Storylines From The 2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship

The average age of the 156 competitors in the 2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links is 23.49 years old.

There are 106 players competing in their first U.S. Amateur Public Links with 73 playing in their first USGA championship.

The field of 156 players includes 12 who are exempt from qualifying.

Forty-three states are represented as well as eight foreign countries (four players from Canada and one each from Ireland, China, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Australia and Zimbabwe).

The states with the most representatives are: California (21), Florida (10), Ohio (9), Texas (8), Illinois (6) and Colorado (4).

In a strong field, seven of last year’s eight quarterfinalists return with the exception of the champion, Colt Knost, 23, of Dallas, Texas. The returnees include: Derek Fathauer, 22, of Jensen Beach, Fla., Aaron Goldberg, 22, of Carlsbad, Calif., Lucas Lee, 20, of Brazil, Cory Nagy, 19, of Charlotte, N.C., Cody Paladino, 19, of Kensington, Conn., Andy Roberts, 28, of Owensboro, Ky., and Robert Rohanna, 22, of Waynesburg, Pa.

Rickie Fowler, 19, of Murrieta, Calif., and Billy Horschel, 21, of Grant, Fla., were members of the victorious 2007 USA Walker Cup team at the Match at Royal County Down Golf Club in Newcastle, Northern Ireland.

The three lowest scorers in USGA amateur stroke-play competition history (18 holes) are in the field: 60 by Billy Horschel, 21, of Grant, Fla., (2006 Amateur), 63 by Robert Godfrey, 34, Seneca, S.C., (2001 Amateur) and  63 by Danny Green, 51, Jackson, Tenn. (2004 APL). Green’s stroke-play medalist score of 131 at the 2004 APL is the lowest medalist score in U.S. amateur competition (male or female).

There are four players ranked in the top-50 of the R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings are in the field: No. 1 Rickie Fowler, No. 17 Derek Fathauer, 22, of Jensen Beach, Fla., No. 19 Jonathan Hodge, 21, of Strawberry Plains, Tenn., and No. 33 Billy Horschel.

There are three USGA champions in the field, led by Danny Green, the winner of the 1999 U.S. Mid-Amateur and member of the 2003 USGA Men’s State Team champion (Tennessee). Green also played in the 2001 Walker Cup for the USA and was co-low amateur at the 2007 U.S. Senior Open. Steve Galko, 34, of Dallas, Texas, was on the winning 2005 USGA Men’s State Team (Texas). Terrence Miskell, 41, of New Braunfels, Texas, was also on the winning 2005 and 2007 USGA Men’s State Team (Texas).

There is one pair of brothers in the field: Jim (23) and Pat (22) Grady of Broomfield, Colo. They both attended the University of Colorado with Jim graduating in 2008 while Pat will be a senior in the fall.

A number of college teammates are in the field: Brendan Borst, 19, of Pittsburgh, Pa., Kevin Foley, 21, of Somerville, N.J. and Robert Rohanna, 22, of Waynesburg, Pa., play for Penn State. Andy Latowski, 29, of Plainsboro, N.J., graduated from Penn State in 2002. Philip Henzlik, 19, of Rapid City, S.D., Gabe Maier, 19, of Cody, Wy., and Zach Zaremba, 20, of Pueblo West, Colo., are teammates at the University of Wyoming. Randall Hutchinson, 21, of Traverse City, Mich., and Jack Newman 20, of Des Moines, Iowa, are teammates at Michigan State. Brady Johnson, 20, of Canada, Sterling Clark 22, of Alpine, Utah, Tyson McFarland, 20, of Provo, Utah, Brad Nicholson 20, of Chandler, Ariz., and Adam Tebbs, 20, of Henderson, Nev., have or will play for the BYU golf team.

The youngest player in the field is 16-year-old Ian McConnell from Rearview, Fla.

The elder statesman in the field is 51-years and 19-days-old Benjamin Sumulong, of Anchorage, Alaska. He is eight days older than Danny Green, of Jackson, Tenn.  

Other interesting storylines to follow at the 2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links  Championship:

James Allenby, 23, of Canada, was first-team All-Pac 10 (2007-08) and honorable mention All-America (2007-08) while at Oregon State.

Philip Arouca, 23, of Wilmette, Ill., advanced to the round of 32 at the 2007 Amateur Public Links at Cantigny Golf Course in Wheaton, Ill.

