US PGA tips: Maintaining momentum is crucial

Yang celebrates his final birdie putt

Without taking anything away from Y E Yang becoming the first player to stop Tiger Woods winning a major when leading into the last round, the world No.1's Scotty Cameron Newport putter did not behave the way we have all been accustomed to expect. Maybe it's time he changed it for another model?

Tiger missed holeable putts on 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 and 18 yet throughout his
career he has always been able to find a way of making the important putts
down the stretch that give him momentum and deflate the hopes of his nearest rivals.

Week after week, Tiger has been faultless in his ability to hole the putts he has needed to win. Yesterday, the stroke looked as smooth as ever and the ball rolled sweetly off the face but just
kept sliding by the edges. Miss-reads or is this particular putter turning cold and he's lost confidence in it?

So what can we learn from seeing Tiger crumble on the greens?

Having started the third round with a commanding four shot lead, my belief is that Tiger
spent most of the weekend being defensive on a very tricky and demanding
golf course. However, this negative approach allowed the others to catch up
and in the end it was difficult for him to change gear and become positive
when he needed to.

Was this the moment Tiger lost his momentum

Momentum is a crucial factor in all sport and it's generally easier to
chase a leader than lead the pack because to chase needs the ability to be
positive and aggressive. Tiger will analyse what happened
yesterday and work out a way to prevent it happening again.

Yang, on the other hand, was positive and aggressive throughout the weekend. And did you notice his waggle-free approach before every fairway shot, similar to that of Vijay Singh which releases pre-shot tension? That approach to the last with a rescue club was top drawer.

Remember, if you want to reduce your scores, really work on your putting - I mean REALLY work on it! Don't just be satisfied with a few looseners while chatting to your mates before a round. Pay attention to your stroke; your commitment to the shot - and you will be hard to beat.

Keep the weight favouring the front foot, hands slightly ahead of the ball, focus on the gap between clubface and ball - and no peeking!