Sunday, August 30, 2009
Walker Cup Selections
The final two spots of the USA Walker Cup team were announced. Cameron Tringale and Peter Uihlein fill out the last two spots with Tim Jackson and Ben Martin named as the first two alternates.
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An Youngest Champion Ever
It took just one year for Byeong-Hun An
to erase a record that Danny Lee set in last year's U.S. Amateur. An
vanquished Ben Martin, 7 and 5, in the 109th U.S. Amateur to become the
youngest champion in the event.
"I don't think that age
matters in golf," said An after winning on the 31st hole (No. 13) of
the scheduled 36-hole championship.
In addition, An became the 13th Korean-born player to win a USGA title, and fourth male to lay claim to an Association victory.
An
moved to the U.S. three and a half years ago. His mother still lives in
China. He hasn't seen her since January, although she'll be heading to
Florida to meet up with him in 10 days. An said the toughest adjustment
has been learning English. He knew none when he first moved to the U.S.
An was asked afterward if Y.E. Yang, who won this year's PGA Championship, helped motivate him.
"After he won the PGA Championship," said An, "for all of us Koreans and Asians, it made it possible for us to win."
For
Martin, he admitted he didn't play well. In the 13 holes in the
afternoon, he had eight bogeys. He knew early on that his swing was
off.
"I didn't have anything out there today," said Martin. "I was out there searching for something but never found it.
"I'm
really not disappointed yet. I had an opportunity to win, but with the
perks you get for making the final, it's hard to be really
disappointed."
Martin will receive a likely invitation to the
2010 Masters and is exempt into the next U.S. Open. An also will
receive the same but also a British Open invite and will be exempt into
the U.S. Amateur the next 10 years if he remains an amateur.
An Wins 7 And 5
No.
13 (Hole 31) - Martin into the right rough off tee. He punched out to
the left rough. An was in the fairway with 168 yards to the hole.
It ultimately came down to Martin three-putting from 25 feet. An wins the 109th U.S. Amateur.
An Wins 7 And 5
No.
12 (Hole 30) - An, from the front of the green, chipped to 3 feet of
the hole. He sank the putt. Martin had 218 yards from the fairway in
and found a front bunker. After getting out, Martin missed a 10-foot
par save.
An is now 6 up and dormie.
An Leads 6 Up
No.
11 (Hole 29) - After losing the last two holes with bogeys, An seemed
to be on the ropes. Martin hit his best shot of the day, landing the
ball 12 feet below the hole. An put his above the hole, 14 feet away.
However, An swayed the momentum back in his favor by draining the putt.
Martin missed left and lost the hole.
An Leads 5 Up
No.
10 (Hole 28) - Both players found the fairway. Martin got on the green,
the ball stopping 45 feet away from the hole. An blocked his approach,
but the ball came to a rest 60 feet from the flagstick. Martin
two-putted for par; An missed from 4 feet.
An Leads 4 Up
No.
9 (Hole 27) - Martin gets one back. He needed it. From the left
fairway, with 149 yards to the hole, he sent his approach to 35 feet
and two-putted for par. An hit his approach over the green and couldn't
get up and down.
The hole was notable because it was the first green Martin hit in the afternoon nine. Thus far, he's 13-over.
Ah Leads 5 Up
No.
8 (Hole 26) - This hole was halved with bogeys. Both missed the green
on the 243-yard par 3 - Martin went in a left bunker and An in the
right greenside rough. Martin knocked a 30-foot putt to 4 feet and
converted while An left a 28-footer 3 feet short before pushing it in.
An Leads 6 Up
No.
7 (Hole 25) - Martin is having a tough time. He just fell six holes
down. Martin drove into the left rough, then put his next shot into a
greenside bunker. An, in the meantime, got on in in two and had a
45-foot birdie putt to make. He left the first putt 6 feet short.
Martin ended up suffering a bogey.
An Leads 6 Up
No.
6 (Hole 24) - Martin is starting to be more aggressive. He laced his
iron shot on the par 3 hole high but the ball had to too much spin and
bounded in back of the green.
