Garrett Willis May Regain His Reputation at Heritage

Garrett Willis May Regain His Reputation at Heritage

The Heritage, a PGA Tour fixture since 1969, is facing an uncertain future. It does not have a title sponsor, something both tour and event organizers called essential for remaining on the schedule.Willis used a run of six straight birdies Golf Is Often Belonging To Young Man to shoot a 7-under 64 on Thursday and grab a one-shot lead in the suspended first-round at Harbour Town Golf Links, which features seven of the world's top 20 golfers — many within striking distance of the top.Willis, who's only PGA Tour victory came in his first event at Tucson 10 years ago, is confident he can rise to the challenge.It has been a struggle for Willis to keep his pro career going at times since his fast start. He fell to 228th on the PGA Tour money list in 2005 and regained his playing privileges in 2009 with a 12th-place finish on the Nationwide Tour money list.The putting problems surfaced this season. Willis has made only two cuts in eight tournaments, shooting 78-78 last week for an early exit in the Texas Open. He's 177th in the tour's putting rankings and has gotten fed up with giving away strokes on the green.Willis was on a full-out search for a winning replacement putter this week. He brought four putters with him, had three more made at Harbour Town and had his father ship in three more. Willis was ready to go with a belly putter he used in Tuesday's practice round and in warmups before his starting time. Suddenly, Willis' resolve disappeared and "Old Faithful" was back.Garrett Willis may have regained his putting touch at The Heritage. He'll need it with some of the world's best trying to chase him down.