THE ROAD TO MERION: LOCAL GOLFERS FEEL THE PRESSURE QUALIFYING FOR THE U.S. AMATEUR NO EASY TASK.Byline: Sean Martin Sean Martin may refer to:
Tim Hogarth struck his opening tee shot at the 1997 Masters in front of 5,000 fans, including playing partner Gary Player Gary Player (born November 1, 1935) is a South African professional golfer generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the game's history. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. . Hogarth was nearly as nervous two years later while hitting a two-foot putt before a handful of onlookers at Bakersfield Country Club. A trip to the U.S. Amateur was riding on the latter. The pressure was so great that the Northridge resident's attempt at the dead-straight tap-in did not even touch the hole. ``I didn't think I could get that nervous,'' said Hogarth, who has played in six U.S. Amateurs. ``The first tee shot at the Masters was nerve-racking, but (that putt) was different because it was to get something I really wanted. At least at the Masters, I was already in the tournament.'' Hundreds of Southland south·land or South·land n. A region in the south of a country or an area. south  land·er n.Noun 1. golfers will subject themselves to similar circumstances over 36 holes starting July 25 to earn a spot at this year's U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club, Aug. 22-28. Completing 36 holes in one day means contestants will spend up to 11 hours outdoors in temperatures that could top 100 degrees. Players that shoot a good morning round will have to fight fatigue and nerves for the next five hours. Merion is a former U.S. Amateur site and the Ardmore, Pa. course is ranked No. 7 in the country by Golf Digest Golf Digest is a monthly golf magazine published by Advance Publications in the United States. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. . Hogarth appeared on national television for the first time during his third-round match last year. Former USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. All-American Don Baker got to play in front of Tiger Woods  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled. in 1992.
Loyola Marymount's Jason D'Amore relished listening to Arnold Palmer speak at the pre-tournament players' dinner, being chauffeured in Jaguars and hitting Titleists at the driving range last year. Making it to Merion is no easy task. Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, is one of the most difficult qualifying regions. The 21 golfers that qualified at Southland sites in 2004 averaged 140 strokes over two rounds. Former Cal State Northridge golfer Brad Uptgraft knows about the pressures of U.S. Amateur qualifying all too well. In 2003 he opened with a 69 at Valencia Country Club, but shot 40 on his final nine holes, failing to qualify by two shots. ``If you have (the Amateur) in your sights, you try not to let your mind wander, but it does,'' Uptgraft said. ``The adrenaline adrenaline (ədrĕn`əlĭn, –lēn): see epinephrine. was flowing and I started hitting my clubs farther than normal. When you get real excited and real tense ... your body starts doing things differently.'' Uptgraft shot 143, including a second-round 70, to earn medalist honors at the TPC (Transaction Processing Performance Council, San Francisco, CA, www.tpc.org) An organization devoted to benchmarking transaction processing systems. In order to derive the number of transactions that can be processed in a given time frame, TPC benchmarks measure the total performance of of Valencia last year. Then there are the times when a golfer's day doesn't end after the 36th hole. Sudden-death playoffs are used to break ties for the final qualifying spots. One bad shot, like Hogarth's missed putt, can render the entire day's work (Naut.) the account or reckoning of a ship's course for twenty-four hours, from noon to noon. See also: Day meaningless. Hogarth finished in a four-way tie for first in the 1999 qualifier, but was the lone member of the lead pack not to earn one of the three available qualifying spots. For others, playoffs have proven much more enjoyable. In 1982 Oak Park resident Craig Steinberg won an alternate's spot at The Country Club at Brookline (Mass.) after making a 45-foot par putt in sudden-death at North Ranch Country Club. To make the putt, car headlights had to illuminate the fourth green. Former Cal golfer Scott Carlyle won a playoff play·off also play-off n. Sports 1. A final game or series of games played to break a tie. 2. A series of games played to determine a championship. Noun 1. in 2003 with a hole-in-one. No matter the outcome, amateur golfers relish the opportunity to qualify for their national championship. ``It's a fun tournament,'' said Cal State Northridge's Doug Miller, who was an alternate at Saticoy Country Club last year. ``Whenever you have a chance to qualify for the biggest amateur tournament possible, it's a good experience. It's fun to be in contention on the back nine after a long day on a good golf course.'' Sean Martin, (818) 713-3608 sean.martin(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 4 boxes Photo: (1) Loyola Marrymount's Jason D'Amore is one of several local golfers hoping to qualify for this year's U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore Pa.. Photo courtesy of Loyola Marymount University Marymount University is a coeducational, four-year Catholic university whose main campus is located in Arlington, Virginia. History Marymount was founded in 1950 by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM) as Marymount College, a two-year women's school. (2) no caption (book: The Immortal Bobby: Bobby Jones and the Golden Age of Golf) Box: (1) HOLE OF THE WEEK (2) BOOK REVIEW (3) TRACKING LOCAL PROS (4) CALENDAR |
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