U.S. OPEN GOLF TOURNAMENT Pavin hopes to regain glory of '95 win

After his biggest win, Corey Pavin lost his touch, and is trying to find it.
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) -- Things sure have changed since Corey Pavin's last U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
For one, the mowers are set much higher when they roll over the spot where he launched that memorable 4-wood in 1995. What was once nice, smooth grass has been transformed into thick rough for this Open.
"I've been out there a couple of times goofing around, and it's a lot harder shot from the rough than it was from the fairway," Pavin said Monday.
Then again, even off the short grass, it's hard to envision the Pavin of today duplicating that shot, the one that became the signature of his only major title.
Clinging to a one-stroke lead going to No. 18, he lined the ball from 228 yards right at the pin. He trotted over the knoll to see where the ball came to rest -- about 6 feet from the hole. He missed the birdie putt, but it didn't matter.
Game fell apart
But, not long after the biggest win of his career, Pavin's game fell apart. He's been trying ever since to put it back together.
"I actually felt my game slipping in the second half of '96," said Pavin, 44, who has gone eight years without a win. "Really, for the most part since then, it's been very difficult. I haven't quite figured out what's going on and gotten my swing where I wanted it. I haven't played anywhere near the way I would like to."
Something happened since Pavin's last PGA Tour win, the 1996 Colonial. He plummeted from 18th to 169th on the money list the following year, and he's cracked the top 100 only once since (No. 70 in '99).
This year hasn't been much better. Pavin started out reasonably well, making the cut in his first six events and tying for 10th at Pebble Beach.
Since then, he's failed to make it to the weekend in four of six events, placing no better than 31st. As is usually the case with this finicky game, he's not quite sure what needs fixing.
"If I had figured it out, I'd be playing a lot better now," Pavin said. "It's been tough. I've worked hard. There's a lot of frustration, a lot of time I've put into it, and I'm hoping it'll pay off pretty soon."
Special week
Pavin's career was defined -- and literally divided -- by that special week on the links course where waist-high fescue flaps in the steady breezes.
Pavin still has vivid memories of what it was like to stand over the shot. Largely forgotten, he had been in a similar position two days earlier and put the ball on the green.
"I had a good visual in my mind," Pavin said. "I was very confident with that and just went through my routine, hit the shot. The second I hit it, I knew it was going to be good."
He didn't know it would be such a fleeting moment. Maybe that's why the memories came flooding back when he returned for another Open.
"It was a great day, a day I'll always remember the rest of my life," he said. "It will always be there, which is nice."