An found the green safely,
looking at a 30-footer for birdie. However, he left the putt 6 feet
short before saving par. Martin stuck his chip within inches. Hole
halved.
An Leads 5 Up
No. 5 (Hole 23) - Both
found the fairway. With 266 yards to the hole, Martin left his second
shot short of a front bunker. An had 260 yards in, but found a left
bunker. Martin flopped his third shot onto the green but it was too
hard, rolling to the back fringe. He then chipped to 13 feet and
two-putted.
An got out of the bunker to 25 feet of the hole. He left the ball 3 feet short but made the next one to win the hole.
An Leads 5 Up
No.
4 (Hole 22) - The hole was halved with 5s. An drove into the left the
fairway and the ball rested against the right rough. He had to chip out
into the fairway before sending his approach to within 25 feet of the
hole.
Martin had a wedge from 106 yards to 12 feet of the
hole. He knocked his first putt 4 feet by and made the comebacker. An's
first putt grazed the hole. Both absorbed bogeys.
An Leads 4 Up
No.
3 (Hole 21) - Martin drove into the deep right rough. With 150 yards to
the flagstick, he found the left front-bunker. An had 144 yards to the
hole and got safely on the green, within 30 feet of the destination.
Martin got out of the bunker to 22 feet, but An again put his putt to
within inches.
Martin suffered a bogey-5 to An's par.
An Leads 4 Up
No.
2 (Hole 20) - An jumped back to a 3-up margin on the 485-yard par-4.
Martin had the misfortune of watching his ball hit the green, but then
scoot off and into the water hazard.
In the meantime, An stuck
his approach from the right rough to within 14 feet of the flagstick.
After incurring the one-stroke penalty, Martin chipped to 7 feet. It
didn't matter as An finessed his birdie try to inches.
An Leads 3 Up
No.
1 (Hole 19) - Ben Martin gained a hole back after Byeong-Hun An missed
a 12-footer to save par. Martin had been on the back fringe and bladed
a sand wedge inches away from the hole for an easy tap-in par.
An Leads 2 Up
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First 18 Complete
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Byeong-Hun An
distanced himself from Ben
Martin on the back nine in the
first 18 holes of the final match.
An, a senior
at Bradenton (Fla.) Prep, won six of the final nine holes.
A junior golf All-American, he is the youngest finalist since 17-year-old Sung
Yoon Kim of Korea
lost in 1999 to David
Gossett. If he wins, would be the
youngest champion in history, surpassing 18-year-old Danny Lee
of New Zealand,
who won in 2008.
"The
last few holes I played great, " said An on his way to the clubhouse.
"I hope I play better this afternoon."
Both have
scrambled, Martin more so than An. The
unofficial stats show that Martin
struck just five fairways. Both have also had their share of misses.
On No. 12, An
two-putted from 8 feet
to lose the hole. One hole later, Martin
snap-hooked his drive into the rough, punched out to the fairway and sent his
approach into a front bunker. An eventually won with a par.
It wasn't
until the 15th that An settled in. He won the hole with another par, but not
until Martin struggled mightily on the green Looking at a
12-foot downhill birdie putt, he put too much speed on the ball. He missed the
15-foot comebacker.
An won the
par-5 16 with a 10-footer for birdie to go 2 up.
On 17, Martin tried to drive the par-4 dogleg right. The
sequence thereafter was tough. The ball ended up in back of the green and Martin chubbed the ball just 4 feet, short of the green.
He then left his par-putt 25
feet short and ran the next shot short. An took
advantage with a well executed up and down from the right greenside rough.
Overall, Martin has bogeyed seven times and carded one double
bogey. The bogeys came from the seventh hole and on.
Martin, who qualified for the 2009 U.S. Open
but missed the cut and celebrated his 22nd birthday on the first day of match
play, is seeking to become the first Clemson
University player to win
the championship since Chris
Patton in 1989.
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Oh An
An had a chance to halve the ninth hole with a 3-foot putt. He missed wide. Martin goes 1 up.
