Champ doesn’t feel any pressure

Adam Candee

Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2003 | 9:34 a.m.

Pressure? What pressure?

Considering what Phil Tataurangi has endured both on the golf course and on the operating table in the past two years, it it easy to understand how he shrugs at the idea of feeling a burden to defend his title at the Las Vegas Invitational.

"I don't think there will be any pressure," Tataurangi said in a phone interview.

Tataurangi's pressure is more clearly defined by fighting to gain Tour exempt status and enduring both heart and back surgery -- all of which he has successfully done since the beginning of the 2002 season.

The back surgery is the most recent challenge for Tataurangi, a New Zealand native who returned to action at the Buick Open in early August after missing three months to correct a problem that nagged him for more than a year. Not only did the back issues prevent Tataurangi from playing during the middle of this year, but they also forced him to change his routine throughout the previous year.

"I had to be very careful to look at my preparation and the amount of tournaments played in a row," Tataurangi said.

Tataurangi, 31, finally decided he'd had enough in May, after missing four cuts in his first nine starts of the 2003 season. Thankfully for Tataurangi, earning his first career win at last year's LVI (formerly the Invensys Classic) gave him a two-year exemption. He sits in 128th on the money list this year with $354,083 in earnings.

"Last year came right out of the blue for me with playing well at Vegas," Tataurangi said.

Tataurangi scorched TPC at Summerlin with a final round of 10-under 62 to surge past Saturday leader David Duval and become one of 18 first-time winners on tour in 2002.

"After the tournament last year, obviously everything was crazy," Tataurangi said. "I was able to share the victory with friends and family almost immediately after."

Such chances are ones to savor for Tataurangi, who went through heart surgery just months before his win in Las Vegas. In July 2002, Tataurangi underwent surgery to repair a condition called superventricular tachycardia, which produces a rapid heartbeat that quickly appears and disappears, mimicking a heart attack.

The recovery is much simpler for Tataurangi these days, as he prepares for the World Golf Championships in Ohio this week. He is nursing his back to health, slowly working his way back from the surgery and pacing both his practice and playing schedule.

It is the same patience that helps Tataurangi over a five-day, 90-hole grind alongside amateurs in Las Vegas' pro-am format.

"Whenever you play more than four rounds, you've got to have a change in your mindset," Tataurangi said. "You just kind of get to pacing yourself, really."

The LVI is scheduled for Oct. 6-12, to be played at TPC at Summerlin, TPC at The Canyons, and Southern Highlands.