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Columnists - Columnists: Ron Agostini - Columnists: Ron Agostini on Golf

Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008

Agostini on golf: Bettencourt gets a grip

Modesto golfer credits new putting handle for saving his career, earning PGA card

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Modesto professional Matt Bettencourt believes a new putting grip saved his career and vaulted him onto the 2009 PGA Tour.

Our initial response: Say what?

"The new grip is awesome," Bettencourt said. "I've always believed in my ability. It was just a matter of putting."

All we know for sure is this: Something clicked this year with Bettencourt, 32, the quintessential golf journeyman who slogged the last six years on the game's minitours.

Only now, he has punched his ticket to next year's PGA Tour, Tiger Woods' neighborhood, with the kind of golf that raised eyebrows the last three months on the Nationwide Tour.

How did he reverse course, you ask? Well, he insists it all changed when he slid the SuperStroke, an oversized grip, onto his putter 16 tournaments ago. The theory behind the big grip, first used among golf's elite by K.J. Choi, is that it relaxes the hands and frees up the stroke. Bettencourt, struggling with the belly putter, sought help.

And goodness, did he find it.

Bettencourt, always a long hitter and solid ball-striker, labored on the greens. He bounced like his golf ball on bumpy ground between the Canadian (2003 and '07) and Nationwide (2004 through '06 and this year), piecing together just enough good play to retain his status.

"I found a way to survive and stay out there," he said.

But when the putts began dropping, so did his scores:

• A tie for 10th in July at the Nationwide Tour Players Cup,
• The following week, a tie for eighth at the Price Cutter,
• A tie for fifth in September at the Albertsons Boise Open,
• The following week, a victory worth $90,000 at the Oregon Classic.

Bettencourt needed one more high-level performance to assure his finish in the Nationwide money list's top 25, which guarantees a berth on the Tour. He achieved it in spectacular fashion by placing second in the Miccosukee Championship in Miami last weekend.

The Modestan, leading D.A. Points by one stroke with one hole left, watched his lead disappear when Points holed his 152-yard wedge shot for eagle 2. Then, in one of the best putts of his career, Bettencourt drained his downhill 18-footer for birdie and a playoff. That he eventually lost the playoff was only a temporary setback.

Bettencourt, now 12th on the money list, cannot fall out of the top 25 at the season-ending $1 million Nationwide Tour Championship next week. He will tee it up next year among the game's top tier, where he always wanted to be.

"I'm 100 percent ready," he said. "I've got a lot of buddies who are already up there and I'm going to get after it. I hope to make a lot of birdies and keep smiling."

Without question, Bettencourt earned his promotion through improved putting, which jump-started the rest of his game. Before he tried the new putting grip, he was ranked near the bottom of the Nationwide putting statistics. Today, he is 35th in putting average, a big reason why he's risen to a first-rate 18th in the all-around category.

"It's boring and not fun when you're not putting well," he said. "Good putting helps everything. It even helps chipping because you don't have to be perfect if you're confident you'll make the putt."

Bettencourt also praised his caddie, former NCAA Division II individual champion J.J. Jakovac (Chico State).

"J.J. has helped me with distance control," Bettencourt said. "I've also learned some shots from him."

New equipment aside, Bettencourt will move onto the next level for two reasons: 1. He stayed out there long enough to improve and gather experience, and 2. He dealt better with golf's inevitable setbacks.

"I feel I believe in myself now," he said. "I have to account for my misses and get it up and down. I know I'm not going to hit it perfect, but I've proven I can make it."

Q-SCHOOL -- Former Cal State Stanislaus star Marc Lawless found his A-game last week en route to medalist honors at a PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament Stage I event at Dayton Valley, Nev. Lawless, 15th on this year's Canadian Tour money list, blazed through the Arnold Palmer-designed course in 22 under par (68-66-64-68), five strokes clear of the field. Erick Justesen, a 2008 All-American at Stanislaus, tied for 15th (70-70-73-66) and also will advance to Stage II. Last month, Justesen sealed his entry onto the 2009 Canadian Tour by placing third at its Fall Tournament qualifier at Ashburn, Ontario. ...

Marc Peterson of Modesto, who finished 98th on the CanTour this year, will advance to Stage II of the Q-School after he tied for seventh at East Valley in Beaumont. Ryan Thornberry of Ceres, 36th on the CanTour, begins his Stage I tournament today at San Juan Oaks in San Juan Bautista. He'll be joined by Stan Mathews of Manteca.

HOLES-IN-ONE -- June Shehan, Modesto, 104-yard third at Greenhorn Creek, Angels Camp, 7-iron. ... Lee DeAlba, Ripon, 86-yard 17th at Jack Tone Golf, Ripon, 8-iron.

Bee sports columnist Ron Agostini can be reached

at ragostini@modbee.com.