GOLF / THOMAS BONK : Azinger’s Rally an Awakening

For those pro athletes who feel invincible, who think it will never end, listen to Paul Azinger.

“We all think we’re in control of our lives, but we’re not,” Azinger said.

Eight months after learning he had a cancerous tumor, it may be that Azinger, 34, now has a better understanding of his life.

He has completed radiation treatments and an out-patient surgical procedure to remove a fatty tumor in his shoulder.

“I’m encouraged, I’m cured,” he said.

“I’m thankful when I wake up and can see the ceiling. A lot of people take sight for granted.”

Azinger is planning to resume his career in the PGA Championship Aug. 11-14 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa.

“I probably wouldn’t have targeted the PGA for my return if I wasn’t the defending champ,” he said.

There had been speculation that Azinger might start his comeback last week in the New England tournament, which he also won last year, but the surgery set him back three weeks.

Azinger did stop by Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton, Mass., to say hello. For the rest of his life, he said, he will know how fortunate he has been.

“I’m eternally grateful to those who went before me,” Azinger said. “Lymphoma kills.

“I’ve realized how easy it is to lift someone’s spirits by just writing or saying something. I’ve got a new calling--I need to be an inspiration to people. I have a chance to reach out.”

As for his golf game, Azinger has been spending a lot of time with clubs in his hands.

“If I don’t chip good, it’s not because of lack of practice,” he said. “My swing isn’t pretty, but it repeats.”

Azinger said he hit his first 3-irons, 3-woods and drivers last Tuesday. He said he didn’t hit them very well, but hit them hard and felt no discomfort.

“I have no pain in my shoulder whatsoever,” he said.

Asked how he thinks he will perform on the course, Azinger said he has learned a lot about expectations.

“I feel like I’ll be as competitive as ever,” he said. “I know initially it will be tough to concentrate with all the attention.”

Maybe, but for inspiration, all Azinger has to do is look at himself.

*

High Price: How confident was Nick Price in his putting at the British Open?

Apparently a lot more than he was in June at the U.S. Open, where he put five putters in his bag. At Turnberry, Price had only one.

*

More Price: For what it’s worth, Price finished 35th at the Masters and missed the cut in the U.S. Open, the two previous major events this year.

*

It’s mental, right? What percentage of golf is physical and what percentage is mental?

“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” said Patrick J. Cohn, a sports psychologist in Naples, Fla.

“You ask any player, if you’ve got a good swing, it’s 80% mental,” he said.

Cohn is part of an expanding breed of golf helpers in the clinical field, even if his clinic is the golf course. He works with PGA Tour players Trevor Dodds, Grant Waite and Kelly Gibson and consults with golfers on the LPGA, Nike and Asian tours.

Cohn, who earned a doctorate in sports psychology at the University of Virginia and taught the subject at Miami of Ohio and North Texas, is the author of two books, “The Mental Game of Golf” and “Mind Power Putting.”

The key to staying on top of your golf game is to maintain your confidence, Cohn said, adding: “Players need to learn to accept mistakes and be a little more kind to themselves,” he said.

Cohn said golfers who doubt the value of a sports psychologist might be confused by his job label.

“When some people hear psychologist, they think we are shrinks and analysts,” he said. “I’m just another person on the support team. I’m the mental coach.”