Work Vacation Continues For Eaton
Reigning U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion Ousts NCAA First-Team All-America Martin

By David Shefter, USGA

Ardmore, Pa. – Unlike a majority of competitors in the field at the 2005 U.S. Amateur, Austin Eaton III is playing hooky from work this week.

A home builder in New Hampshire, a business he runs with his father, the reigning U.S. Mid-Amateur champion had to sneak away from the company’s day-to-day operations to compete at historic Merion Golf Club.

Austin Eaton III plays his second shot on the eighth hole out of the fairway bunker. (John Mummert/USGA)

"He’s covered my butt a bunch this summer and I hope he has to continue to help me out this week," said the 36-year-old from North Sutton.

If Eaton, one of six mid-amateurs (25 years of age and older) to qualify for match play, keeps producing victories like the one he posted on Wednesday, the vacation just might last a bit longer.

Playing in just his second Amateur and first since 1998 when he failed to qualify for match play, Eaton eliminated highly-touted collegian Pablo Martin of Spain, 2 and 1. Eaton next faces Korean-born Seung-Su Han, an incoming freshman at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, on Thursday at 9:50 a.m.

Martin, a 19-year-old sophomore-to-be at Oklahoma State, was a first-team All-America this past season and had won Porter Cup, a prestigious amateur competition held at Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston, N.Y., in July. He also was on the European squad for the Palmer Cup, a Ryder Cup-style event involving collegians from the United States and Europe.

Not exactly an easy draw, but Eaton was up to the task, perhaps sending a message that career amateurs can certainly compete with the talented teenagers and college stars. Besides Eaton, three other mid-ams won first-round matches on Wednesday: six-time Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cupper Gary Wolstenholme (44), 2003 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Nathan Smith (27) and 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur winner George Zahringer (52).

"I realized before that I can play with the best," said Eaton. "But the way I played this week just hammers it home; that if I go relax and play my own game, I can compete with anybody."

Eaton admittedly didn’t play his best golf. Neither player started well as they halved the par-4 first hole with bogeys and the par-4 fifth hole with double-bogey 6s. Eaton went 1 up at the ninth with a bogey 4 as Martin found the water with his tee shot and made a 5. But the turning point came two holes earlier when Eaton holed a 10-foot downhill par putt to halve the hole and avoided going 2 down.

From there, Eaton won holes eight and nine and then rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at 12 after Martin chipped in from 18 feet at the 11th for par to square the match. Eaton missed a 4-footer for par to halve that hole.

At 14, Eaton rolled in an 8-footer for par to win the hole after Martin failed to get up and down, missing a 12-foot par attempt. On 15, Eaton only had to play his tee shot because Martin hit two consecutive drives out of bounds and conceded the hole to go 3 down. A 3-foot birdie at 16 momentarily extended the match, but Martin missed a 7-foot par putt at 17 to extend it to 18.

"I had heard that Pablo was a very, very good player," said Eaton. "I had never seen him play before but I had always seen his name at the top of the college rankings. I love the way he flights his golf ball. He hits some really cool shots that showed me he knows how to play in the wind, he knows how to play firm greens. I think it was his driving of the golf ball today that kept him from beating me."

Martin found eight of 13 greens and seven of 17 greens, but he made just two birdies, a 30-footer at six to take a 1-up lead and the short 3-footer at 16.

Eaton, meanwhile, had desperately wanted to compete on this summer’s USA Walker Cup team. But his results since last year’s Mid-Amateur victory didn’t merit a selection. In fact, no mid-amateurs were picked for the 2005 team, the first time it had happened since the biennial event’s inception in 1922.

Bob Lewis, the USA captain for the past two Walker Cups, said during his press conferences at the Match held at Chicago Golf Club that he expected mid-amateurs to step up their games over the next 24 months and believed a mid-amateur would make the 2007 team. Eaton, who briefly thought about turning pro but decided to go into the business world, would certainly cherish a selection and understands a solid performance this week can enhance his competitive résumé.

"I think I tried too hard," said Eaton. "I pushed myself too hard and did not play the way I’d like to. I’m glad the heat is off a little bit and I can really play my own game and I’m real happy the way I played the last few days."

Then again, when the competition is over Eaton has another life to go back to. Sure, he’s readying himself for the defense of his U.S. Mid-Amateur title in a couple of weeks at The Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tenn., but he also has business obligations. Players like Martin have school and plenty of competitive golf in their immediate future.

"I realized what a great life amateur golf affords somebody," said Eaton of his reasons for not playing for pay. "I play some amazing places, including Merion. I’ve played all around the country and all around the world through amateur golf, and it’s something a lot of people should consider in terms of quality of life. I’d rather not live out of a suitcase and try to chase money.

"It would be fun to play golf all the time, but I enjoy golf more this way."

David Shefter is a staff writer for the USGA. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.