CHASKA, Minn. — Tiger Woods’ loss to YE Yang at the 2009 PGA Championship was astonishing in that it was the first time Woods had lost a major after leading for 54 holes. Also astonishing was the manner in which he lost it – by missing one crucial 10-foot putt after another at Hazeltine National.

If you watch the final round of the PGA again, you’ll notice that Woods missed putts within 10 feet on holes 1, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17 and 18. What do they all have in common? Each time, Woods missed the high side of the hole. After almost all of them, Woods could be seen gesturing that he was surprised the putts didn’t break more often.

Interestingly, players at the U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National this week are also finding that many of their putts are going too high and not breaking as much as expected.

“I feel like a lot of people overestimate a lot of putts,” said Garrett Engle, a senior from Chattanooga whose unprecedented grip helped him to a marathon victory in Wednesday’s round of 64. World-ranked amateur Luke Clanton, who also won his opening match, agrees that the greens don’t break as much as players think.

Tim Hanline, who has been a member at Hazeltine for about four years and is volunteering this week, says it’s not just golfers new to the course who are confused. Hanline noted that members often struggle because they play with too much break. He noted that Hazeltine’s caddies regularly recommend only half as much break as Hanline initially sees.

What’s going on here? It turns out that this is more than just a big coincidence and that there are a few factors at play here that we can all learn from.

First, as we recently reported in a Golf Digest Happy Hour with PGA Tour putting coach Ralph Bauer, putts on fast greens break more often than those on slow greens because of the “lower initial velocity of the ball. Gravity has a greater influence,” Bauer said.

While that suggests players would miss shots too low on fast greens like Hazeltine, which score around 13 on the Stimpmeter, Bauer says that’s not necessarily the case.

“One of the cool things I’ve found is that if you hit two putts equally hard — one high and one low — the lowest one rolls out a lot farther,” he said during happy hour. “The high putt fights the hill and doesn’t roll out as far. The lowest one finds the hill and rolls out. Both putts can be hit at the same speed, but there can very easily be a foot difference depending on which line you take.”

On greens as punishing as Hazeltine’s, the penalty for a putt that lands on the low side of the hole can mean the difference between a tap-in and a three-foot slider. Top players know this, so they try to play the highest line possible.

“I think it’s because it’s so fast that you play it so high to let it sink in, and sometimes that doesn’t happen,” Clanton said.

In addition, Engle has noticed that the greens are so fast that sometimes the balls slide on the surface instead of rolling. During this sliding phase, he believes the ball does not break as much.

“I think because they’re so fast, a lot of people tend to slide when they hit the ball rather than breaking and catching the break. On fast greens, you often slide a lot,” he said.

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with missing a high-side putt – in fact, as stats gurus like Scott Fawcett preach, speed is far more important than line when putting. Combine this with Bauer’s findings on low-side putts rolling out more, and it’s clear why players try to play as much break as possible.

However, on shorter putts inside 10 or 15 feet, where three-putts are rare, judging too much break could prove costly later this week in the U.S. Amateur. While the strategy might work on lag putts, players will need to adjust their eyes and play a little less break on the shorter putts.