An Unforgettable Week For Ogden

By David Shefter, USGA

Lebanon, Ohio – The biggest name before the 2005 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship commenced on July 11 was Michelle Wie. In fact, she arrived at Shaker Run Golf Club like a rock star.

Media members requested interviews the moment she arrived on property on July 9, a day after missing the cut by two strokes at the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic. The 15-year-old wunderkind from Honolulu, Hawaii, who became the first female to qualify for a USGA men’s championship, had two police security guards following her every move on property.

Cameras clicked, television mikes got into position and notebooks opened to reporters ready to scribble whatever worthy comments emanated from her mouth.

Oh, there were other top attractions here as well. Matt Every, Jeff Overton, Anthony Kim, Luke List, Ryan Blaum, Chan Song and two-time APL runner-up Dayton Rose all had plenty of accolades to put on their media bio sheets.

Clay Ogden’s name occupied just one line on the APL Fact Sheet. He was exempt from qualifying based on his quarterfinal showing at the 2004 event in Minnesota. Other than that, the good folks who came out to the 6,966-yard, par-70 Arthur Hills layout probably couldn’t offer one tidbit on the 20-year-old from West Point, Utah.

Heck, he didn’t even make the traveling squad on his Brigham Young University golf team this past spring when the Cougars placed fourth at the NCAA Division I Championships at Caves Valley outside of Baltimore.

Somebody actually confused Clay Ogden with Clay Aiken, the singer from American Idol.

But by Friday, Ogden was an idol. Everyone in America knew his name and what he accomplished. Phone calls were coming from media outlets across the country. ESPN, Sporting New Radio, USA Today, etc. He was a wanted man.

When you beat the darling of the championship, Wie, you suddenly hit celebrity status. He probably could have gotten himself a VIP table at Tavern on the Green.

“It’s hard to believe,” said Ogden. “Every tournament I play in, I’m not the name to look at. But to be honest, none of this would have happened without Michelle here. Obviously there were a lot of people who hoped she could keep going and none of this [hoopla] would be going on without her playing in the tournament.”

Ogden knocked off “the kid” rather handily, 5 and 4. While some competitors appeared petrified by the presence of 1,000 spectators and a horde of media running from location to location to get a glimpse of Wie, the cool-as-a-Utah mountain top Ogden relished the extra attention.

Why not? He wasn’t getting any before playing Wie.

“Honestly, it got me incredibly focused for that match,” he added. “I don’t think I’ve ever been that focused.”

But he didn’t just stop with high-schooler with the million-dollar future. Ogden played this script all the way to the very end. He took more than sound bites and great quotes away from the golf course.

He also walked away with the biggest prize: the James Standish Trophy that goes annually to the champion.

Late Saturday night, he was proudly wearing his gold medal, beaming from ear to ear over his 1-up triumph over a very game 19-year-old from Chile, Martin Ureta, who earned honorable-mention All-American honors this past season at the University of North Carolina.

Ogden rallied from an early four-hole deficit in the 36-hole championship match to squeak out the win. Again, he was riding the script to perfection.

Remember, he needed three playoff holes late Tuesday just to land a spot in the match-play draw. He was the 63rd of 64 qualifiers. You hear it so many times at USGA amateur competitions: Just get me a spot in the draw and I’ve got a chance. Living proof was Ogden’s performance.

In round two, he faced a three-hole deficit with four to play against Derrik Whiting. He rallied to win in 19 holes. After beating Andrew Black, Ogden had to go to bed Thursday night thinking about facing Wie. All he did was win six of the first seven holes to put her away before the teen had a chance to adjust her earings.

Then he had to quickly refocus to meet Garrett Jones of Rewey, Wis., who shot a 66 the first day of stroke-play qualifying. All square through 15, Ogden won 16 and 17 for a 2-and-1 win.

Ureta, meanwhile, knocked out some tough opponents of his own. He went 20 holes with stroke-play medalist Anthony Kim on Friday afternoon and toughed out a quarterfinal victory over 16-year-old Rory Hie earlier on Friday.

“I must have had 25 missed calls this morning [on my cell phone],” said Ureta. “I turned my phone off [Friday] night around eight o’clock because I knew it was going to be [ringing] all night. It was just my relatives [back in Chile].”

The way the final started, it looked like Ureta was going to be making early dinner reservations. He was 3 up after three and 4 up through seven. Ogden appeared to be somewhere in the fog rising above the pond at the par-3 fifth.

But by the end of the morning 18, the match stood at just 1 up for Ureta. Ogden’s intestinal fortitude and game suddenly got tougher. He holed a clutch 18-footer birdie at the last hole, a putt that certainly made lunch taste a whole lot better.

“That was like an end-of-the-day putt,” said Ogden. “I told myself, ‘This is it. You’ve got to make this, you’ve got to clutch up. You’ve done it all week.’ And I was lucky enough to have the right speed and the right line.”

Even a short weather delay of about 35 minutes didn’t deter Ogden. He was 2 down with nine holes left after Ureta birdied the 27th hole. By the 33 rd hole, the match was all square again, thanks to a clutch 8-iron approach to 4 feet.

Then came the shot of the championship, and maybe the shot of his golfing life. Facing a 118-yard downhill shot to a back hole location, Ogden pured a pitching wedge. The ball spun toward the flag and stopped 2 feet from the hole. This came after Ureta’s approach shot landed 12 feet from the flag.

“It was probably one of the best shots I’ve ever hit under the circumstances,” said Ogden.

Ureta missed, Ogden made and suddenly he had his first lead of the entire match. Earlier in the day, Ogden chipped in for birdie on the same hole. Officials gave Ogden the flag from 18, but he might want the entire hole from 16.

Two holes later, Ogden faced a delicate 10-foot chip from the rough behind the green. Ureta had already knocked his pitch shot close for a conceded par. All Ogden needed was an up-and-down and it was over.

“I’m just going, ‘Don’t fluff it,’ ” said Ogden. “Just don’t do anything stupid. It’s an easy shot. I just knew I had to just get it on the fringe and I had a two-footer. It’s the longest two-footer I had in my life.”

Ogden, just like he had done all week, jammed in the putt with confidence.

And that’s just how he left for the airport. Full of verve and the feeling that he can play this game at a high level. That’s what a good week at a USGA championship will do for a golfer’s psyche. It can change your life.

Sometime soon, a letter will arrive from Augusta National. It’s likely to be an invitation to the 2006 Masters, a perk that traditionally goes to the winner of the APL. That’s why Wie had wanted to qualify for the APL and why she came to Shaker Run. She wanted a run at history.

Ogden came for the same reasons, but nobody predicted he would be the last man standing.

“He’s just a really solid player,” said Ureta. “He might not be as accomplished as Anthony Kim or  Jeff Overton or Matt Every, the great names who were here this week, but he came out on top. He just proved to everybody that he has the game to do it. He’s got the game. He’s an unbelievable player.”

Now the whole world knows, too.

David Shefter is a USGA staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.