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U.S. Amateur Public Links Blog
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Final Thoughts
The 2007 APL is in the books. Colt Knost is the champion and a very worthy one. He played some spectacular golf, especially once match play started. He barely snuck in at 150 in the qualifying rounds, but then turned it on. He made only seven bogeys (with concessions) over 112 holes. He was 13 under par over his last three matches. He was like a machine, rarely missing a fairway and when he missed a green, he was able to capitalize on the mistake and get it up and down for par.
It was also great to see a large gallery for the final. We had perfect weather and with so many other options on the weekend for Chicago residents, it's great that 300 or so came out to watch some great golf.
Yes, Cody Paladino lost, but this kid handled himself like a pro. He's very mature for an 18 year old and he's got a bright future ahead of him at Baylor. He's exempt for the next three APLs and he'll play later this summer at the U.S. Amateur in San Francisco, Calif., at The Olympic Club, one of the great championship venues in this country.
All in all, it was a highly successful week here at Cantigy. The host club was terrific. The hospitality was first rate and the golf course more than stood up.
The folks at Murphy Creek out in Aurora, Colo., have a tough act to follow for 2008. |
Friday, July 13, 2007
Friday Observations
So now we're down to just two players: Colt Knost and Cody Paladino. Watched Knost play quite a bit today and noticed he uses a belly putter. That's not something you see a lot of with younger players. Then again, Clayton Rask, a University of Minnesota fifth-year senior, was using a long putter. Sure he gets a few weird stares, but the ball goes in the hole for him.
Knost made some clutch putts today, including a 10-footer for par on No. 10 in his semifinal match against Corey Nagy. Nagy then missed a 7-footer for par and the match went to all square. From there, Knost took control, winning holes 13, 14 and 15 with birdies.
Knost's caddie is Ben Bartell, a local who works in Cantigny's caddie program as well as other duties around the facility. Had Derek Fathauer won his semfinal match, it would have been a weird caddie matchup in the final. Fathauer's caddie is Naperville North senior Amanda Bruski. Bruski and Bartell used to date each other. You would have had a match within a match. Bruski is a promising player who hopes to play Division I college golf. Bartell is headed out to Pepperdine in the fall.
Forty local Cantigny caddies were used this week. Bruski was actually carrying for Knost's former Southern Methodist University teammate James Minihan, but he failed to make match play and Fathauer needed a caddie. So they joined forces and made quite a team until the semis, where he lost, 1 down, to Cody Paladino.
Some of the Cantigny caddies have gone on to earn Evans Scholarships, a program funded by the Western Golf Association, whose headquarters are in Chicago. APL General Chairman Jim Sutherland told me five Cantigny caddies have earned Evans Scholarships.
It should be an entertaining final on Saturday. Knost definitely is the hotter player, having played 7-under-par golf on Friday (34 holes). He desperately wants to play on the 2007 USA Walker Cup team and winning the APL title would definitely add to his portfolio.
Cody Paladino would be the first player from Connecticut to win this title. Connecticut hasn't produced a lot of great players, but PGA Tour star J.J. Henry grew up there and U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Jerry Courville is from the Nutmeg State as well. Paladino would also be the fourth 18-year-old to win the APL since its inception in 1922.
Before the championship, one of the Cantigny guys asked me who I liked to win. I said there were 20-25 guys who I thought had an excellent chance, but when pressed for an answer, I randomly said Colt Knost. I knew he had some pedigree and coming off his Byron Nelson experience, I thought he might be tough to beat. Sure enough, he's in the final. But I think he's going to have a heckuva battle against Paladino, who is very mature and articulate for someone his age. He talks and acts like someone twice his age.
May the best player win.
David Shefter
USGA Staff Writer |
Friday Thoughts
We have another glorious day in store here in Chicago. It may be hard to believe after all of our weather issues on Monday and Tuesday. But there's hardly a cloud in the sky and we have cool, pleasant temperatures for the morning quaterfinals.
Interesting to note that all three NCAA Division I third-team All-Americas who qualified for the APL, have advanced to the quarters: Colt Knost (SMU), Derek Fathauer (Louisville) and Lucas Lee (UCLA). Corey Nagy was on the first-team All-Freshman squad and an honorable-mention All-American.