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Martin
Ben Martin could be seen working on his game into the evening last night. A couple days ago he didn't like the results he was getting around the greens. He said after his semifinal win that he wanted to work out some kinks.
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Saturday, August 29, 2009
An Holds Court
Byeong-Hun "Benny" An is quite a character. Just a 17-year-old high school senior-to-be, he seems to be enjoying every moment here this week. After doing a sit-down media interview, which took about 10 minutes, he got cornered on some steps outside of the clubhouse by another media horde. This session took about 20 minutes. Through it all, he stood there politely answering every question with a huge smile.
An came from South Korea three-and-a-half years ago in search of a golf career. Besides a runner-up finish at the Rolex Tournament of Champions, and a quarterfinal showing at the Western Amateur, his bio is admittedly bare. He laughed about it, saying it would be great to get his first win of his career under his belt. Some in the media chuckled because his career has been about five years long.
Should An win, he will eclipse Danny Lee as the youngest champion in this championship.
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Martin Moves On
Ben Martin was the first to move onto the final round. He drained a 12-footer to wrap up his match against Charlie Holland, 5 and 4, on the 14th hole.
On the cart ride back to the clubhouse, he was asked how it felt to be in the position he was in.
"I don't know yet. I've got one more match to go," said Martin.
Smart answer. He can't get overly emotional with one more match to play.
It's likely he'll get an invitation to the 2010 Masters and will receive a full exemption into next year's U.S. Open - if he remains an amateur. He grew up 90 minutes away from Augusta National and made the trip there as a kid beginning about 1996. No one may be more excited than his dad, Jim Martin, who is his caddie this week. Martin said he might use him as a caddie there, but he feels dad could be too nervous. He indicated that he “probably” will remain in an amateur so he could fulfill the U.S. Open exemption.
“It really hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Martin, a fifth-year senior at Clemson.
When Martin won, the first person to greet him off the green was his mom, Suzie. She embraced him tight. Someone asked him to sign a pairing sheet. His mom, though, had quite the ordeal getting from their Greenwood, S.C., home Friday. First, her flight was hampered by thunderstorms causing a delay. Then after she took off, she missed her connecting flight in Houston. She spent the night in Beaumont, Texas, finally making it to Southern Hills midway through Martin’s match.
The key to Martin's success Saturday may have been his dedication to practice. On Friday evening, he put in a two-hour session to work on his driving and short game. It's impressive when you think of all the golf he's played this week.
On the other hand, Holland struggled mightily. By the time the sixth hole was complete, he was trailing Martin by four holes. Soon the deficit fell to five through nine holes when he pushed his 3-foot putt wide.
“I rushed my putt,” said Holland, 23, who will return for his senior year at the University of Texas. “It was just really bad.”
In the end, he credited Martin for his resiliency. It wasn’t often Martin got into trouble, and when he did, he scrambled well.
“When you’re playing Ben – he wasn’t missing a shot – it’s hard,” said Holland.
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Not Holland's Day
Think the ninth hole could sum up Charlie Holland's round. After pitching from the back greenside rough to 3 feet, he stood over the putt and then pushed it. Lost the hole. He's down five holes now.
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Underway
We have started. Such an interesting final four:
An - If he wins, he supplants Danny Lee as the youngest champion ever. Lee, of course, won last year and supplanted Tiger Woods as the youngest ever.
Patel - Sophomore at Fresno St. Self-taught.
Martin - Comes back from a heart ailment, which had him hobbled so bad that he barely could make it up a flight of stairs a few years ago.
Holland - Underwent a swing change last Christmas to help his ball-striking. Quarterfinalist last year.
Martin drove his tee shot on No. 1 into the ninth fairway. Not a great start.
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Friday, August 28, 2009
Big Goof
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In the Ben Martin-David Lingmerth match, Martin suffered an
unfortunate penalty on the fifth hole. With his ball in the left greenside
bunker, his caddie-father, Jim Martin, started raking the sand. Martin at that point was up and the
green trying to strategize. When he turned back, he uttered, "Noooo."