Daniel Behm, 21, of Jackson, Wis., was the Northern Athletics Conference Player of the Year (2006, 2007) while at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Behm is multi-sport athlete as he plays golf and basketball for Wisconsin Lutheran.

Joshua Brock, 19, of Wilmington, N.C., was the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year in 2008 and a 2008 second-team All-CAA choice at UNC-Wilmington.

Michael Brown, 35, of Cheltenham, Pa., was on Nickelodeon’s television show, Double Dare, in 1986. Brown failed to win a go-cart because he could not find a flag in an oversized peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Nathan Chamber, 17, of Purcell, Okla., was the 2005 and 2006 FCWT and TJGT Player of the Year.

John Chin, 21, of Temcula, Calif., was the 2008 Big West Player of the Year, 2007 Big West Freshman of the Year and a 2007-2008 Big West first-team all-conference selection while at University of California-Irvine.

William Cullen, 19, of Bloomington, Ill., won his first golf tournament right after his sixth birthday.

Jeff Dennis, 21, of Jacksonville, Fla., was the 2007 University of North Florida Athlete of the Year.

Derek Fathauer, 22, of Jensen Beach, Fla., lost in the semifinals of the 2007 U.S. APL and has played in the 2008 U.S. Open, three U.S. Amateurs (2003, 2005, 2007) and the 2005 U.S. APL.

Kevin Foley, 211, of Somerville, N.J., was the 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and 2008 honorable mention All-America at Penn State. Foley also was the winner of the 2008 Metropolitan Golf Association’s ‘Ike’ Championship, one of the New York City area’s biggest golf events.

Rickie Fowler, 19, of Murrieta, Calif., has had a decorated amateur career. Fowler finished tied for 60th at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. He was also won the 2008 Big XII Conference Championship, finished tied for fourth at the 2008 NCAA Championship and was a 2008 first-team All-American at Oklahoma State. Fowler was the recipient of the 2008 Ben Hogan and Phil Mickelson Awards as the nation’s best player and best freshman (respectively).

Jeremy Franklin, 32, of St. Louis, Mo., shares the same birthday as Tiger Woods, December 30, 1975.

Aaron Goldberg, 22, of Carlsbad, Calif., was a 2008 third-team All-America at San Diego State University.

Pat Grady, 22, of Broomfield, Colo., was the 2007 Colorado Golf Association Player of the Year.

Danny Green, 51, of Jackson, Tenn., will be playing in his 14th U.S. APL. He has participated in more than 50 USGA Championships.

Matthew Hicks, 23, of Sissonville, W.Va., made the second round of match play at the 2004 U.S. APL.

Troy Johnson, 36, of Maple Grove, Minn., advanced to the second round of match play at the 2007 U.S. APL.

Michael Knott, 20, of Buffalo, N.Y., always draws a shamrock on his ball for good luck.

Scott Langley, 19, of Ballwin, Mo., was the 2008 Big Ten Freshman of the Year at the University of Illinois.

Peter Lansburgh, 20, of Woodland, Calif., broke his collarbone in December 2007 and just started playing golf again four months ago.

Grant Leaver, 22, of Centreville, Tenn., played basketball for Austin Peay State University. Leaver is tall for a golfer, standing at 6’7’’.

Lee Levine, 21, of Hewlett, N.Y., always has to play with Titleist No. 3 balls.

Brian Locke, 21, of Los Angeles, Calif., was a PING All-American (2006, 2007) while at Loyola Marymount University.

Peter Malnati, 21, of Dandridge, Tenn., was the 2007-2008 University of Missouri Student-Athlete-of-the-Year.

Terrence Miskell, 41, of New Braunfels, Texas, will be playing in his sixth U.S. APL. Miskell was runner-up in 1990.

Corey Nagy, 19, of Charlotte, N.C., was a semifinalist at the 2007 U.S. APL. Nagy was a 2008 first-team All-America at North Carolina-Charlotte.

Cody Paladino, 19, of Kensington, Conn., was the runner-up at the 2007 U.S. APL. Paladino pays respect to his grandfather every time he plays by writing “8 21 01” on every ball with red sharpie to commemorate the day his grandfather passed away.

Dan Whitaker, 27, of Cle Elum, Wash., was runner-up at the 2007 U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Tyler Weir, 19, of San Marcos, Calif., was the 2008 Freshman of the Year at University of California-Santa Barbara.

Storylines compiled by USGA Media Relations summer intern Kent Zakour. Email him with questions or comments at kzakour@usga.org