Then you have the story of the championship in Andy Roberts and a couple of guys trying to make a name for themselves in Penn State's Robert Rohanna and San Diego State's Aaron Goldberg. Cody Paladino is one of the best juniors in the Northeast who is headed to Baylor in the fall.
Knost might be the man to beat. He won three college events this past season and he made the cut at the Byron Nelson, shooting a second-round 64. He also was invited to the Walker Cup practice session held in January at Old Memorial in Tampa, Fla. Of the seven U.S.-born players left in the field, he has the best chance of getting on to the 2007 Walker Cup team. Three more wins here would certainly help his cause. |
Disappointing Decision
Tadd Fujikawa could have been playing in the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship this week at Cantigny. He chose not to file an entry and go through sectional qualifying.
Tadd Fujikawa was fully exempt into the U.S. Junior later this month outside of St. Louis. He chose not to file an entry.
Now we know why. Fujikawa was working a back-room deal to turn professional at the tender age of 16. My question is what's the rush? Why turn pro before graduating from high school? The last time I checked, the PGA Tour isn't folding up shop any time soon. It's not the World Football League.
This is becoming a disturbing trend in golf today. So many "kids" are rushing to the play-for-pay ranks, some before receiving high school diplomas; others without ever stepping foot inside a college classroom.
What happened to having fun in junior golf? What happened to enjoying your college years while maturing and growing up at the same time?
Just because Fujikawa became the youngest-ever qualifier for a U.S. Open at age 15 (Winged Foot in 2006) and made a cut in a PGA Tour event this past January in his home state of Hawaii (Sony Open) doesn't suddenly make him ready for the professional ranks. A few years ago, Derek Tolan and Tom Glissmeyer, both Colorado residents, qualified for U.S. Opens in back-to-back years (2002 and '03) at the age of 16. Neither has turned pro yet. Tolan, in fact, qualified for the 2007 APL and missed the match-play cut as one of the final players eliminated in Wednesday's large 19-for-16 playoff.
Colt Knost, one of the quarterfinalists this week, was talking about his future professional plans on Thursday after his victories. Knost shot a 64 earlier this year at the PGA Tour's EDS Byron Nelson Championship and made the cut, eventually finishing in a tie for 67th. He said he isn't quite ready yet to make the jump. This from a kid who was a third-team All-American at Southern Methodist University this past season and spent four solid years in college. This is a kid who could be on the 2007 USA Walker Cup team.
We have even heard Jamie Lovemark saying he is going to come back for his sophomore season at the University of Southern California. Lovemark won the NCAA Division I title with back-to-back 64s at Golden Horseshoe in Williamsburg, Va., this spring and lost in a playoff to Chris Riley at a Nationwide Tour event. He also made the cut at last week's AT&T Invitational hosted by Tiger Woods. He, too, could be on the 2007 Walker Cup team.
The point is that kids should let their talent develop. They should go through the junior and amateur ranks and learn how to win and be successful at those levels. It didn't hurt Tiger Woods to spend two years at Stanford University. Why not go to college and get a degree in case the pro-golf thing doesn't pan out and you have something to fall back on.
Instead, we see guys like Fujikawa and 16-year-old Canadian Richard Lee, who qualified for the 2007 U.S. Open, turn pro at the time they should be getting their driver's licenses.
It's sad to see. Maybe they should contact Ty Tryon.
David Shefter
USGA Staff Writer
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Thursday, July 12, 2007
Magnificent Seven
The competitors were not the only ones putting in long days at the 2007 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. Several USGA Rules officials from the APL Championship Committee worked as many as three matches on Thursday.
That group included Jim Patten, Jim Magette, Mike Sweeney, Duane D'Allessandro, John Kueper, Larry Knisely and Bob Bender.
All seven might need a good message tonight. Perhaps a soak in a bathtub to relax the feet. But it takes a lot of dedication and commitment to walk three matches in a day. I know I saw Magette limping a little in between the second and third rounds, yet he was out there making sure the Daniel Im/Derek Fathauer match was played under the Rules and in an orderly manner. These gentlemen give up a lot of time and energy to support the USGA and all of their expenses come out of their pockets.
