Price a work in progress on tour

There was a time in Nick Price’s life where nothing came before golf and his No. 1 ranking in the world was evidence of his single-mindedness.

Price was No. 1 in the world for 43 weeks during a period of time between 1993-1994 and only five golfers have been atop the World Golf Rankings longer.

With 18 victories on the PGA Tour and another 24 worldwide, Price was definitely one of the golfers that was considered to be dominant on the Champions Tour.

But Price struggled his last few years on the PGA Tour and in his third year on the Champions Tour all he has to show for it is two second-place ties, including a heartbreaking finish at the Fed Ex Kinko’s Classic.

“I haven’t won a tournament since 2002,” said Price, who is tied for 31st after two rounds at the 15th annual Toshiba Classic. “The longer you’re away, the harder it is to come back. I’m trying not to think about winning. Everyone is sort of talking to me, ‘Oh, you should be cleaning up out there.’ Well, it’s obviously not that easy out here.”

While confidence begets winning, losing begets depression and Price’s confidence plummeted.

“Golf is a strange game,” Price said. “No two days are ever the same. You have to be a chameleon out here and be able to adjust. The only thing that really stays a constant is the condition of your game. That’s one of the things that, you know, I think I did so well when I was playing well and I’ve got away from doing.”

His comeback is a work in progress, but he has worked harder on his game and is seeing the results.

He tied for 21st at his first event of the year and then was tied for seventh last week. Now he’s at one-under and will try to crack into the top 10 for the second consecutive week.

“I’m getting more and more confident and more and more self-assured out on the golf course,” Price said. “Hopefully one of these days something is going to fall into place and I’m going to win one. Hopefully the flood gates will break.”

Price thought last year in Texas was going to be the week. He had a three-stroke lead going into the 15th hole.

“I only had a 60-degree sand wedge to the hole, and the pin was cut on the front right-hand portion of the green,” Price said. “There’s a tree that overhangs the front right-hand portion of the green. I knew it was the right distance, but on the way down it caught the back end of the tree and kicked back 25, 30 yards and went into the water hazard short.”

Price shot 75 that day and watched his confidence erode even further. An off-season of working on his game, though has brought more confidence back.

“I know that if I can play at a standard, then winning will take care of itself,” Price said. “I’m not even thinking about winning. I’m trying to get my golf game to a level where I know that it doesn’t really matter which course I play on or which field I play against out here, I’m going to win.”