Sullivan Takes The Road Less Traveled

By Dustin Roberts

Norman, Okla. - One of 16 players remaining at the 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, Dan Sullivan of Pasadena, Calif. took the road less traveled to success this week. The 42-year-old Sullivan is the oldest remaining player in the field by 19 years and the only one not to have competed in college golf.

“When I started at SC (Southern California) in ’85 they had a lot of exceptional players. The coach then – Randy Lein – was really good about letting me come out and practice with the team, but after my second year at USC it became pretty apparent that I wasn’t going to make the team. I started to play a lot less after that and then, after college, I wanted to get my career started. Then I slowly started to play more and more and eventually joined the men’s club in Pasadena. There were some really good players there and being around them and playing in some events started to reignite my desire to play again.”

Success, however, did not come immediately. Realizing that he needed to improve his swing to compete against the top amateurs, Sullivan committed himself to taking lessons with a swing coach in the Los Angeles area and spent six or seven years refining his technique. Although he qualified for the U.S. Amateur and Mid-Amateur in 2006, this is his first APL after his own estimate of 10 attempts at qualifying.

“I’m a much better player now than I was then,” explained Sullivan. “It’s been a slow and steady climb since school but I’ve really improved my game. I find it very satisfying to set goals, work for them and achieve them. It’s also very satisfying to continue to set new goals, work for those new goals and achieve them.”

While the other contestants – with the exception of Phillip Bryan who just completed his first season as an assistant golf coach at Oklahoma – are in college or have just recently graduated, Sullivan works as a vice-president for commercial real estate at Union Bank.

“I guess it gives me a different perspective when playing in a tournament like this,” he said. “The guy I just played against just graduated from Memphis and he’s going to stay amateur for the rest of the summer before turning pro and going to q-school. This is just part of the journey for a greater destination for him. For me, it’s a respite from the ‘9-to-5,’ as you say, of everyday. It’s a great experience for me. I have such a different perspective from these other guys. It’s fun to play and advance and when the ride ends I’ll go back to real life.”

That respite comes for Sullivan in the 10-15 events he estimates he plays in each year. He tries to play in all of the local Southern California Golf Association events as well as USGA qualifiers and some of the bigger local amateur events. He also plays at the Lupton Invitational at The Honors Course – a relationship he developed at the 2006 Mid-Am. He especially enjoys match play events.

“We have a lot of match play events in SoCal,” said Sullivan. “I really enjoy match play. I like that it’s different than stroke play and each hole is like its own tournament. If you play poorly or put up a big number you just move to the next hole and start again. It’s fun because you have so many momentum swings.”

As for being the oldest player in the field, Sullivan hardly even notices.

“It didn’t cross my mind,” he said when asked about the younger players out on the range. “I’ve played with enough young guys in events that I’ve gotten used to playing with and against them. It never entered my mind. The ball doesn’t know the difference.”

Dustin Roberts works for the Golf Coaches Association of America, and is assisting the USGA at this championship.  Contact him with questions or comments at dustin@collegiategolf.com.