At least they get to work outside and the last two days here in Chicago have been downright beautiful.
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More Gorgeous Weather
| We have another marathon day of golf ahead of us on Thursday at the U.S. Amateur Public Links, but it looks like Mother Nature is going to deliver another glorious day of weather. There's not a cloud in the sky this morning and there's virtually no humidity. The players might be exhausted, but at least they won't be suffering from the stifling heat we had here this past weekend. |
Andy Dandy
Andy Roberts is one of those stories that make the U.S. Amateur Public Links the special championship that it is. He's 27, married and a full-time accountant. He took a week's vacation to come to Cantigny this week. He played his college golf at an NAIA school, Brescia University, in his hometown of Owensboro, Ky. He could have gone to NCAA Division II Northern Kentucky, but chose to stay closer to home.
Unlike so many collegians today, he did not turn pro out of college. He became an accountant and settled down. Seven years ago, he qualified for his first USGA championship, the APL in Portland, Ore., and lost to Adrian Quintela in a 20-hole second-round match.
He never made it back to another USGA championship until this week. He then qualified for match play by garning the last spot in a 19-for-16 playoff. Then he went out and upset the stroke-play medalist, 2007 U.S. Open qualifier Mark Harrell of Hazlehurst, Ga., and a rising senior at Division I stalwart Alabama.
"It's hard enough to qualify for this tournament," said Roberts after the victory. "And it's hard enough to get into the top 64. To start winning matches is even more difficult because you are starting to play against good players. Each match, it seems, takes on a life of its own. Beating No. 1 is great, but it's still a long way from being over."
Roberts has a little more time to play golf in the summer after the spring tax season. But still, he doesn't play as much as the junior and college contingent assembled here this week. He's a regular working guy who plays at a public golf course in his town. Now he's here on the biggest stage for public golfers and he's into the round of 32. That's pretty neat.
David Shefter
USGA Staff Writer |
Finally A Break
Thankfully, the first horns we heard today came at 8:36 p.m. That meant we got a full day of golf in without any interruption from Mother Nature. Eventually, the 2007 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship will get back on schedule, barring any rumblings from above. But some guys will have a lot of golf to play on Thursday. Rory Hie, should he win his first- and second-round matches, could play as many as 50 holes of golf in one day. If he should get to the 36-hole final on Saturday, he's looking at the potential of playing some 114 holes of golf in a 72-hour period. I sure hope he's got a good message therapist.
Then there are guys like Philip Arouca, who has received plenty of breaks from the draw. The Wilmette, Ill., resident played 18 holes on Monday, then got a day off from golf because of the weather, and then played 18 more holes on Wednesday morning. He then received an early first-round match Wednesday afternoon and was able to finish before darkness, beating Danny Sorgini, 4 and 3. He'll have three solid nights of sleep prior to his second-round match Thursday morning.
Of course, most of these guys are young and can handle the walking. Virtually all of them have caddies, so it's a matter of just being in good condition to walk. And the weather could not have been more ideal on Wednesday. We had no humidity and temperatures were in the 70s with some nice breezes. Translated: it was perfect golf weather. More of the same is forecast for Thursday and Friday.
David Shefter
USGA Staff Writer |
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
More Thunder
Thunderstorms have re-emerged this afternoon and right now it is looking bleak that more golf will be played today. That is definitely going to wreak havoc on the remaining schedule. Fortunately, only one match-play round is on tap for Wednesday, so if we get perfect weather tomorrow, we could be back on schedule.
The good news: the weather forecast through Saturday looks very good. |
Watabu On The Move
Defending champion Casey Watabu obviously has shaken off the effects of the 10 he recorded in the first round. Watabu is currently four under par through eight holes of his second round and getting himself in position to make the match-play cut. A lot of players might have thrown in the towel after having such a disastrous score on a hole. But Watabu is showing the true champion that he is by fighting his way back.
Right now the weather is holding out. We have lots of clouds and the winds have picked up, but so far no rain or lightning. Hopefully, we can keep these conditions through dusk. |
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