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| Logan Harrell was a semifinalist in this year's U.S. Junior Amateur, which was held in July. (Steven Gibbons/USGA) |
By Ken Klavon, USGA
Tulsa, Okla. – Jordan Spieth makes no bones about it. He’s here this week for one reason and one reason only.
“Overall, all in all, my goal is to win. I think I can,” said the U.S. Junior Amateur champion shortly after wrapping up his final tune-up for his first U.S. Amateur Sunday that included an ace on No. 15 at Southern Hills Country Club.
“You have to have the mindset to win it,” said 17-year-old Logan Harrell of Huntersville, N.C. “I don’t think 312 players are coming here to finish second or third.”
Harrell, a 2009 U.S. Junior semifinalist, and the 16-year-old Spieth aren’t outwardly cocky nor are they smug. In terms of maturity, they both carry themselves well beyond their young years. The earnestness in their voices doesn’t belie respect and innocence.
Spieth and Harrell are part of a contingent of U.S. Junior Amateur participants who found their way to Tulsa via exemption or sectional qualifying. Spieth and Jay Hwang, 16, of San Diego received exemptions after reaching last month’s Junior Amateur final at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. When Hwang, sitting in an idle golf cart, was told at Trump National that he had earned a spot in the U.S. Amateur, he beamed, at first thinking it was a joke.
He wasn’t smiling Monday, but that was due more to walking off exhausted from the overbearing Oklahoma heat and a 4-over-par 74 at Southern Hills to place within the top 100 players.
“I’ve never played a course with greens as fast as these,” said Hwang.
Nine others who participated in the 2009 Junior qualified. Overall, there are 19 juniors (17 and under) in the field. The youngest competitor, 14-year-old Beau Hossler Jr. of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., shot 7-over 77. In any event, 19 juniors equates to 7 percent of the field, a decent showing for the up-and-comer golfers of the future.
What many of them found Monday during the first round of stroke-play qualifying was that the U.S. Amateur is a definite step up. Seventeen-year-old Patrick Rodgers of Avon, Ind., learned that the hard way in carding an 81. He finished with a double bogey on the ninth hole at Southern Hills, a 372-yard par-4 that features an elevated green. Rodgers, who made it to the round of 16 at the Junior Amateur, overshot the green, pitched off a hill and watched as the ball crawled down the green’s front edge.
For much of the day, Rodgers missed his spots. Southern Hills, which has hosted three U.S. Opens among its 9 USGA championships, can be treacherous due to its tricky green complexes and unforgiving rough.
Rodgers shot 67-66 at Willow Creek Golf Club in Knoxville, Tenn., before getting in the Amateur via a playoff. Obviously excited about qualifying for his first Amateur, he knew the payoff was a feather in his cap.
“Most [participants] are Division I college golfers,” said Rodgers. “I think I proved I can compete with the best amateurs.”
Harrell was one of four qualifiers to come out of Oak Valley Golf Club in Advance, N.C. He shot seven under over his last 11 holes to finalize a 65 that pushed him in. Although he competed against top talent, he gained more confidence from being among the final four at the Junior Amateur, where he lost to Spieth.
“I was really excited and I’m glad to be here,” said the left-handed Harrell, who shot 80 in his first round at Southern Hills. “Hopefully this will be good experience and I’ll learn from it.
“This is a completely different course, more difficult, than Trump National. You have to come in knowing you won’t shoot 65 or something crazy.”
Hopes of a 65 for Patrick Cantlay, 17, of Los Alamitos, Calif., were dashed early. He walked off the ninth hole, his last of the day, bruised and beaten. Three double bogeys and one triple that led to an 84 left him upset. It was a far cry from his qualifier at Western Hills Golf and Country Club in Chino Hills, Calif., where he registered a 142.
His observation of Southern Hills was that it’s brutally tough. There’s a clear delineation between a Junior Amateur and Amateur setup. Fairways are tucked tighter, rough is more penal and the greens roll faster. It also didn’t help that a strong breeze rolled through much of the afternoon.
“I was absolutely terrible today,” said Cantlay, who ducked out of the Junior Amateur after the second round of match play. “I putted bad. I drove the ball bad. I chipped bad. It also showed me that my short game is nowhere near where it needs to be.”
All wasn’t doom and gloom on the junior front. Spieth turned in a 3-over 73 at Cedar Ridge Country Club, which is being used during the stroke-play portion of the championship.
He purposely took time off after playing in the Junior Amateur and PGA Junior Amateur back to back so he could be fully rested mentally and physically. There was no pomp and circumstance when he returned to his Dallas, Texas, home. There was a minor birthday/victory celebration with family and friends, but beyond that, he re-programmed and reloaded.
He wasn’t kidding when he said the goal coming in was to focus on 36 pars over the first two days. A birdie on the 18th, his ninth hole of the round, had him heading into his back nine 1-over 36. The strategy was to play conservatively and not aim at every flagstick.
“I mean the course, obviously, is a lot longer and it’s a lot more difficult,” said Spieth afterward. “But I’m trying to take it the same way I took it back at Trump, so you know hopefully tomorrow’s a little better.”
More than that, no matter the scores Monday, these kids are still doing alright.
Ken Klavon is the USGA’s Editor of Digital Media. E-mail him with questions or comments at kklavon@usga.org.
