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Olson Relies On Smarts
By Stuart Hall
San Francisco – Eddie Olson had local knowledge of The Olympic Club going for him. He also had a healthy gallery behind him, given that he’s an hour down the road from here.
What Olson did not have working for him, though, was his game. And despite a balky game off the tee, he still managed a 4-and-2 win over Gene Elliott in the second round of the U.S. Amateur on Thursday morning.
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| The reaction of Eddie Olson tells the story of which way his ball went on his seventh-hole drive Thursday in the second round. (John Mummert/USGA) |
"I was telling other people, this course puts a premium on hitting fairways and greens, and that's what I do best," he said. "Obviously I didn't do it today. But that's usually my forte."
What extricated Olson, 20, of Aptos, Calif., was a torrid putter that helped him shoot even par through 16 holes with the usual concessions. And it allowed the UNLV sophomore to advance to the afternoon’s third round.
Elliott, 45, of West Des Moines, Iowa, was making his sixth U.S. Amateur appearance. His best finish prior to this week was a second-round loss in 1997, when Olson was just 10.
Olson, making his third U.S. Amateur appearance, entered the week with extreme confidence. He reached the first round of match play at the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and finished second at the Sahalee Players. Now he’s looking to extend his stay in San Francisco through the weekend.
"Coming in I was very excited to play this golf course," Olson said. "Hometown kid, so I played here a couple times. And I knew my local knowledge would help out a little bit. And I'm excited to be here now."
Through the seventh hole, the match was all square. Olson then stuck his approach to within a foot at the 137-yard, par-3 eighth. Olson then won the next two holes with pars to go 3 up.
"That was big for me," Olson said of eight. "And I just kept telling myself just find a way to make pars coming in and force him to make birdies. And that's kind of what I did."
Even if his game did not want to completely cooperate.
Stuart Hall is a writer for the Golf Press Association whose work has appeared previously on www.usamateur.org.
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| Championship Facts |
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U.S. Amateur PAR AND YARDAGE – The Lakeside Course at The Olympic Club will play at 6,948 yards and par 35-35—70. The Ocean Course at The Olympic Club, which will be used for the first two days of stroke play only, will play at 6,786 yards and par 35-35—70. THE OLYMPIC CLUB – Sam Whiting, a former English professor at the University of California at Berkley, designed the Lakeside Course, which opened in 1927. Whiting also supervised construction on the Ocean Course. Following completion of the jobs, Whiting stayed on as golf course superintendent until 1954. Tom Weiskopf worked on the recently completed re-design of the Ocean Course. TICKETS AVAILABLE – Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.ticketweb.com. Daily tickets are $15 and a weekly pass is $60. Other ticket options are also available. Children 12 and under are admitted free if accompanied by a paying adult. COURSE SETUP – The Lakeside Course at the Olympic Club will be set for green speeds of approximately 11 feet, 6 inches on the Stimpmeter. The primary rough will be grown to 4 inches, with a strip of intermediate rough cut to 1½ inches in height. Poa annua grass covers the greens. The fairways are a rye and poa annual grass combination. The roughs also have a bit of bluegrass mixed in. USGA SLOPE RATING® AND COURSE RATING™ – The Lakeside Course at the Olympic Club will carry a USGA Course Rating™ of 74.8 and a USGA Slope Rating® of 143. The Ocean Course will carry a USGA Course Rating™ of 74.0 and a USGA Slope Rating® of 136. An "average" Slope Rating in the U.S. is about 113. TOTAL ENTRIES – The USGA accepted 7,398 entries for the 2007 U.S. Amateur. The most entries ever received for an Amateur championship was 7,920 in 1999 when the U.S. Amateur was played at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links. WHO CAN ENTER – The U.S. Amateur Championship is open to amateur golfers who have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4.
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