2003 U.S. Amateur Storylines

Pennsylvania Amateur Champions

Brandon Knaub, 21, of Seven Valleys, Pa., 2003

Nathan Smith, 24, of Brookville, Pa., 2002

Michael McDermott, 28, of Havertown, Pa., 2000

Sean Knapp, 41, of Oakmont, Pa., 1997

West Virginia Amateur Champion

Pat Carter, 35, of Huntingdon, W.Va., 1995-2003 (9 consecutive)

Youngest

Jordan Cox, 15, of Redwood, Calif., was the runner-up at the 2003 U.S. Junior Amateur at Columbia CC in Bethesda, Md. He is the youngest competitor in the field. He will be a junior at Junipero Serra High School and can read, write and speak Japanese.

Oldest

Skip Snow, 60, of Dayton, Ohio, is a retired CPA and a grandfather of three who is playing in his first U.S. Amateur. A hall-of-fame basketball athlete at Miami University of Ohio, Snow won the Ohio Senior Amateur title in 1998 and 2001.

Brothers

Two sets of brothers have qualified: John Drohan, 34, of Cranston, R.I. and his brother, Bill, 30, of Brighton, Mass., and twin brothers Daryl and Derek Fathauer, 17, of Jensen Beach, Fla. They will be seniors at Martin County High School. This summer, they both shot 225 to tie for 34 th at an AJGA event in Tampa, Fla.  

Alphabetical Listing of Storylines

1986 champion Buddy Alexander, 50, of Gainesville, Fla., is playing in his 18 th Amateur. Earlier this year, he played in the Senior Open. He is the golf coach at the University of Florida, where the Gators have won two NCAA titles (1993 and 2001) and he has twice been named national Coach of the Year.

Michael Alsup, 47, of Tulsa, Okla., took 20 years and 10 attempts to make his first appearance in the field. A financial advisor, Alsup drove into a divot on the 36 th hole of qualifying and then hit his approach shot to 3 inches to take the final berth at Crooked Stick GC in Carmel, Ind.

Ben Bunny, 25, of Australia, has an unsual but predictable nickname -- “Bugs."  He won the Victorian Amateur in 2002 and 2003 and is a member of the Victorian Institute of Sport, which includes past scholarship holders: Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby and Aaron Baddelley.

Pat Carter, 35, of Huntingdon, W. Va., is playing in his ninth Amateur. A quarterfinalist at the 1996 and 1997 U.S. Mid-Amateurs, he has won nine straight West Virginia Amateurs (1995 through 2003) and 10 all together (first in 1989). He is an insurance area manager.

Mike Castleforte, 21, of Springboro, Ohio, lists his most memorable golf experience as playing Oakmont for the first time with his father and uncle when he was 12 years old. “It was by far the best course I had ever played,” says Castleforte, a senior at Duke University .

Ed Cuff Jr., 43, of Murrieta, Calif., has a unique claim in the field – he has beaten Tiger Woods. In the semifinals of the 1995 California Amateur, he beat Woods at Pebble Beach GL. A vice president of insurance sales, he turned 43 on August 15. He won the California Amateur in 1998 and is playing in his fourth Amateur.

Jimmy Cunningham, 21, of Walkersville, Md., won the 2003 Father-Son national title with his dad, Howard Cunningham. He is a junior at the University of Denver.

Tripp Davis, 35, of Norman, Okla., is a golf course architect. Playing in his first Amateur, Davis was a member of the NCAA championship team at the University of Oklahoma in 1989. He was an All-Big 8 selection and All-American that year.

Packard DeWitt, 38, of Collierville, Ind., played in the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont. The owner of a promotional company as well as a food distribution company, DeWitt shot 81-77 at the ’94 Open but called it the best golf course he has ever played. In fact, his e-mail address is oakmont94@aol.com .

Additionally, DeWitt was a teammate of John Daly ’s at the University of Arkansas when the Razorbacks won the 1988 Southwestern Conference title.   He regained his amateur status in June of 2002.

Former attack helicopter pilot (1985-1991) Darryl Donovan, 43, of Gilroy, Calif. has played and caddied in a U.S. Open. He played in the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach GL and caddied for John Schlee in the 1976 Open at Atlanta Athletic Club. He was co-medalist at the 2000 U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Jared Eglowsky, 30, of Riverside, Conn., is a municipal bond salesman but it’s his life outside of work which will start a conversation or two. He has hitchhiked through Africa and traveled to India, Nepal, China, Vietnam and other parts of Asia . According to his bio sheet, he “plays in a few bands in and around New York.”  

Tom Glissmeyer, 16, of Colorado Springs, Colo., was the youngest competitor at the 2003 U.S. Open. He shot 80-79 and failed to qualify for the weekend. He will be a junior at Cheyenne Mountain High School this fall.

