NOTHING AMATEUR ABOUT ATTITUDE.

Byline: DAVE SHELBURNE Golf

It's easy to spot Santa Clarita Valley resident Rusty Swisher these days. The Valencia High boys' golf coach is the one with his chest puffed out with pride because two of his former players will compete in the U.S. Amateur golf championship next week.

``This is very, very cool,'' he said after Brad Uptgraft and Brandon Christianson, arguably the two best golfers in Valencia High history, both earned berths in the 104th national amateur championship, which starts Monday at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y.

``This is giving me goose pimples,'' said Swisher, who sent the following e-mail to his former stars: ``Apparently both of you have figured out PPPPP (proper preparation precedes peak performance), so now all you have to do is FTNU (from the neck up) and BP (be patient) because this is the kind of competition where you have to be patient and HF (have fun).''

Uptgraft, 23, is a 1999 Valencia graduate who helped College of the Canyons win the 2002 state junior college championship. He then won the 2003 Los Angeles City championship.

He is determined to have fun in his first national championship appearance, especially since he thinks that attitude might be the reason he earned the berth.

His swing, honed by former Valencia Country Club head professional Dan Hernandez, has been solid enough for a long time. Learning to play the game and enjoy the process took longer, he said.

``I haven't seen Dan for months, but we talk on the phone and that's how he helps me most,'' Uptgraft said. ``We talk about being able to play golf. That's what he's been trying to get across to me, and it's finally sinking in.''

These days, Uptgraft is trusting his swing, playing smart golf and not worrying about the results. It helped him shoot 73-70-143 for medalist honors in an Aug. 2 U.S. Amateur qualifier at par-72 TPC of Valencia, where he didn't even want to know his status on the leaderboard entering his final holes.

``I just wanted to keep on doing my game and stay around par,'' said Uptgraft, who calls par an ``awesome'' score and tries to manage his game in pursuit of that.

As a result of that no-pressure approach, he has often gone well under par - notably in a 67-68 runner-up finish in defense of his L.A. City title at Rancho Park this year. Then he shot a course-record 66 at Tijeras Creek in his final college match for Cal State Northridge. Most recently, he fired a 6-under-par 29 on the back nine at tough Valencia CC, where he works in the cart barn and has playing privileges.

His ball-striking is strong and his course management is impressive, but what Uptgraft likes most about his game now is that he's content just to let it happen. The struggling freshman, who shot 109 in his first high school postseason match and was a near scratch golfer who shot 70 at Industry Hills as a Valencia senior, is taking it one swing at a time and enjoying the walk.

``Boy, oh boy, he has really come a long ways,'' said Hernandez, who talked with Uptgraft after he qualified for Winged Foot, then hung up the phone feeling like a proud father - not for the achievement, but because Uptgraft said he had finally learned to trust his swing and management.

``I've been waiting years to hear those things,'' Hernandez said.

``He's not worrying whether he's going to win. He's just going out there and playing. That's the ultimate goal, and he's really getting it.''

Uptgraft is determined to keep a firm grip on that thought process next week while trying not to gawk too much at 81-year-old Winged Foot, the Albert W. Tillinghast-designed masterpiece that has played host to four U.S. Opens and six other major championships.

``My only expectations are to have fun and enjoy the moment,'' he said.

``How many players get to play in the U.S. Amateur at Winged Foot?''

This time, the short list will include two former Valencia High golfers, and Uptgraft is as excited about that as Christianson, whose 68-76-144 earned the second of two qualifying berths at TPC of Valencia.

``This is so cool,'' said Uptgraft, who will be flying to New York on Friday with Christianson. ``Brandon's a good buddy and he's really a good player. He gets hot. That 68 was a great score out there (TPC) and that 62 last year (in the Southern Section team prelims to tie the Soule Park course record) shows what he can do.''

Christianson, who got his U.S. Amateur berth on his third attempt, put the accomplishment ``way up there'' on his considerable list of achievements, which includes four international tournaments, two city championships and 14 holes-in-one. But he sounded as happy to have a fellow high school alum competing alongside of him on Tillinghast's crown jewel of a course.

``That's awesome,'' Christianson said. ``That's exactly what you want to see out of a local qualifying tournament.''

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