Round 3: Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial

Kris Blanks, who just made the turn three strokes off the pace, may not be a household name. But he is quietly having a solid season with two top-five finishes already.

And Blanks would be the first to give some of the credit to his partnership with caddy A.J. Eathorne, who played a decade on the LPGA Tour. 

"She has been a breath of fresh air over the past six months now," Blanks said. 

Blanks met her through a mutual friend, NHL Hall of Fame goalie Grant Fuhr, last year during the Frys.com Open. Turns out Eathorne is from British Columbia, as is Blanks’ wife, Tami, who is five years older.

"Funny because A.J. actually looked up to my wife as a junior golfer," Blanks said. "My wife was the best junior golfer in British Columbia until A.J. came along and broke all of her records. So they kind of knew each
other, which actually helped out a lot.

"It’s not every day you go home and tell your wife you’re going to have a female caddy on the road."

The partnership has been a good one. Blanks finished second in Puerto Rico and tied for fifth at the Verizon Heritage — already doubling his top-10 total from his rookie season in 2009. So why has it worked so well?

"She has done what I’m trying to do," Blanks said. "She has played in majors. She has almost won tournaments out there. She knows when I need a pep talk. She knows when to just let me go. When she says something, I tend to listen a little bit better just because I know. …

"Or her words of encouragement are, you know, a little more validated than somebody else, maybe that’s just because she has been out here for a while. She is a great caddy that knows her numbers. She knows what I’m thinking. She has been where I am at. She knows I don’t need a rah-rah speech when I do go off on a tangent and start getting down on myself.

"She lets me go and then says okay, that’s enough. I usually go for a couple of more minutes because I want to have the last word. That’s just our relationship. So it’s definitely been a breach of fresh air and something that I definitely needed."