This is not to say that the boys have the same game or are comparable in body or mind. Michael, at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds — known as “Big Putty” to his friends — can mash it off the tee, averaging 301.5 yards last season for 33rd place overall, while hitting a decent 72 percent of greens in regulation. The only thing holding him back from breaking into the top- 50 is his putting. Last season, Michael ranked 165th in total putting, 157th in strokes gained putting and 153rd in putts per round.
This is not breaking news. He knows what he needs to do and has been working with a putting coach this fall.
Andrew, at 6-1 and 170 pounds — known as “Little Putty” (older brother Joel Putnam, Michael’s caddy, has earned the “Silly Putty” moniker) — does not have the same distance off the tee but may have a steadier overall game. His issue this year is adjustment. He’s playing with the big boys now, with little margin for error. These guys are good; he needs to match that.
“Lots of these guys have played these courses 15 years in row with the pins in the same places,” Andrew says. “It’s hard being a rookie, competing against guys who are basically playing on their home courses. I show up Monday and play two practice rounds to see the course. The veterans show up Wednesday and they’re ready to go. It’s more challenging the first year. I have to keep up with the learning curve.”
But as Curt Byrum alluded to, Andrew has a ‘bro-vantage’ that most other rookies never had. This is where selflessness pop up, a sort of sibling altruism. Michael has seen all these courses. He understands the the specific course management. He wants to win, but the best scenario is for Andrew to finish second.
“A lot of the courses are new for him. This is my fourth or fifth year,” Michael says. “I can definitely help with a lot of strategic things, help him learn the courses without having to go through the mistakes I made. How to get up and down, when to be aggressive, when to be safe, be more patient.”
Michael can help off the course as well, with the right hotels, restaurants, time management and travel schedule. In fact, with a large South Sound contingent, including Moore (Puyallup), Gonzales (Olympia), Troy Kelly (Tacoma), Kyle Stanley (Gig Harbor), older brother Joel and Andrew’s caddie Johnny McArthur, “It’s like having a family traveling to the same events. That’s huge,” Andrew says.
“Life on the PGA Tour, with all the hotels and stops, you’re doing your own thing. You’re kind of alone,” he continues. “We create a community of people hanging out. We bring home with us.”
Gonzales and the Putnams are regulars at Tacoma’s Meadow Park Golf Club between weeks on Tour, with Michael returning this past September to play alongside amateurs in the 2014 Tacoma Open. The “Home Team” players, as they’ve been called, also have a common background and common interest in the local sports teams, particularly the Seahawks. In fact, Michael and his buddies have taken in a couple Seahawks road games, against San Francisco last year and San Diego this year. Both losses.
“I’ve been telling him to stop traveling,” Andrew says. “They lost each time. He needs to quit doing that.”
The Putnams also share are the same goals.
They both want to win; Michael came close last season with a fourth-place finish at the RBC Canadian Open. They both want to improve from week to week. They both want to retain their cards, which means earning around $750,000 in 30 or so tournaments. They both want to qualify for the FedEx Cup and they both want to play in all four majors, particularly the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, the University Place course less than a mile from Michael’s home.
For them, however, it’s not a singular effort. They’re not alone. They’re doing this together — same tour, same courses, same hotels and inevitably, same pairing.
“The USGA tends to pair up special groups,” Andrew says. “Maybe it’ll be us at the U.S. Open at Chambers.”
Bob Sherwin is a veteran of The Seattle Times and The New York Times, a frequent contributor to Cascade Golfer, and the co-publisher of GolfersWest.com. He last wrote about the Boeing Classic in the June 2014 issue of Cascade Golfer.