Gary Christian - August 28, 2012

• By Morning Drive Team
• Aug 28, 2012 7:47 AM ET

Gary Christian is in his rookie season on the PGA TOUR and he made his FedExCup Playoff debut last week in The Barclays. Because he was unable to move from 111th into the top 100 in Points, his Playoff run is over.

On Saturday, Christian played with Tiger Woods in the 3rd round at Bethpage Black. It was an amazing experience to play with Tiger. He actually had to pinch himself to realize that he was really in that position in the 3rd round. Bethpage Black is a tough course and it was unfortunate that he was not able to get it done on the greens. Tiger is a perfect gentleman and to his surprise, they actually had conversations on various subjects on 10 or 12 holes. Even though he shot 77, he had a wonderful time and he even enjoyed hearing all of the things that the New York fans were shouting at him.

He has always considered himself a very good ball striker and he feels that that has been proven over the last few months. Unfortunately, his short game has been inconsistent at best and that has what has kept him from playing better and finishing better in tournaments. When his short game has been bad, he ends up losing about 2-3 shots per round and that makes the difference between making and missing the cut as well as playing in Boston and not playing there this week.

The courses on the PGA TOUR are a bit longer and a bit more penal than the courses on the Web.com Tour but the green speeds are surprising similar on both tours. When he played on the Web.com Tour, there were plenty of times when the greens were burned out and it felt as though he was putting on glass just like at The Barclays last weekend. That third round due to the crowds, the pressure, and the course conditions was probably the hardest round he has ever played.

He plays a number of hybrid clubs and on Saturday, he hit a hybrid from a downhill lie in a bunker to a green that was as hard as concrete. After that shot, Tiger let him know how impressed he was with that shot. Christian joked that he did not know whether Tiger was referring to his shot or his tight white pants.