Struggling Steven Bowditch not making excuses

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In most cases, the line of questioning affords the previous year's winner an opportunity to walk down memory lane, reliving the victory with a wistful smile on his face. Every once in a while, though, the discussion turns gloomier. Two months ago, for example, Matt Every sat down in the interview room at Bay Hill and explained that since his second straight victory at Arnold Palmer's event, he'd been suffering from periodic blackouts during his swing.

Then there's the curious case of Steven Bowditch.

The 32-year-old Australian earned his second PGA Tour title at last year's AT&T Byron Nelson, leading to a whirlwind world tour that included a berth on the International team at the Presidents Cup and entries into the fields at major championships and WGC events.

And yet, when he returned Tuesday afternoon to the same interview room where he celebrated his win a year ago, various forms of a single question permeated the dialogue: What's wrong with you?

There's certainly validity to that inquiry. In 15 appearances this season, Bowditch has made just seven cuts. His lone top-25 finish came in a limited winners-only field. He's posted as many rounds in the 80s -- nine -- as the 60s. His scoring average of 74.58 ranks 196th of the 197 players eligible.

"I haven't been playing well," he admitted matter-of-factly.

To his credit, Bowditch answered all of the questions about his recent futility. Even further to his credit, he offered explanations while carefully clarifying that they weren't excuses.

There's the wrist injury -- a combination of tendonitis and cysts -- that he's been dealing with for the past three or four years. At one point, it was hurting him so much that he knew he shouldn't continue playing, but he desperately wanted to qualify for the WGC-Dell Match Play event. He didn't.

Then there's the teeth -- and get ready to cringe. Starting in February, Bowditch underwent a two-month period during which he endured five root canals and three tooth extractions. "It's something that I needed to get done," he explained. "My mouth was real bad at the end of last year."

He isn't blaming either of those physical ailments, though, for his poor performance this season. No, for that, he offered a simpler confession.

"It's just bad golf," he said. "Everyone knows the confidence that surrounds the game. I started working really hard on my golf swing. Shouldn't have. Not changing, just trying to get a little better and then that took away from my short game, which is really my strength.

"It has been the last couple of years and that's really deteriorated this year. You know, you can always hit bad shots and get away with it if you've got a good short game. It hasn't been there this year and once you don't get it up and down for par, all of a sudden the momentum swings."

He then paused briefly and set the record straight about placing blame: "No excuses, just bad form."

There's always been a bit of a slippery slope when discussing Bowditch's on-course deficiencies. Early in his professional career, he dealt with depression. The by-product of this disease reared its ugly head as a 22-year-old during his rookie season a decade ago, when his results looked like an alphabet soup amalgam, with 13 MCs, four DQs and three WDs.

He doesn't often speak about this part of his life, at least not publicly. For whatever it's worth, on this day, even through the inquisition about his poor play, Bowditch appeared relaxed, his easy smile befitting a man who is happy in his own skin, if not altogether pleased with his golf game.

"We have a great team around me," he said. "They're the reason I'm here. We got to keep trusting in what we're doing and hopefully it will turn around."

That's a positive outlook at a place where he has plenty of positive vibes. Bowditch married his wife, Amanda, here on property in 2011, and still lives in nearby Flower Mound, Texas. This was a special venue for him even before last year's victory and all of the spoils that followed.

All of which could have left him exasperated by the questions about his performance since then.

Instead, he just smiled and answered every one of them.

"I expect it," he explained. "I deserve it. I'm playing terrible, so that's what I get."