Notebook: Griffin Puts Defeat In Perspective After Losing Sister

By Stuart Hall

Mamaroneck, N.Y. - Seventeen-year-old John Tyler Griffin was one of the first-round losers Wednesday in the opening round of the U.S. Amateur Championship.

"It stung pretty bad," said Griffin, who was beaten 3 and 2 by Robert Keller of Temecula, Calif., on Winged Foot Country Club's West Course.

Few, though, can put defeat in quite the same perspective as Griffin, a rising junior at Fike High in Wilson, N.C.

In the spring of 2002, Griffin's sister, 7-year-old Sarah Morgan, lost a nearly three-year bout to leukemia. Not even a bone marrow transplant from her brother could save her.

"She was just great, smarter than any of us and feisty," said Griffin. "She hated to lose. If she had played sports, she would have been very fiery."

That same intensity was evident in her battle with leukemia. She was first diagnosed at age 4 and after nearly 18 months of treatment, she was given a clean bill of health. But in July 2001, the leukemia returned along with other complications. Suddenly golf for John Tyler took a back seat. Mentally, he believes he was away from the game for about two years.

"There was an eighth-month stretch where I might have played once or twice a month," he said. "It was frustrating to play as well as I had before that and then come out and shoot 75 or 76."

In the summer of 2003, Griffin came to the realization that life - his life - must go on.

"I think the hardest thing was trying to pretend you're living a normal life," said his father John. "It's hard to play when you've just seen your younger sister die in your mother's arms. But because of this, I believe he has matured. He's been through an incredible amount."

In May, Griffin won the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A title by five strokes. In two of his three tournaments prior to the U.S. Amateur, Griffin finished third at the Scott Robertson Memorial in Virginia and second at the Golfweek Junior Invitational in South Carolina. Griffin shot 77-71 - 148 to qualify for the 64-player match play format, but then he never found his game against Keller.

Griffin won the first hole with a par, then lost the second and fourth to fall 1-down. A birdie at the sixth squared the match, but he then lost the seventh and trailed thereafter.

"I was striking it better than I was while I was here," said Griffin of the state of his game. "I grinded all week and that's what got me to match play, but then it eventually caught up with me."

Griffin admits that not thinking about his sister is difficult, even on the golf course, and especially when he is not playing well.

"When I'm playing bad, I just look to up to her," he said. "I know it doesn't help, but I might say, 'Hey, I'm here, help me out a little.'"

Survive And Advance

If the U.S. Amateur match-play brackets were similar to the NCAA Basketball Tournament, then Jason Hartwick would have been a No. 3 seed. Thus, losing to Tommy Medina in the opening round would have been considered a huge upset. Thanks to a 22-foot left-to-right downhill putt on the 18th hole to square the match, and then another birdie putt from just off the fringe on the first green, Hartwick will not have to worry about one-and-done.

"I feel like my game is good enough to get to the end, but you have to take it one match at a time," he said.

After two rounds of stroke-play qualifying in which Hartwick posted a 144 total, he said he took the same approach against Medina, the 56th seed.

"Really I just tried to play boring golf," said Hartwick, "get it in the fairway, on the green and take my two putts for par. You just want to stay patient and wait for your opportunities."

And Hartwick will get a second opportunity Thursday against Jeff Hood, the 41st-seeded player who produced a 3-and-1 win over Patrick Sullivan.

Going The Distance

In one of the more exciting first-round matches, 22-year-old Australian Aron Price survived a scare against Brian Harman in 19 holes. A scare because Price had held a 3-up lead through 11 holes. Then he helplessly watched it dwindle.

Harman squared the match on the 16^th hole with a par before Price grabbed back the lead with a spectacular 25-foot putt on the 449-yard, par 4 17^th. Price was looking at a slope so severe that, had he missed, the ball conceivably would have rolled off the green.

Aron Price of Australia hits out of the 16th bunker Wednesday during his first-round match against Brian Harman. Price won in 19 holes. (John Mummert/USGA)

"His caddie asked me if I wanted him to pull the pin," said Price, who carried his own bag. "I said, 'No, but you can lay down behind it just in case my ball takes off.'"

On No. 18, Price hooked his drive into the penal rough. Despite needing to pitch out to the fairway, the Georgia Southern senior had a chance to close out the match with a halve had he converted an 8-footer. But he didn't, and off they went to No. 1.

On the 19^th (No. 1), Price again hooked his drive into the rough and looked at tough lie. Somehow his approach shot stopped 30 feet below the hole even though Price was visibly unhappy after the swing. In the meantime, Harman also reached the green in two.

Price's first putt, a sidewinder over the undulating green, stopped 5 feet short. Again he was visibly upset. From 15 feet away, Harman was looking at a severe break over a ridge. His ball broke 4 feet right before curling left of the hole, coming to a rest 5 feet away.

When his next offering lipped, Price stepped up and sank his for the victory.

"I feel happy I didn't lose after being that far up," said Price. "I just [told myself] to hang in there. Be patient. I was definitely anxious over the last two holes."

Price said he had a little trouble reading the greens without someone else to confer. Financial reasons were the main reason why he chose to lug his own bag. To secure a club caddie, fees range between $40-50 a day.

Making The Transition

After two days of stroke play competition, the U.S. Amateur transitioned to a match play format. And with the change comes a slightly different mindset. No longer is a player competing against Winged Foot's East and West courses, but rather the player standing beside him on the tee box.

"I think it's a little tough," said Chris Nallen, who qualified for match play with a 144 two-day stroke-play total and then defeated 14-year-old Ryota Ito of Japan 7-and-6 in Wednesday's opening round.

"Obviously, my goal was to just qualify. Everybody is a good player, and it's just to get under that number.

"You don't know who you're going to play in match play. Sometimes the No. 1, No. 2 guys that are ranked in the amateur rankings play each other. You play a little different because you're not playing the course as much. You're playing the guy and what he does, and you kind of base some of your shots on his results."

Spencer Levin concurred.

"Definitely," he said. "You know, if you know all you have to do is two-putt from par, even if it's from 8 feet, you're probably not going to be too aggressive; whereas in stroke play you want to make that 8-footer. Also, whether or not you go at some pins, if the guy is in close for birdie, you have to go for the pin instead of the middle of the green sometimes."

Notable

Of the 32 first-round matches, five went to extra holes, the day's longest being Madalisto Muthiya's 20-hole win over Michael Thompson. The shortest match was Nallen's win that ended at the 12th hole. . Four-time Winged Foot club champion Andy Svoboda won his match 4-and-2 over Matt Kadoma.

Stuart Hall is a free-lance writer for the Golf Press Association. Ken Klavon contributed.