The Rules official indicated then that it would be a loss of hole. Raking a
bunker while a ball is still in the hazard is a no-no. Martin walked straight
for the sixth hole, clearly agitated. No one felt worse than the caddie, who
dropped to his knees outside of the bunker and bowed his head.
His caddie could be overheard apologizing as the walked toward the sixth green. "It would have been a long ride back to South Carolina" had Martin lost, said Jim Martin.
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Walker Cup
This is purely speculative, but if anyone thought the final two selections to the Walker Cup team would be a lock, it's anything but. Dan Woltman, Cameron Tringale and Mike Van Sickle have had summers that might bolster their cases, but their elimination Thursday complicates matters.
The question becomes, what if David Lingmerth (Sweden) or Byeong-Hun An (Korea) win? That would keep the two spots open. Should be interesting to see how it all plays out.
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Thursday, August 27, 2009
Ziegler Zooms In To Quarterfinals
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Steve Ziegler,
down two holes with three remaining, came back to eliminate Dan Woltman.
Ziegler was 3 down through seven holes. He ended up
birdieing the 17th and 18th holes to even the match.
"To make birdies on this course, to be able to come back is close to
impossible," said Ziegler, entering his
sophomore year at Stanford.
On the 17th hole, he tried to drive the green. The tee was moved up Thursday
and played about 305 yards.
His drive ended up in the left greenside bunker, but he had an impressive up
and down. He drained a 10-footer. That may have been the key, he said.
When told of his reward for making it to the quarterfinal round, he pumped his
fist. Quarterfinalists are exempt into next year's U.S. Amateur.
He's adopted a Tiger Woods mindset to tournaments.
"I admire Tiger Woods so much because anything less than a win is a
failure," said Ziegler.
Switching gears, how about Mike
Van Sickle accepting blame for his
loss:
"It comes down to 18," he said. "I have a 6-footer up the hill
to win the match and you've got to put everything aside and suck it up, and be
a man, and make it. And I totally came out of the putt. The pressure got to me
there, I think, a little bit. I put one of my worst strokes ever on it. I can't
blame anyone but myself. It was my match to win. That putt is going to haunt me
for a little while."
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Ziegler Zooms In To Quarterfinals
Steve Ziegler, down two holes with three holes remaining, came back to eliminate Dan Woltman. Ziegler was 3 down through seven holes. he ended up birdieing the 17th and 18th holes to even the match.
"To make birdies on this course, to be able to come back is close to impossible," said Ziegler, entering his sophomore year at Stanford.
On the 17th hole, he tried to drive the green. The tee was moved up Thursday and played about 305 yards. His drive ended up in the left greenside bunker, but he had an impressive up and down. He drained a 10-footer. That may have been the key, he said.
When told of his reward for making it to the quarterfinal round, he pumped his fist. Quarterfinalists are exempt into next year's U.S. Amateur.
He's adopted a Tiger Woods mindset to tournaments.
"I admire Tiger Woods so much because anything less than a win is a failure," said Ziegler.
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Uihlein Has New Approach
Peter Uihlein feels fortunate to move on. Not because he's played poorly this week. He's performed quite well. Said he had a bit of a wake-up call earlier this year while playing for Oklahoma State when his coach sent him to an NAIA event, which he ultimately did well at.
It was also the impetus for getting his ball-striking back to where it should be, he said, after moving into the quarterfinals here. Next up is Charlie Holland.
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Comeback Charlie
Just call him 'Comeback Charlie.'
Charlie Holland has had a propensity to start slow. But this slow? It's starting to become a running joke. In each of his three matches, he's started behind. He did the same at last year's U.S. Amateur.
"I have no idea why," he said after knocking off Christopher Ross, 2 and 1, in the third round. "I just can't win the first hole."
In any event, it hasn't fazed him. What's more important is that he has returned to the quarterfinal round, just as he did last year.
Last Christmas he underwent a swing change to help with his ball-striking. He thinks it's starting to pay dividends. He finished 13th at the Porter Cup, but felt he could have won if putts would have dropped.
Close friend Colt Knost stayed around to watch his third-round match. The two grew up in the Dallas area together.
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