There is so much attention given to those who can hit the golf ball a country mile that guys like Corey Pavin are largely left in the dust. Pavin was one of the best players on Tour through the 80s and 90s after having quickly established himself as a contender by winning a PGA Tour event only two years after turning professional.
Once a centerpiece in golf’s elite, we haven’t heard much from Corey Pavin in the last few years. But he is still scratching a living out of the game as he remains one of the world’s top players. A lot of us would gladly have taken his 108th place on the 2005 PGA Tour money list.
Hole One
Pavin has won 14 times on the PGA Tour, his last win coming at the 1996 MasterCard Colonial. He has won a combined 25 times worldwide.
Hole Two
If anyone suffered from the massive distance gains on the PGA Tour, it is Pavin. Pavin’s swing started going south shortly after his 1995 U.S. Open Championship win. An already short hitter and low ball player, he didn’t take advantage of the new high-launch, low-spin drivers. It stinks to hit it shorter than Fred Funk.
Hole Three
Pavin was ranked 95th in driving accuracy in 1984 (the year of his first win) with an average distance of 258.8 yards. He ranked 202nd in driving distance at 258.7 in 2005. He hasn’t budged but a tenth of a yard in over twenty years.
Hole Four
In 1984 Pavin was 18th on the money list having won a total of $260,536. In 2005 he was 108th on the money list with $736,506 earned. My, how times have changed.
Hole Five
259 was the 72-hole score Pavin entered at the 1988 Texas Open. His 21-under-par score makes him the fifth player in Tour history to have broke 260. He won.
Hole Six
Pavin caddied for former UCLA teammate Jay Delsing at the 2003 PGA Tour Q-School. Delsing earned his card as Pavin calmed him with Ryder Cup stories.
Hole Seven
“Lately, it’s really struck me a lot that I don’t have to be a brooder, or so focused on golf every second, to play my best,” said Pavin in 2004. “There’s time to step back and experience other things. It’s made my life richer.”
Hole Eight
Bruce Hamilton had been Corey Pavin’s swing coach since he was 15 years old but the two agreed that he should see Butch Harmon when his progress slowed several years ago.
Hole Nine
Reinventing both his swing and himself in the last few years, Pavin has made an effort to patch up friendships that were lost in the intensity of competition early in his career.
Photo Credits: © Sporting Life, © Golf Web.
Great article enjoyed reading it. I graduated Oxnard High School a year in from of Cory and thought he was nuts for hitting the golf ball before school everyday. That was only the fact that I was jealous, because I wasn’t allowed to be on the golf team, because my mother thought golf was only for rich families and we didn’t have the money. I am proud of Cory as I have watched him from Japan the past 18 years. He has always carried my heart and desire and I was overjoyed when he won the U.S. Open. I sent me a card, but I don’t know if he ever got it. I golf now and carry a 17 handicap, I did card one Ace in 1996 thought I had potential. Thanks for the opportunity to say a few words. I wish Cory the best!