By Ron Kroichick
September 20, 2017 Updated: September 20, 2017 4:34pm
Most of this week’s phone interview with Scott McCarron made perfect sense. McCarron talked about his wild success on the Champions Tour, his fondness for Pebble Beach and trying to keep pace with ageless Bernhard Langer.
Along the way, McCarron dropped a name out of the blue, out of another sport, out of short left field: Buddy Biancalana.
This might not resonate for golf fans, but it probably does for those of a certain age who follow baseball. Biancalana was a scrappy shortstop from Marin County who spent parts of six seasons in the major leagues and played spectacularly in helping the Kansas City Royals win the 1985 World Series. And now, as it turns out, he’s helping McCarron enjoy a renaissance on the golf course.
McCarron also has Northern California roots. He was born in Sacramento, lived in Danville for a time as a kid and attended Vintage High in Napa. Then he went off to UCLA and stitched together a solid PGA Tour career, with three victories and more than $12 million in earnings. He largely vanished from the scene in his mid-40s, as many solid tour pros do. But he was primed and ready to join the PGA Tour Champions when he turned 50 in July 2015 and has won six times in 53 starts since then.
McCarron stands No. 2 on this year’s money list, behind only Langer, entering the Pure Insurance Championship (previously known as the First Tee Open) starting Friday at Pebble Beach. Langer and McCarron have separated themselves from the pack, easily the two best players in the 50-and-older crowd.
So what got into McCarron? Well, he’s smacking tee shots long and straight (sixth on tour in driving distance, averaging 295.6 yards). His putting has been great (third on tour). And Biancalana helped McCarron unclutter his mind. McCarron, now 52, described Biancalana as a sports psychologist, essentially, and characterized his guidance as “abstract thinking.” McCarron figures his body knows what to do, after a lifetime of hitting golf balls, and his mind just needed to stay out of the way. “It’s about letting your mind be quiet and allowing your body to do what it’s supposed to do,” McCarron said. Biancalana, who has worked with athletes in several sports, clearly has made an impact on McCarron.
Scott McCarron, PGA Senior Tour