Danielle Kang had a brilliant time on the greens in Singapore on Friday, and promptly thanked legendary putter designer Scotty Cameron for his part.
After taking just 25 putts during her second-round nine-under 63, the six-time LPGA winner had no qualms in revealing just how the one-off flat stick developed from an idea into reality.
“It was really cool,” Kang explained, “because I had an idea. Then Mr Scotty Cameron sketched it out, and then all of a sudden my thoughts became real. He moulded them, and then we spent hours, and I think it took days for him to make these moulds.”
The 2017 Women’s PGA Champion told reporters she was involved in the actual making process too.
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“And then I was with him for seven hours straight, grinding them, making it, buffering, lie lofting. It was incredible for me to watch. And I absolutely love that putter. And people keep asking me what it is, and he stamped it ‘DK Special’ on the bottom, so that’s the name of it.”
The name ‘Scotty Cameron’ is synonymous with some of the most valuable clubs ever sold at auction.
15-time major winner, and golfing legend Tiger Woods, is among many that are regular ‘Scotty’ users, and recently one of his back-up Red Dot Scotty Cameron putters sold for over $325,000!
As for Kang, winner of the 2022 Tournament of Champions by three strokes from the subsequent champ Brooke Henderson, the last couple of seasons have not gone entirely to plan.
After coaching and caddie changes, she also had to fight off criticism for withdrawing from the Palos Verdes Championship. Kang later revealed the pain in her back to be a tumor on her spine.
Despite the recovery period, the victory plus six top-10 finishes were enough to see her finish in 14th place on the 2022 Race To The CME Globe, and this year has started steadily, if not spectacularly, with a run of 12/24/38 in her first three events.
The week at the HSBC Women’s World Championship should help though, with stats showing Kang missing just five fairways from 56, and making 58 from 72 greens.
Crucially, she backed up the second-round putting display with another on payday, having just 27 putts during a final round of 68, at least one less than the three that finished in front her – Jin Young Ko, Nellie Korda and Ayaka Furue.
Now in the top-10 for the season-long table, Kang knows where some of the credit should be laid: “My putter has been really hot for a while, so thank you, Mr Scotty. It’s working.”
