MacKenzie's play keeping his mind at ease

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Even for the average hack, it's probably the easiest tip in the book to execute.

Will MacKenzie moves within two strokes of the four-way logjam at the top of the leaderboard. (Getty Images)

When standing over a putt, keep your head still until after you have tapped the ball. Avoid the temptation to sneak a peek until the ball is well on its way. It doesn't take any degree of skill, just willpower.

A guy like Will MacKenzie, whose head has been on a highly caffeinated swivel his entire life, would need blinders to make it happen.

"It's like brain surgery," he said. "For me, it's really difficult."

Especially this week, when he has an eye on the prize, too.

The free-spirited MacKenzie matched the lowest score Saturday with a 6-under 66 in the third round of the Children's Miracle Network Classic, moving within two strokes of the four co-leaders, although half the battle for MacKenzie is usually against himself.

The player, who quit the game for several years after high school as he traveled the globe competing in X Games-type fare like snowboarding and kayaking, has described himself as fidgety. Squirrelly might also suffice.

"He's got a brain that goes 1,000 miles an hour," his psychologist, Gio Valiante said. That's a blessing and a curse. Payne Stewart was diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder late in life, but he learned how to manage it, if not use it to his advantage. Valiante said he doubts that MacKenzie has the same affliction, but it might be a close call.

MacKenzie isn't so sure, either. Last year, while working out at neighbor Camilo Villegas' house in Jupiter, Fla., he saw a copy of one of Valiante's books. Villegas has worked with the psychologist on his mental game since college, so Mackenzie thumbed through it and picked up the phone.

"It was classic Will," said Valiante, recalling their first conversation in mid-2008. "He says, 'Dude, I need some help. I am doing none of what you say in your book. None of it.'"

MacKenzie tends to mold into the moment, with no ingrained routines and prescribed thought processes, which not only makes him less robotic than every other tour pro, thank goodness, but probably less predisposed for success. Which is not so good.

Valiante says MacKenzie is so talented that he occasionally watches other players and absorbs their tendencies in a matter of minutes.

"He will see somebody like Charlie Wi doing the stack-and-tilt swing, and say, 'I like his action,' and try it," Valiante said. "Or he will see Adam Scott and try to swing it like that. I'm not sure he has a swing.

"He's a chameleon. He can do it so many different ways, he doesn't know what to do."

MacKenzie doesn't deny it, either. Even with two career wins under his belt, he's sort of winging it out there, like he's still on his snowboard, adlibbing freestyle moves.

"I like to see what people are doing, and if I can vibe off it, if I can figure it out, if I can do something they are doing to help me, I like to use it," he said. "To my detriment."

MacKenzie changes his routines as fast as he switches out golf balls. Which truly speaks volumes about his skill levels. Valiante is the sports psychologist for several other tour players as well as the Orlando Magic, and recently had Superman center Dwight Howard in his office for a couple of hours of sports chat, and says you might be surprised at who he considers the better athlete.

"I will go on record -- I have worked with NBA players, wake boarders, golfers," Valiante said. "He's by far the best athlete on the PGA Tour. He's not a recreational snowboarder or kayaker. He's world class."

If he could dial down his tendency to be a shade over-stimulated, he might kick some posterior out here, too. At least, more frequently.

True story: Willie Mac, as he is known to practically everybody on tour, was in the Disney interview room Thursday and answering a question when his attention strayed to the TV set nearby. In midsentence, if not mid-thought, he interjected, "Is that Tim Herron?"

Hilariously, he had just told everybody how Valiante had suggested that he take Ritalin, because MacKenzie's brain is akin to an AM radio station on scan mode -- skipping all over the place, practically jumping music genres and languages.

"He can add some structure, to my pre-shot routine and get me believing in my abilities," MacKenzie said. "But half the time I am not listening to him."

As a result, Willie Mac has had a wilder ride this year than Fannie Mae. He's exempt for next year because he won in Mississippi last year to secure a card through 2010, but has skidded into the season finale at No. 131 on the money list. He has missed six of the last seven cuts.

"It's terrible," he laughed. "I've been hacking this year. It's embarrassing."

Even during his third-round 66, during which he hit all 18 greens in regulation, he could not resist taking a look at his putts.

"I love to see that ball rolling," he said.

If he wins Sunday, he might really be driven to distraction.