The course was different, and so were the players he beat.
But the biggest change Aaron Baddeley noticed after winning a second straight Australian Open was not the check he cashed as a professional, but the price he paid as an amateur.
A year ago, the 19-year-old Aussie turned down instant riches
from his surprising victory at Royal Sydney for a crash course
playing the PGA Tour.
It proved to be a real eye-opener.
He made the cut in his first tournament on American soil, the
Honda Classic, but never saw another Saturday tee time. He played his only two rounds in The Masters with Tiger Woods. He practiced with Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Jack Nicklaus, trying to soak up various aspects of their games.
But with every missed cut, the wunderkind began to look more like a one-hit wonder.
No worries.
"It was a big learning year,'' Baddeley said in a telephone
interview today upon arrival at Brisbane for the Australian PGA
Championship. "My all-around game is strong and I'm mentally
stronger. I learned to be patient, to always believe in yourself
and to keep working hard, because you know it's going to turn
around.''
It finally turned around in the tournament where it all started.
On Sunday, in his second event as a professional, Baddeley
joined Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Greg Norman as the only
back-to-back winners of the Australian Open. He was solid from
start to finish at Kingston Heath and defeated Robert Allenby, a
two-time winner on the PGA Tour this year.
A year ago, Baddeley became the youngest champion in the
Australian Open's 95-year history when he coolly delivered a
knockout punch to Norman and Colin Montgomerie, two of the most
revered names in international golf.
Baddeley could have turned pro that instant andcashed in from
endorsements by saying, "Hello, World,'' or even something less
dramatic like, "I'm turning pro.''
He elected to remain an amateur, however. He had a long-term
plan in mind.
Not long after his grandmother got him hooked on golf when he
was 12, Baddeley matter-of-factly told his father that his dream
was to play golf in America. Ron Baddeley, a former mechanic for
Mario Andretti, mapped out a unique curriculum for his son.
With a budget of about $30,000, Baddeley traveled America with
his caddie. He learned new courses, where to stay and eat, and how
to handle failure.
Even during the low times, however, Baddeley never lost sight of
his purpose.
"In the eyes of the media, they were quick to discount his
performance,'' said Paul Galli, his agent from Gaylord Sports
Management.
"The perspective was all lost,'' he said. "If you were to say
to any 18-year-old, 'You're going to go over to America for a year
as an amateur, play seven PGA Tour events and two majors, be paired
with Tiger for one of the majors, and on top of that throw in
practice rounds with Duval and Mickelson, then come back and see
where you are in a year's time' ... any young amateur would grab
that with both hands.''
Baddeley came back a better player.
He learned the importance of keeping the ball in the short
grass, especially on American courses where the rough is dense and
unforgiving. He knows that putting is everything. He is mentally
tougher from having his confidence tested like never before.
And he proved at Kingston Heath that he is no fluke, that there
was a reason Gary Player compared him favorably to a young
Nicklaus, and why five-time British Open champion Peter Thomson
said his swing was fundamentally better at his age than Woods.
"It was great to be able to throw away any doubt,'' Baddeley
said. "I'm not a one-hit wonder. I'm here to stay. I'm looking
forward to getting back over to America.''
He will not get an invitation to The Masters or an exemption to
the U.S. Open, but Baddeley can still play at least seven PGA Tour
events with hopes of making enough money to earn his card for the
2001 season.
Everyone will wonder about his potential until he can win in the
United States against the stiffest test that the PGA Tour provides.
"We understand he has to come back over,'' Galli said. "We
know he's got to do it on the toughest tour in the world, and
that's what he wants to be on. We're climbing a big mountain, and
we're going to continue to climb.''
Winning the Australian Open was a good start. And this time,
Baddeley had a $117,000 check to show for it.
