Mark Wilson has an effective short game

Mark Wilson has an effective short game

When Wilson demonstrates the speed of the green to a visitor, he first has to clear away a hodgepodge of toys. The gold Ping putters awarded to him after each of his professional victories are mounted on one wall; against another leans a Nerf basketball set.Just days before teeing it up in his first Masters Tournament at age 36, Wilson is Ryo Ishikawa Helps Japanese Victims not the least bit stressed about Augusta National, or anything else. He pads around the house in this upper middle-class Chicago suburb in his socks and a T-shirt, laughing easily and often.A few years ago, he might have been beating balls somewhere, obsessed with his mechanics, tinkering with his swing, fretting about one ball going offline.Freed at last by an acceptance of what and who he is, Wilson has soared to almost unimaginable heights on the PGA Tour. He has won twice already this year, leads the money list and the FedEx Cup points list, has risen to No. 47 in the world ranking, and last week, with a tie for ninth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, passed the $10 million mark in career earnings.Not bad for a guy who surprised himself - and just about everyone else - when he won the 2007 Honda Classic in his 111th career start. A lifelong grinder, Wilson described himself then as a "journeyman."He has won three times since, including the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Waste Management Phoenix Open earlier this year.