Teen dreams loom as reality for grown-up Baddeley

After winning two straight Australian Opens as a youngster, Aaron Baddeley imagined himself on golf's biggest stages. It took him longer than he expected, but he'll tee off Sunday hoping to show that both he and his game are fully mature.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents

OAKMONT, Pa. -- Aaron Baddeley says he watched so much golf when he was growing up in Australia that he could tell you what players were wearing, as well as what they shot.

"I just loved golf. I loved watching the majors," the soft-spoken 26-year-old said. "I taped them and watched them over and over; I can even recite commentary from when Nick Price won."

So it was easy for Baddeley to imagine himself in exactly the position he's in right now -- holding a two-stroke advantage over Tiger Woods entering Sunday's final round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont.

Baddeley shot his second straight 70 to finish 54 holes at 2 over and take his spot in the final pairing with the game's No. 1 player. He finished with a flourish on Saturday, too -- calmly rolling in a 12-footer for birdie on the demanding 18th hole.

"I'm going to enjoy it," Baddeley said. "Tiger is the best player in the field, but I feel like I'm playing well. My swing is good. I hit a lot of nice shots today, and I do feel great with the putter."

Baddeley seized a share of the lead he would not relinquish with a trio of birdies on the first four holes of the back nine. He promptly gave two strokes back, though, when he couldn't get up and down from greenside bunkers at Nos. 15 and 16.

Woods was closing fast, and Baddeley's troubles continued when he hit his tee shot on the grassy slope of a fairway bunker at the 17th hole. Disaster loomed as Baddeley stood in the bunker and took a modified baseball swing -- but somehow, someway, the ball scooted up onto the green.

"I was really happy to make par on 17, just hitting in that lie," Baddeley said. "When I saw that lie I wasn't worried about it. If I hit it in the fairway, I wouldn't be in that position. I was just like, let's get it up the left side and make a par."

Baddeley's playing partner, Justin Rose, who starts Sunday three strokes off the lead, was impressed by the two-time PGA TOUR champ's determined performance.

"He's very composed," the Englishman said. "I think, obviously, we realize that everyone is making mistakes, and when it's your turn -- which it will be -- you can't panic, and obviously, he didn't."

Baddeley has grown immensely since he won the Australian Open as an 18-year-old amateur -- beating his idol, Greg Norman, in the process -- and successfully defended his title the following year. He was brash, almost brazen then, talking opening about being the No. 1 player in the game.

He says now he may have been a little bit naive. Baddeley was, after all, a teenager, back then and besides, "I was just speaking with my heart," he said. When he didn't live up to the hype, though, he had to take the heat.

"I wouldn't say I'm answering my critics because I'm not playing golf to answer anyone," Baddeley said. "I'm playing golf because I love playing golf. I feel now my game is totally different. I feel like I'm a different person from back then. Yeah, I mean, it's night and day, the difference."

Baddeley got a rare special invitation to play in the Masters the year after he won his first Australian Open in 1999. He turned pro a year later, but didn't find a permanent place to play until 2002, when he finished 10th on the Nationwide Tour money list and earned his PGA TOUR card.

There was a time in 2000, though, when Baddeley actually considered quitting the game "because it was too hard," he said. His father said that was fine with him, but cautioned his son to be sure to follow his heart.

Baddeley started writing things down and eventually realized that golf was his passion, regardless of the frustrations. He left the David Leadbetter camp and began working with Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett, a pair of Mac O'Grady disciples, in the fall of 2005. Six months later, he won his first PGA TOUR event at Hilton Head.

"That does seem like a long time ago to be honest," said Baddeley. "What was it, eight years ago? ... I look at that time as probably the most important time of my life, those three or four years when I struggled. ...

"No. 1, my relationship with the Lord grew like beyond anything what I could imagine, which is the most important thing in my life; who I am as a person, my character, everything has developed and become stronger. I feel a lot wiser now because of all that and things I did wrong.

"And then I look back at that time, as well, and just say, if I didn't go through that, I wouldn't be sitting here today. I definitely wouldn't be sitting here right here right now leading a U.S. Open, if I don't go through that time of my life."

As luck would have it, Baddeley, who was mentored by Greg Norman and has recently sought the counsel of Jack Nicklaus, was on the 18th green when the last major was decided. Only this time, he was there to support his good friend Zach Johnson as he won the Masters.

Baddeley and his wife Richelle were at the home they were renting, watching the telecast as Johnson came to the 16th hole with the lead. They immediately jumped in the car and drove back to Augusta National to support the man Baddeley calls his "brother in Christ."

Unlike his victory at the Verizon Heritage, when he spoke at an Easter sunrise service, Baddeley won't attend church on Sunday morning. He does plan to read his Bible, as he does every morning, though, and pray.

"I always use one verse," Baddeley said. "I used it at Hilton Head, it's the 2 Timothy 1:7, it says, 'For God has given us a spirit of fear but power of love and a sound mind.' I constantly quote that verse to myself."

And then he'll come to Oakmont to try to realize the power of his game.