CT Golf News

Drained emotionally and financially by a bitter divorce, Green in recent years has struggled just to keep his PGA Tour card. It's almost as if 1988 never happened, the year Green finished as the Tour's fourth leading money winner, establishing himself as one of golf's rising stars.

And just when he didn't think it could get any worse, it did. Much worse. This time it was physical pain, torn ligaments in his shoulder. The pain was so bad, Green had to alter his golf swing -- with disastrous results. He failed to make the cut in his first six tournaments this year and had to withdrew from the seventh after an opening round 82.

But in recent weeks, Green has made a resurgence of sorts and seems assured of keeping his Tour card for another year. He's collected paychecks in six of his last seven tournaments and now ranks 117 on the money list -- eight spots off the bubble.

"It's a wild deal right now," said Green, whose best finish of the year was a tie for seventh at this year's U.S. Open. "The main goal is to keep your card."

Green said his shoulder is feeling better, thanks to rehabilitation and medication. But he explained that the injury will require surgery and sideline him for up to eight months, something he cannot afford right now. In the meantime, he continues to work closely with longtime instructor Peter Kostis, with mixed results.

Green said the pain in his shoulder prevented him from making a proper shoulder turn, so he began "looping the club -- a Lee Trevino thing." The new swing was painless, but it was also, in the words of Kostis, "terrible," Green said. When Kostis got Green to swing his way, the pain returned.

"I'm just trying to get through the year," Green said.

Green, now 38, started playing golf at the age of 12 in Honduras, where his father was principal of the American School. He starred on Danbury High School's golf team then went to junior college in Florida to play golf at the urging of Ridgewood Country Club's head pro. In 1979, he turned pro, but didn't join the PGA Tour until 1982.

Like most young pros, Green struggled in the early years. But in 1985, he won the Buick Open by four strokes and finished 52nd on the money list. The next year, he won again at The International and doubled his yearly earnings. Then in 1988, he won the Canadian Open and the Greater Milwaukee Open and finished among the top 10 in eight other tournaments, ending the year with $779,181 in earnings and fourth overall. In 1989, he won the Kmart Greater Greensboro Open and was a member of the Ryder Cup team.

Green has never come close to matching that phenomenal 1988 season, but up until 1994, he always earned a comfortable living on Tour. Then, came the bitter divorce, and life -- and golf -- would never be the same.

"It did a number on me, far more than people realize," he said. "You have to try to regroup, and I haven't done that well. I've lost my zest for the game that I used to have. It's now more of a job than it used to be. It takes your enthusiasm away. You lose your competitiveness and confidence. When you lose those two assets, it's impossible to compete."

Green plans to play in the final three official PGA Tour events of the year to do all he can to keep his card. He acknowledges that keeping his card is an ever-present thought, even affecting how he plays each round. But Green believes his goal is within sight.

"It's totally up to me," he said. "The last three or four tournaments have been the best mentally for me in five years. I'm not playing with the fear and panic I've been playing with for the past three or four years."

For sure, at the Greater Milwaukee Open four weeks ago, Green shot four straight rounds under 70, and his 15-under-par total tied him for 12th place. A week later, Green went out bowling with some friends in Florida, where he now lives most of the year. He rolled a perfect 300 game.

Green's main goal for 1997 is to earn enough money so he can afford to take time off to repair his injured shoulder, then regroup for 1998. He still intends to return to Danbury for the summer, as he normally does, play a few rounds at Richter Park and Ridgewood and certainly at the TPC at River Highlands in Cromwell for the Canon Greater Hartford Open.

And with the 1997 PGA Championship next year just down the road at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, N.Y., Green has an extra incentive. "I'd be a little ticked off if I can't get there," he said.

"It's in my hands. All I have to do is make some cuts and play mediocre in one tournament."

Robert Samek is editor and publisher of CTGolfer Online.