LOCAL GETS SECOND CHANCE WITH TRIP TO PINEHURST: GORE HOT HEADING TO U.S. OPEN FORMER HART, PEPPERDINE STAR ONE OF NINE LOCALS IN PINEHURST FIELD.Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer Former Hart High of Newhall and Pepperdine standout Jason Gore Jason William Gore (born May 17, 1974) is an American professional golfer. Gore was born in Van Nuys, California. He attended Pepperdine University. Gore plays on the PGA Tour after moving from the Nationwide Tour midseason in 2005. has been given a second chance to make a first impression - at least as far as golf goes. Gore, the defending State Open champion, qualified last week for the 105th U.S. Open The term U.S. Open is applied to "open" United States national championships in a particular sport, in which anybody, amateur or professional, American or non-American may compete. These include:
For Gore, Thursday will mark a comeback to the national championship he last played in at San Francisco's Olympic Club The Olympic Club is a country club with several golf courses partly located in San Francisco, California. The club's main "City Clubhouse" is located in downtown San Francisco. The courses are on a property that straddles the boundary between San Francisco and Daly City. in 1998, when he missed the cut by six strokes. This week's Open will be played at historic Pinehurst Resort Pinehurst Resort is an historic upmarket golf resort at Pinehurst in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It has hosted a number of prestigious golf tournaments. History Pinehurst was founded by Boston soda fountain magnate James Walker Tufts. in North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. . Gore won the State Amateur and his first State Open in 1997 after leading Pepperdine to the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association team title. He capped his amateur career with a berth on the U.S. Walker Cup team. Although he has not been able to stay more than a year at a time on the PGA Tour The PGA Tour is an organization that operates the USA's main professional golf tours. It is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA. Its name is officially rendered in all caps as “PGA TOUR". - playing primarily on the Nationwide Tour this year - Gore is playing some of his best golf coming into Pinehurst. He followed his 66-67 Open qualifier with a 68-69-72-69 effort to tie for 17th at last week's Nationwide LaSalle Bank Open. One of his oldest golfing friends says he won't be surprised if Gore continues to play well at the Open. ``His game is really good,'' said Mike Miller, manager at Glendale's Scholl Canyon Golf Course. Miller and Gore were teammates on three consecutive Foothill League championship teams at Hart in the early 1990s. ``There's nothing impossible for him,'' Miller said. ``We've been working together the past six or seven months, working out some of the very minor kinks he has. With him, it's just a matter of believing, of trusting what he has. The last month, it's really started to happen for him and I don't expect that to change.'' Gore comes into the open averaging 68.6 per round his past four Nationwide tournaments and the U.S. Open qualifier. That kind of scoring is unlikely to continue at Pinehurst, where domed greens and dry conditions could combine for a winning score over par, but Miller won't be surprised if Gore continues to play well. ``It wouldn't be one of surprise,'' Miller said of his reaction should Gore turn in a strong Open showing. ``It's not really a matter of if with him. It's a matter of when.'' Gore will be one of nine area entries at Pinehurst - including four former UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX players. Corey Pavin, who won the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , joins fellow Bruin alums Tom Pernice Jr., Brandt Jobe and John Merrick. Former USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. player Nick Jones, former Pepperdine standout Michael Walton and Occidental alum Olin Browne also are in the field, as is Tom Lehman, the 1996 British Open champion and former assistant pro at Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley. Jones, who won the 2000 State Amateur, qualified by shooting 67-72 to win a sectional qualifier at El Caballero cab·al·le·ro n. pl. cab·al·le·ros 1. A Spanish gentleman; a cavalier. 2. A man who is skilled in riding and managing horses; a horseman. Country Club in Tarzana. ``He's a player,'' two-time El Cab champion Ron Cherney said. ``He can really strike the ball.'' Jones, who played El Caballero in high school and remembered it as having ``the fastest greens I've ever played,'' thought the difficulty of the Tarzana course could help him on another tough course this week. He also hopes his progress on golf's learning curve will help. ``I feel like I'm playing much better golf, and I'm learning what to do in situations,'' Jones said. ``That's all golf is. It's experience of knowing what shots you need to play and how to play for percentages. ``This game is a learning curve. Not everybody comes out and beats the world up like Tiger or Sergio. The average rookie age on tour is around 30, so most guys aren't coming out like gangbusters.'' Dave Shelburne, (818) 713-3609 dave.shelburne(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 4 boxes Photo: (1) Valencia's Jason Gore qualified last week in Atlanta for his second U.S. Open. Jeff Gross/Getty Images (2) no caption (book: ``The SECRET of GOLF'') Box: (1) BOOK REVIEW - Dave Shelburne (2) HOLE OF THE WEEK (3) TRACKING LOCAL PROS (4) CALENDAR |
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