I now have a good chance of winning the MCI Heritage Classic, but success here in Hilton Head will not alter the decision to part ways with my caddie JP Fitzgerald.
We have had a great run together, but we both feel we are not getting the best out of each other so have decided to split up for a while and probably get back at some stage later this year.
JP will definitely be on the bag for the Irish Open, but apart from that it looks like Pete Coleman, who was with Bernhard Langer for many years, will be at my side this summer.
I have been friends with JP for 20 years, but had started to get very hard on him on the course and did not want to risk ruining that friendship.  Having said that, it was his suggestion that we take a break from one another.   When player and caddie are not getting the best out of each other then it is the only logical thing to do so we are parting amicably and I’m sure we will work together again.
As JP said to me: ‘We both badly need a break, but if we get back together there will be greater respect for one another’.
Probably the fact that we both know we are having a break from golf and one another after this week has made us more relaxed on the course.   That has reflected in my score because when I was I finished my second round with a five-under par 66 I was in second place behind Open champion Ben Curtis.
It’s amazing really because I have already had three double bogeys in 36 holes.  My occasional bad shots are causing a bit of water torture, but my chipping and putting have been very good so far.
I was a little fortuitous to say the least, but to finish four under for the last five holes has really put me in the tournament and my confidence can only improve because of it.
Despite the water hazards, I really feel happy and at home on this course and I can feel something special could happen this weekend.   It would be very nice to be able to give JP a winning send-off.