Crane revels in a special round on a favorite course

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The small greens at TPC Sawgrass can be a confidence builder -- if you?re hitting good approach shots, said Ben Crane.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Three of his last four tournaments have been what Ben Crane called "trunk slammers."

Inside the Numbers

Crane thru 18 Holes

Category Total Rank Eagles 0 N/A Birdies 9 1 Pars 7 T129 Bogeys 2 T89 Double Bogeys 0 N/A Other 0 N/A Driving Accuracy 57.1% T82 Driving Distance 294.0 yds. T34 Greens in Regulation 66.7% T43 Putts per Round 22.0 1 Putts per GIR 1.250 1 Sand Saves 50.0% T37

Crane probably doesn't stow his clubs away with the same authority as those golfers in the movie "Dead Solid Perfect," though. He isn't the type to stomp off with a few choice words or otherwise beat himself up over a missed cut.

"I think when I trunk slam it, so to speak, it's more of -- why is it happening, what can I do to change it?'" Crane said.

And that's exactly what he did Thursday during the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship. Crane fired a career-low 7-under 65 at TPC Sawgrass to seize a one-stroke lead over John Mallinger, Richard S. Johnson and Alex Cejka.

"It was one of those rounds that you just live for when you're a golfer," Crane said. "And I had one today at one of my favorite courses and tournaments of all times."

Of course, Crane needed a pep talk from his instructor, Greg Rose, first because he had become extremely focused on making the perfect swing. Crane was talking form and function at every opportunity and sending Rose videos of his practice sessions.

"He got mad at me and said, look, you need to play golf," he said. "Stop worrying about your swing. Stop worrying about your technique. And I was able to just maintain the same swing thought for the course of a few days which was good for me and just relax."

Crane and his caddy also spent some extra time analyzing THE PLAYERS Stadium Course this week -- not unlike Phil Mickelson does at the major championships. They talked pin positions and plotted the best spots in the fairway to approach those flags.

"It was really the first time we've ever strategized that way," Crane said. "And it saved us some shots, which was really exciting."

Crane's putter did, too. He took just 22 putts -- which ranked first in the field -- and made nine birdies while dropping only two strokes to par. Twice on the back nine, his first of the day, Crane made consecutive birdies and he had four straight on the front, as well.

Crane birdied three of the Stadium's four par 5s -- chipping to 6 and 4 feet and 12 inches. His other birdie putts came from 23, 6, 30, 12, 31 and 25 feet. All in all, he holed putts of 171 feet, 8 inches and "that's close to a record, for sure, for me," Crane said.

Even more startling, he also had 14 one-putts -- which tied the most by any player in the last 25 years of THE PLAYERS Championship.

"This is definitely one of the better putting rounds of my career, and those greens out there are immaculate," Crane said. "They're in perfect shape, and I played in the afternoon, so I've already had a whole wave go through there, and the greens are resilient and still just so true.

"You get some of those downgrain putts and it just rolls like it's on the hood of your car, just so smooth going out there. It's beautiful to watch that, these balls roll."

Crane says the small greens on Pete Dye's most diabolical creation can be a confidence builder -- if you're hitting good approach shots. Just get it on the putting surface and you feel like you have a chance.

"You always go, okay, two cups outside right," Crane said. "And how often do you, from 30 feet ... do you actually start it there and then the read is correct? And that happened a number of times today.

"You just smile. You're like, yeah, this is why I play golf right here."

And Crane always knew he wanted to play on the PGA TOUR. He was hardly a phenom -- he didn't even have a scholarship to play golf at Baylor before he transferred to Oregon where he got his degree in sociology -- but hard work has been the key.

"I've prided myself on just chipping away at it and improving a little bit each year,' Crane said. "... I think I'm a product of a lot of different (instructors) and by the grace of God here I am living my dream. I've got the greatest job in the world."

Crane turned pro in 1999 and spent two seasons on the Nationwide Tour before earning his TOUR card. A two-time winner on TOUR, Crane also battled back problems off and on for three years, and was limited to just nine events in 2007.

As a result, the devout Christian has earned a dose of perspective that allows him to gently close that trunk -- rather than slam it -- when things get going bad.

"I like to say I'm not beating anyone up or beating myself up too bad," he said. "I feel like, just, again, just trying to let God tell his story.

"And I feel like in my life I've learned the most through the toughest times and the times, when my back was hurting, I didn't know if I'd ever play golf again. And through that came the greatest appreciation for me to be playing out here and how much of a privilege it is and honor just to be in this tournament."