Ricky Honeycutt, 21, of Chattanooga, Tenn., is the son of former Major League pitcher Rick Honeycutt. He is a senior at the University of Tennessee and played college baseball at Samford in 2000.

J.J. Jackovic, 21, of Napa, Calif., already has a national title under his belt. The junior at California-Chico won the 2002 NCAA Division II individual championship. He was the runner-up at the 2003 Western Amateur and advanced to the round of 32 at the 2002 U.S. Amateur.

Ken Kellaney, 47, of Phoenix, Ariz., is a five-time Arizona Amateur champion but those victories pale in comparison to beating a diagnosis of melanoma in 2000. A commercial banker, he was a quarterifinalist at the 2001 U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Liam Kendregan, 20, of Greshan, Ore., might have the best golf pedigree in the field. His great grandfather, Jock Hutchinson, won the 1921 British Open and was the honorary starter at the Masters for many years. Ironically, he did not begin playing golf until he was 16.

Marc Lawless, 24, Antos, Calif., was the NCAA Division II Player of the Year in 2001 while playing at California State University-Stanislaus. He was graduated earlier this year.

Jack Larkin, 41, of Atlanta, Ga., is back playing in a USGA championship 24 years after winning the U.S. Junior Amateur.   He won the Junior at Moss Creek Golf Club in Hilton Head Island, S.C., beating Billy Tuten, 1 up. Now married and the father of three, he is a wine salesman. This is his sixth Amateur championship.

Henry Liaw, 17, of Rowland Heights, Calif., reached the quarterfinals of the 2002 U.S. Amateur, just the latest in a long line of accomplishments for this teen, who won the 2001 U.S. Junior Amateur. A freshman at the University of Arizona, Liaw has 11 holes-in-one and shot a 58 at the Alhambra (Calif.) Junior Championship when he was just 12 years old.

William McGirt, 24, of Fairmont, N.C., has fond memories of playing in the 2002 U.S. Amateur even though he failed to advance to match play. He had a hole-in-one on the 13 th hole of the Oakland Hills ( Mich. ) South Course during his second round.

Ryan Moore, 20, of Puyallup, Wash., is the picture of second chances as he heads to the first tee at Oakmont CC this week.  He was exempt into the 2003 U.S. Amateur by way of being a quarterfinalist in 2002, but he missed the entry deadline for filing an application. However, he was one of eight amateur selected to the USA Walker Cup team last week which earned him an automatic entry to the Amateur field. Moore won the 2002 U.S. Amateur Public Links and made the cut at the 2003 Masters, where he played two rounds with Arnold Palmer.

Jason Peterson, 32, of Norfolk, Neb., is playing in his first U.S. Amateur after 11 failed attempts. A multi-sport athlete, he played golf and basketball at the University of Nebraska .

Tyler Pitt, 22, of Vernon, British Columbia, Canada, spent two days stuck in an airport in Canada due to the power outage of Thursday, Aug. 14, before he was able to re-direct his flight from British Columbia through Philadelphia and into Pittsburgh. In the end, it has cost him several thousand dollars in airfare to play in his first Amateur.

James Schafer, 24, of Visalia, Calif., has been playing golf for just six years and already has qualified three times for a U.S. Amateur championship.   A pro shop assistant, he made three birdies in the last six holes of his qualifier to advance to the 2003 Amateur field.

Steve Slayden, 37, of Charlotte, N.C., has lived through the highs and lows of life.   He played quarterback at Duke University and had a two-year stint with the Cleveland Browns (1988-89).   The down side was having brain surgery in 1990 that has left his motor coordination a bit off.   A real estate broker, Slayden is playing in his fourth Amateur.

Craig Steinberg, 41, of Oak Park, Calif., is playing in his 11 th Amateur and his 23 rd USGA championship.   An attorney/optometrist, Steinberg is still looking to better his semifinal finish at the 1988 and 1999 U.S. Mid-Amateurs.

Lee Williams, 21, of Alexander City, Ala., is headed into his senior year at the University of Auburn .   He has enjoyed success this summer, winning the Dogwood Invitational and the Greystone Invitational.   He led the first three rounds of the NCAA Championship before finishing runner-up in the individual title race.

Casey Wittenberg, 18, of Memphis, Tenn., has recent wins at the Southern Amateur and the Porter Cup on his way to being one of the youngest ever named to the USA Walker Cup team last week.   He won his Amateur qualifier by 10 strokes.   He also enjoys the times he has been duck hunting with PGA Tour player David Toms .

Braxton Wynns 22, of Buies Creek, N.C., is a newlywed of three months (wife, Jessica ) who successfully defended his Eastern Amateur title in 2003.   It was the first time in 31 years (since Ben Crenshaw ) that someone has won back-to-back titles at the Eastern Amateur.   He eagled the par 5 last hole of his qualifier to earn his place in this Amateur field.