Notebook: Knowledge Not Enough

By Alex Miceli

San Francisco - For 23 years Randy Haag has been a member at Olympic Club. He figured he’s played the 18th hole more than 1,000 times, but that knowledge wasn’t enough Wednesday. That’s because when he needed to record a par or better, he came up empty with a double-bogey 6 and lost to Derek Fathauer, 1 up.

Out-driven by 30 to 40 yards, Haag was solid hitting the narrow fairways of the Lake Course while Fathauer, 21, hit it far and wide. In the end it would be Fathauer finding the fairway on the short 347-yard 18^th hole while Haag would miss left in the deep rough. He’d need five shots to eventually get on the green.

"That hole has been giving me trouble for 23 years," Haag said of the 18th. "I didn't go through my normal routine. I kind of quick hit it. That's why I'm an amateur. I think I'll stay an amateur for a long time."

Haag’s biggest mistake may have been not carrying a 3-iron. Making the decision to replace the 3-iron with a utility wood, Haag missed the club when he teed off on the 18th.

"I shouldn't have been hitting a rescue because that goes in the narrowest part of the fairway," Haag said of the 18th tee shot. "He (Fathauer) chased his down, just hit a little stinger shot and that shot is a much higher probability of hitting it straight."

An Eagle Has Landed

The seventh hole plays at 286 yards, just 39 longer than the par-3 third. However, the seventh is a par 4, and for Harris English, he found he could drive it. English, an incoming freshman at the University of Georgia, hit a driver to 10 feet for eagle. He recorded the only one on the hole and the third eagle of the day, following Tsung Chen Pan and Bud Cauley on the par-5, first hole.

"I got it back to all square, I believe at that point," English said. "So that really gave me a boost of confidence going in."

The eagle 2 was part of a scorecard that had a 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 on it, evidence of some of the erratic play that can occur in match play.

In the end English lost in 19 holes to Eddie Olson.

"Kind of had a rough start," English said. "And got out there and started swinging well there and he just played really well. It was just tough to beat him."

Of the three players that made eagles in the first round, only Pan won his match 2 and 1 over Jay Moseley. Cauley lost in 19 holes to Kyle Ellis.

Outside Looking In

A shocked Drew Weaver packed up his bags for the long trip back to Virginia Tech after a 4 and 3 pasting by Penn State University sophomore Travis Howe. Weaver, the British Amateur champion, could do little right in his match losing six of the first seven holes and falling 7 down through the first 10 holes. While Weaver made a comeback of sorts by winning three consecutive holes, the deficit was too much to overcome.

"I just didn't really get in rhythm early and just felt terribly uncomfortable out there," said Weaver, 20. "Just really frustrating with so much riding on this week and I gave it all I had coming down the stretch. It's just, it's seven down with eight to go, that was just asking a lot."

Unfortunately, with two spots left on the USA Walker Cup team, Weaver may have cost himself a chance to represent his country at Royal County Down in two weeks.

"For all intents and purposes, I don't want to say yes or no," said Weavers, when asked if he made a positive enough statement to the Walker Cup committee. "I played really well, and in the stroke play. I made six birdies on the Ocean Course [Tuesday] afternoon and 69 over here (Lakeside Course) is pretty good. And it just hurts to go out in the first round.

"If I could have won two or three matches, then people would have had a lot less doubts about me getting selected."

Another player who needed a good week at Olympic Club was Oklahoma State University freshman Ricky Fowler. Fowler, a quarterfinalist in the 2006 U.S. Amateur, could not make it out of the stroke play portion. He registered a bogey 5 on the first playoff hole in the 16-for-7 playoff.

"I had the best summer of my life so far," Fowler said of winning the Sunnehanna and Players Amateur. "I've given it my best shot. So we'll just wait and see."

Neither player will have long to wait. It’s expected that the committee will make a decision this weekend.

Walker Cup Update

When the dust finally settled after a Monday fog delay that pushed the conclusion of the 36-hole stroke play qualifying to Wednesday morning, six of eight of the U.S. Walker Cup team qualified for the match play portion of the U.S. Amateur. Only veteran Trip Kuehne (125th) and rising junior Jonathan Moore (129th) of Oklahoma State University failed to make it to match play.

When the first round of match play concluded only Chris Kirk, who defeated Joseph Bramlett, 1 up, Colt Knost and Jamie Lovemark were left.

USA Walker Cuppers who lost their first matches were Billy Horschel (4 and 3 to Derek Ernst), Dustin Johnson (1 up to Ricky Jones) and Webb Simpson (4 and 3 to Michael Thompson).

Alex Miceli is a writer for the Golf Press Association whose work has appeared previously on www.usamateur.org.