Former Amateur Runner-up Green In Hunt At Amateur

Ardmore, Pa. – Forty-eight-year-old Danny Green of Jackson, Tenn., was one of the new kids on the block when he reached the championship match of the 1989 U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club.

Sixteen years later, Green is still holding his own in the game where young players are built for power, not placement. Only 12 golfers finished lower than his 4-over-par 74 at Merion Monday morning, and only Mark Strickland of Woodstock, Ga., was under par.

All of the early low scores came at nearby Philadelphia Country Club, the second course used during the two days of stroke play before the field of 312 golfers is trimmed to just the low 64 scorers, who will advance to match play. Half of the field will complete its first round later this evening.

This week Green is one of just three holdovers from that 1989 championship. Six golfers in the field were not born when Green beat Philly amateur legend Jay Sigel on his way to the final match covered by national television.

"I didn’t even know who Jay Sigel was until about 5,000 people showed up to follow our match," said Green, who edged Sigel in 19 holes.

"This tournament now is a kids tournament," said the sometimes outspoken Green, who has qualified for two Masters Tournaments and won the 1999 U.S. Mid-Amateur. "It isn’t about 49-year-olds. It’s about college-age players and how far they can boom it. I think golf is more about going from point A to point B. That’s the way I learned the game."

Almost as if to prove Green right, three golfers in their 20s share the early lead with 2-under-par 68s at Philadelphia Country Club. They are Canadians Andrew Parr, 22, and 20-year-old Ryan Yip, and Chandler Cocco, 20, of Bend, Ore.

The low scorer in the early-going at Merion was Mark Strickland, 36, of Woodstock, Ga., a former professional who is playing in his third U.S. Amateur. He shot a 1-under-par 69 to stand a stroke in front of reigning NCAA champion James Lepp, 21, of Canada, who is a senior at the University of Washington, and 16-year-old Sihwan Kim, of Fullerton, Calif., the 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur winner.

The youngest members of their respective Walker Cup squads from two weeks ago also showed their talents. Sixteen-year-old Oliver Fisher of England, the youngest player in Walker Cup history, came in at even-par 70 at Philadelphia Country Club. Eighteen-year-old Brian Harman of Savannah, Ga., who was the youngest on the USA squad, posted a 1-over-par 71 at Merion.

The Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs. This is the seventh time that Merion has been host to the championship, more than any other club.