Edoardo Molinari has credited former World Number One Adam Scott for the dramatic change in his putting which has catapulted the Italian into contention at the D+D Real Czech Masters.
Molinari has admitted that he has struggled for consistency with the flat stick for a number of years and surprised many fans in Prague when he turned to the large putter on the tenth green at Albatross Golf Resort.
The three time DP World Tour winner, who is a Vice Captain for Team Europe at next month's Ryder Cup, was meant to be on a watching brief for the biennial event as he played alongside hopefuls Yannik Paul and Rasmus Højgaard on Thursday.
However, he burst into contention thanks to a flawless six under par 66 to sit three shots behind leader Sami Välimäki alongside Paul, fellow Ryder Cup hopeful Robert MacIntyre and India's Manu Gandas.
The 42-year-old holed one of the putts of the first round when he drained a 42 footer at the seventh for his sixth and final birdie on a day where his putting had markedly improved.
And now, Molinari has revealed that it was a chat with 2013 Masters Tournament winner Scott at the Genesis Scottish Open which inspired him to try out the longer putter.
"I’m very happy. Sometimes I’m usually rough when I’m coming back from a long break. I’ve just had four weeks, ball striking was okay, I would say, but I had a good day on the greens and a good score," Molinari said.
"It is a little bit hard, that’s why I played 18 holes on Tuesday and the Pro-Am this week, trying to get as much as possible on the course. Even today, a couple of loose swings, the mental commitment wasn’t there. Still half on holiday and half on the golf course – but it’s coming.
"I’ve been putting very poorly for the last four or five years. I tried everything, different putting coaches, putting methods, nothing worked.
"Thank god I had a good chat at the Scottish Open with Adam Scott, who I do some work with. We were having lunch and he said if I’m struggling on the greens I should try what he’s doing.
"Luckily the following week I went to Barracuda, I was 50-50 but decided to make the trip. On Monday I was putting, I picked up the long putter. I didn’t use it at first, but on Friday I just made the cut on the number; putting horribly again with the short one. I said ‘let’s see where we go’. The weekend at Barracuda, I didn’t make many putts but they were much better and I was much more confident.
"I spent some time with it at home and today it was fantastic. The confidence I have in the short ones, I went from being the last putter on the Tour inside six feet to probably one of the best, which helps everything else around the game.
"I wouldn’t call it a small change. I remember the first hole at Barracuda, when I had a four-footer, I thought ‘this could be either really good or really bad’. It worked and today it worked again.
"I’m still figuring out how to use it from mid to long range, my speed isn’t great yet. But I’m much more confident with the short ones, which helps a lot."
