Masters winner Trevor Immelman has set his sights on delivering four consistent rounds at this week’s U.S. PGA Championship after a season of fluctuating form.
In April the 28-year-old became the first South African to triumph at Augusta National since Gary Player in 1978 but he has also missed seven cuts in 17 starts on the 2008 PGA Tour.
“I need to try and find a bit more consistency for me to really feel like I can compete when the gun goes off,” Immelman told reporters at Oakland Hills Country Club on Tuesday. “My game is kind of coming and going right now.
“I’ve been working on trying to get it a bit more consistent but last week was like a typical week for me at this point, two really good rounds. I thought I had something going and then kind of a so-so round on Sunday.”
Immelman, who held off the challenge of world number one Tiger Woods to clinch his first major title at the Masters, tied for 36th at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday.
After battling to an opening 75, he charged into contention with a sparkling 64 before closing with rounds of 68 and 74.
“I felt like I was gaining on something but then came out on Sunday and sort of fell away a little bit again,” he said.
“That’s been disappointing. I would love to get to a point where the feelings don’t come and go so much.”
A double winner on the PGA Tour, Immelman believes his swing problems this season stem from the fact that he is naturally a left-hander.
“Being a left-handed person playing right-handed, I have some tendencies that tend to work against me in my golf swing when I’m not playing well,” he said.
“At that point, I start fighting those tendencies. It’s just something that I have to deal with and it’s about inconsistency. I don’t think I’m going to try and read anything into it.
“I’m just going to go work harder at it and try and find something that sticks. We’ll see how it goes. Hopefully it comes together come Thursday.”
Immelman is scheduled to tee off at 1.15 p.m. (1715 GMT) in Thursday’s opening round with British Open champion Padraig Harrington of Ireland and Argentina’s Angel Cabrera, winner of last year’s U.S. Open.
