 25 years old, but already had won four majors, including that spring’s Masters Tournament. He’d also won the 1964 money list (by a mere $81.13 over Arnold Palmer), an accomplishment that meant Nicklaus’ entry fees were waived for the 1965 season. Not, of course, that he needed the financial assistance. He already was chasing greatness, and he displayed his other-worldly talent again on that Sunday in Memphis. He started the final round five shots off the lead, while Cook was six back. They met on the first tee Sunday, but their paths quickly diverged. Nicklaus fired 65 to collect the 14th victory of his career. Cook shot 76 to fall to the middle of the pack. Austin Cook did Sunday what his grandfather could not, earning a PGA TOUR title in just his fourth start as a member. He birdied three of his final four holes at Sea Island’s Seaside Course to shoot 67 and finish four shots ahead of J.J. Spaun. Cook’s quest to the winner’s circle was reminiscent of the PGA TOUR during the days when his grandfather was competing. A large portion of the field had to qualify each week back in John Cook’s day. There are only four spots available in the Monday qualifier now, but Austin Cook first gained the golf world’s notice by qualifying for several TOUR events before ever earning his card. Cook finished in the top 25 in six of 10 PGA TOUR starts before becoming a PGA TOUR member. Those finishes proved something that his earlier resume may not have: he was built for the PGA TOUR. “When conditions are hardest, that’s when I play my best,â€� he said. He was always the type whose emphasis of accuracy over distance led to consistent scores, but not the flashy results that would make him one of those can’t-miss prospects coming out of college. Cook never won at Arkansas and only once was an All-American (honorable mention). His devotion to academics was another reason his collegiate achievements didn’t look those of a player who’d so quickly find success on the PGA TOUR. Cook earned a biology degree from Arkansas with a 3.9 grade-point average. “Biology was his major and golf was his minor,â€� said his college coach at Arkansas, Brad McMakin. “I always wondered what he could’ve done if he could have work on his game like everybody else and not been in labs five hours a day, three days a week.” McMakin said that Cook was the type of player who’d shoot 70 no matter where they played. The coach compares Cook’s swing to David Duval’s because of the way he would swing back with a closed clubface, then rotate aggressively through impact. “His distance control with his irons is off the charts,â€� McMakin said. “When you hit it out of the center of the face 90 percent of the time, that’s why he has good distance control. “He was the kind of guy you could give one golf ball to … and on the 54th hole he’d be able to give it back to you.â€� Cook displayed that repetitive ballstriking at The RSM Classic, missing just eight fairways and 12 greens all week. Cook finished his degree in December 2013 and shortly turned pro with medical school as a back-up plan. His father, Bill, is an anesthesiologist. Austin set out for the Adams Tour that January with money that Bill had saved for the past few years to help his son get his pro career off the ground. It didn’t take long for Austin to get his first taste of the PGA TOUR. That June, he qualified for the FedEx St. Jude Classic, the same event where his grandfather had played with Nicklaus, and finished T13. The $54,085 he earned there allowed him to pay his parents back and fund his career. Cook made it to final stage in the 2014 Q-School to earn conditional status on the Web.com Tour. He’d make more starts on the PGA TOUR in 2015, though, thanks to his propensity to get through those open qualifiers. It started in Houston, where Cook played alongside Phil Mickelson in the final group of the third round. Cook, whose brother Kyle was carrying Austin’s stand bag, beat the World Golf Hall of Famer by five shots, 70-75. Cook finished 11th. He finished in the top 25 in five of seven PGA TOUR starts that season, including two top-10s. He Monday qualified two more times, earned two more starts with his top-10s and only needed to rely on two sponsor exemptions. “Once I get out here, I’m going to have a bright future ahead of me,â€� Cook said after his play in Houston. He didn’t know how right he’d be.

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NORTON, Mass. - He was hot under the collar, but it had nothing to do with his golf, nor his decision to put his favorite putter back into play. Nope. The problem early in Tiger Woods' opening round of THE NORTHERN TRUST was more than the bogey he made on his fourth hole, the par-4 13th. It was the hot oil he uses to loosen up his cranky back. "I decided to put some up on my neck," Woods explained, "and it's not as tolerant as my lower back so it gets awfully hot." That situation remedied with a bottle of ice water, Woods watched the heat transfer to his golf game at TPC Boston. He played a nine-hole stretch - the par-5 18th to the par-3 eighth - in 5 under. RELATED: Full leaderboard Solid stuff that would have ignited roars had there been spectators, this time the hot stuff was halted not by a water bottle, but a wide-right drive at the par-4 ninth. Woods made bogey after he couldn't muscle the 207-yard shot out of the rough and missed the green. Still, for the most part Woods appeared content with his 3-under 68 that left him four off Harris English's clubhouse lead after the morning wave. Playing just his ninth competitive round since the PGA TOUR returned in mid-June after a three-month break, Woods was accompanied by the putter that has been in his hands for nearly everything that made him an icon. He had used the Scott Cameron Newport 2 GSS in 14 of his 15 major championships, so when he put it on the bench for the PGA Championship two weeks ago, it was considered big news. Woods explained that he liked the longer shaft and heavier feel to the Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Timeless, but he conceded that the results at TPC Harding Park were less than what he envisioned. "Had one good day, the first day (he shot 68), and then after that I didn't really putt well," he said. This week, at a place where Woods has won and played consistently well, the old standby is in play. And? "I had a good feel today. I had nice pace and I like the speed of these greens. They're fast," said Woods. "Even though they're soft, they're still quick. I just felt comfortable." The numbers supported him, even if they weren't off the charts. He needed just 29 putts, and at the completion of his round his Strokes Gained: Putting (+1.15) was ranked 18th. True, his longest putt was just 16 feet (at the par-3 third) and he made a made a modest 66 feet, 5 inches of putts, but never did he appear stressed out on the putting surfaces. Like he said, comfortable. "That's one of the weird things about golf," he said. "It's just the way it is sometimes." Of course, here's another aspect of golf that is hard to ignore: It's the tee shot that puts everything in motion and this is where the numbers were not so kind to Woods in Thursday's opening round. He did hit five of the first seven fairways, but moving to TPC Boston's front nine, Woods hit the first fairway, then missed each of the next six. OK, a disclaimer is needed, however, as the 298-yard par-4 fourth is a hole that players try to drive, and Woods was not unhappy with finding the bunker; he made birdie. Coming on top of the 16-footer he had made at the par-3 third, Woods was officially on the move. He continued nicely by converting a 6-footer for birdie at the par-5 seventh, then hit arguably his best iron shot of the day to birdie from 7 feet at the 225-yard, par-3 eighth. If the closing bogey unsettled him, Woods didn't let on. There have been questions about a busy stretch of golf, possibly four starts in five weeks beginning here at THE NORTHERN TRUST. But the 44-year-old Woods, the guy who began his day with hot oil to warm up, just shrugged. "I've got to get to Atlanta (and the TOUR Championship for the top 30 in the FedExCup standings) first," he said. "I'm not in." Not currently, as he sits 49th in the standings. But an opening 68 was surely a step in the right direction.

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