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| Drew Kittleson has shaken off the disappointment from last year's final. He's looking at this U.S. Amateur with a fresh perspective. (John Mummert/USGA) |
By Ken Klavon, USGA
Tulsa, Okla. – If time heals old wounds, then Drew Kittleson has been on a path to recovery.
A couple of high-status events have soothed the disappointment the Florida State University junior felt last year after falling to Danny Lee, 5 and 4, in the U.S. Amateur final at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club’s No. 2 Course. An invite to the Masters and an exemption into the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black can do that. Never mind that he missed the cut in both. He obviously would have enjoyed playing into the weekend, but he savored both experiences in spite of the results.
“It’s been a life-changing event for sure,” said Kittleson, 20, of Scottsdale, Ariz., on Sunday at Southern Hills Country Club. “Last year opened up so many doors for me.”
To be quite honest, Kittleson hasn’t spent a whole lot of time agonizing over last year’s loss. There have been no what ifs, what could have beens or anything to that extent. That’s not Kittleson’s nature. He left Pinehurst, went home and collapsed in his bed until 2 p.m. the next day. It was time for the next endeavor.
Competitive to a fault, he threw everything he had at Lee in the 36-hole final. Yet Lee couldn’t be caught as he birdied 13 of the 32 holes – a remarkable 40 percent. Kittleson was practically spinning his wheels trying to find traction.
"Now that I look at it," said Kittleson after the final, "usually I'm not the guy who would be so happy for the other guy when that's happening. But it was kind of fun to watch. What are you going to do?"
Kittleson didn’t back away from those comments Sunday. Fresh off a practice round at Southern Hills, he still praised Lee for an astonishing display of golf. Kittleson looked relaxed and was at ease, smiling most of the time. If the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Team choice felt any pressure to duplicate a similar run this week, he wasn’t showing it. He shook his head when asked if he thought he needed to win this week to validate last year’s performance.
Since age 13, he’s been able to put life in perspective after losing his mother, Janis, to colon cancer.
What he’s hoping to find is the same swing that was responsible for helping him lead 55 holes through his first five matches. As the old Jefferson Starship song goes, he needs to somehow “find his way back.”
A similar scenario presents itself to 22-year-old Adam Mitchell, a recent University of Georgia graduate. In last year’s Amateur, he advanced to the semifinals before being eliminated by Kittleson. His victory at the 2008 Porter Cup and finish in the Amateur helped him make the 2009 USA Walker Cup team. That recent selection softened the disappointment of coming close to winning the hardest amateur championship in golf.
As he mowed down opponents last year, Mitchell’s smile grew wider as though each victory was gravy.
Did he surprise himself?
“Yes and no,” he said Sunday. “I knew I had it in me. All my hard work from the past 20 years of my life had panned out. It’s one of the biggest tournaments in golf – if not the biggest. I think anyone would be surprised.”
So Kittleson and Mitchell, who crossed paths last year, are back again to chase a title that had eluded them. Smarter for the experience, they also realize if they continue to live off last year’s laurels, they won’t make it past stroke-play qualifying.
If that happens, old wounds may never heal.
Ken Klavon is the USGA’s Editor of Digital Media. E-mail him with questions or comments at kklavon@usga.org.
