By Nick Totten, europeantour.com
At Zhailjau Golf Resort
Everyone in and around the world of golf knows all too well about the struggles Oliver Wilson has had on the course in the past few seasons, but the former Ryder Cup star showed a glimpse of his true talent in the second round at the Kazakhstan Open thanks to a call from a close friend.
His 63 at Zhailjau Golf Resort moved the Mansfield born man into second place on the leaderboard heading into the weekend at eight under par, and he had two-time European Tour winner Robert Rock to thank after a few choice words the night before.
What was said is not known, but the results certainly cannot be ignored, as Wilson carded the lowest competitive score to par of his professional career.
Any player can get a piece of luck, a little rub of the green that perhaps has been missing from the Englishman's game in recent years, but two perfect shots saw him get off to the ideal start on Friday as he holed out a wedge for an eagle on the first, a feat he swiftly followed by knocking it to a foot on the next.
Three under through two holes is enough to lift anyone’s spirits, but it certainly was no guarantee of future success over the closing 16 holes of his second round. He need not have worried though, as he carded seven further birdies, only to close with a bogey on the last which – while disappointing – could not take the shine off an exemplary day’s play.
Golf is a game that has little time for reputation, and can certainly be a cruel mistress, so it is important that any little victories are celebrated, and hopefully, built upon. His course record equalling turn in Kazakhstan may have been a pleasant distraction from his previous play this season, but it is important that Wilson continues this upturn in fortune.
Whether that comes in Kazakhstan, in the final weeks of the season, or in the months to come, one thing is certain – everyone was pleased to see the him back to somewhere near his best, especially the man himself.
“I’ve actually been playing nicely the past couple of months,” said the 34 year old, who entered the week outside the top 100 on the European Challenge Tour Rankings. “In practice it has been good, but in tournaments I’ve been rubbish. The last couple of months I’ve been in a bit of a transition, as I have spent the past two years hitting driver off the deck, just trying to get it in play, and this is not the kind of course where you can do that.
“I have been teeing it up now for two months, but we play some pretty tight courses out here, so it is hard to put rounds together when you are doing that but don’t have a lot of confidence in it, especially in the wind. That is really why I have not been putting the results in.
“If I went back to hitting it off the deck from the tee I feel like I’d certainly be making cuts, and even getting into contention. For my long term development though I need to progress, so I am rebuilding everything, and it has been improving and good in practice but my swing is not quite where I want it.
“I actually had a call from friend back home, which gave me some things to think about last night, and it worked, so hopefully I will carry on like that.
“I emailed some swings to Robert Rock as I have been trying to help him with is putting, and him with my long game. He gave me a few different things to work on, and it felt a little bit more like the old feelings of swinging today, I just needed to trust it.
“The shot pattern completely changed and the compression of the ball was different, plus it eliminated the left side. That gave me a feeling, but I’ve had a lot of people helping me and trying to get me back on track, it has just been that the swing is not consistent enough.”
He makes a good point, as when it comes to golf consistency has always been King, with the key to success as a professional the ability to know where the ball is going to go on any given day and managing that as best you can to post the lowest score possible.
There is no doubting the talent of Wilson, you just have to look at his career to this point – with the exception of perhaps the past two seasons – to see that he is a player of immense ability, and one that given half a chance could well play his way back on to The European Tour someday.
Keep this form up and that could be sooner than perhaps anyone expected, with a win this week a virtual guarantee of a berth on the starting grid when the 2015 Race to Dubai gets under way. The Englishman is keen to temper his expectations though, as he tries to conjure up the thoughts and feelings that saw him perform with such aplomb on day two in Kazakhstan.
“This is a big week for us so I could not afford to miss the cut as I have done nothing all year, so at least I’m in there with a shout over the weekend,” said Wilson, who has a best finish this season of a tie for 17th at the Barclays Kenya Open. “I’m not really expecting anything, but I had a good week here last year (a tie for fifth). I know I’m capable, I just need a feeling to get it round the course and build some confidence, and that is what happened today.
“There’s quite a lot of scar tissue in there that I’m playing through at the moment, but when I go and shoot a round like that it gives me the reassurance to know that as bad as it has been, it is not that far away.
“I just need to keep working on the swing and get it a little more consistent, a little bit tighter, and then I can go out and shoot some good scores. The short game is good, the head is pretty good, it is just a technical thing.”
