COE GROWS UP TO FIND OPEN SPACE PEPPERDINE STAR HAS A MATURE GAME.

Byline: JILL PAINTER Staff Writer

Alex Coe's golf career started on the island of Guam. His playing partners were retired military personnel.

As an 8-year-old, he learned how to play the game without throwing temper tantrums or kicking his ball out of the rough. He never seemed to hit the ball in the fairway yet always seemed to manage par.

His parents, Becky and Bob Coe, wanted him to realize golf was a gentleman's game. And playing on a senior tour, of sorts, did the trick.

``They loved him like a grandson,'' Becky Coe said. ``They taught him the rules of playing and etiquette and how to treat the game like a man. They never let him play like a spoiled kid. You play from the blue tees when you're 8. You'll pull the flag out when it's your turn. They were tough on him, but they loved him.''

His friends in Guam must be smiling. On Thursday, they can turn on their TVs and follow Coe, 22, as he plays in the first round of the U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y.

Coe, who recently graduated from Pepperdine, can thank his friends for helping instill in him a calm demeanor on the golf course. He just doesn't get rattled. It's no wonder Retief Goosen is one of his favorite players.

He'll need nerves of steel while maneuvering Winged Foot, with its long rough and tight fairways.

``I learned how to play on a Navy golf course and I learned not to take things for granted, that's for sure,'' Coe said.

Coe has fun and it shows. Tiger Woods doesn't typically make much eye contact while he's walking from the green to the tee box or out on the driving range. Goosen has long been criticized for showing no emotion. Coe thrives on fan support.

``I try not to take life too seriously,'' Coe said. ``I like to interact with the crowd.''

When it was clear his ball wasn't going to make it up the tier on a sectional qualifying hole at Lake Merced earlier this month, members were buzzing and whispering. Coe turned and said, ``Guys, is that coming back?''

Judging by the buzz, he already knew it would.

Coe finished in a tie for third and advanced to the U.S. Open after parring two playoff holes. He started qualifying as one of 8,584 entries. He's one of 156golfers with a chance to be named U.S. Open champion.

After the NCAA Championships in Oregon, he signed autographs as his mother watched proudly. A boy told Coe he wanted to go to Pepperdine, so Coe took off his hat, signed it and gave it to the boy.

Coe always has fit in, even if he didn't look it. He said people look at him strangely when he says he grew up in Guam because he's 6-foot-3, has blue eyes and blond hair. But Bob was in the international retail business and the family moved around a lot.

Bob wanted his son's peers to have an opportunity to golf in Guam as well. Bob and a couple of friends raised $125,000 every year through business connections and formed a golf league for children. They practiced six days a week. They had coaches and access to the driving range. Every year, 12 children would go to San Diego for the Junior World Championships.

``When you're in remote areas like Anchorage and Guam, everybody depends on everybody else to survive,'' Bob Coe said. ``You develop very close friendships. Alex and his close friends skied together and played hockey together. They swam together and played baseball together. He developed a teamwork approach. I think he has a unique focus.''

Coe has mingled with senators and governors through his dad's business just as easily as with kids on a golf course. But, he's most comfortable on the links. That's where he learned many life lessons.

``Golf taught him to be honest,'' Becky said. ``He always took credit for his good shots and took the blame for his bad shots. It's not something you can blame on anybody else. He's grown up to be a trustworthy and accountable person. I think golf has done that.''

His mother taught him to leave a golf course in better shape than he'd found it. So when he played at Pinehurst in North Carolina, he walked off the course holding an old Coke can he'd found.

He won't find any Coke cans at Winged Foot. Coe, who will play as an amateur, will tee off with Canadian Brad Fritsch and amateur Benjamin Hayes, a USC product, Thursday morning.

Coe will use his imagination around a golf course -- which he considers his strength -- in an attempt to make the cut this weekend.

That's what he did for the Waves. He graduated with a degree in business administration and was an honorable mention Academic-All American selection.

``We've been fortunate,'' Pepperdine coach John Geiberger said. ``Pepperdine attracts good student athletes and good kids. When you recruit kids, you hope they get better each year. Alex has always done that. He's willing to learn. He's like a sponge. He always keeps telling me he wants to do things that will make him better.''

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(color) Former Pepperdine star Alex Coe will be playing in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot this week.

Courtesy of Pepperdine University