17-year-old Beau Hossler
played well in the first round at The Olympic
ClubBy Ryan Lavner, Golfweek
SAN FRANCISCO – Apparently, a lengthy
major-championship resume isn’t a
prerequisite at this year’s U.S. Open. How
else to explain J.B. Park (70) and Alistair
Presnell (70), who have never teed it up in
our national championship, or Jason Bohn
(70), who has played only one?
Beau Hossler made his U.S. Open debut
last year at Congressional . . . at age 16,
with a mouth full of braces, a few weeks
after passing his driver’s test. He’s back at
golf’s toughest test again this year, only
with a new look (he’s filled out a 6-foot,
190-pound frame), a new confidence (“I
feel comfortable out there”), a new
allegiance (he committed to 2012 NCAA
champion Texas) and, well, a new result.
Having missed the cut at last year’s U.S.
Open after rounds of 76-77, the 17-year-
old Hossler fired an even-par 70 Thursday
to sit four shots back of leader Michael
Thompson.
To put Hossler’s round into context,
consider that Patrick Cantlay, the No. 1-
ranked amateur in the world, shot 76
Thursday. So did Phil Mickelson, a five-time
runner-up at the U.S. Open. Masters
champion Bubba Watson was two shots
worse.
Asked if he was surprised by his start at
Olympic -- supposedly the toughest major-
championship test since Oakmont in 2007
-- Hossler shrugged, “Not at all. I’ve been
playing really well lately. I expected to go
out there and get a lot out of my
round.”
Round 2 Amateur Tee-Times:
- Cameron WIlson, 7:00 a.m. (7-over)
- Jordan Spieth, 7:59 a.m. (4-over)
- Brooks Koepka, 9:27 a.m. (7-over)
- Alberto Sanchez, 9:12 a.m. (2-over)
- Beau Hossler, 12:30 a.m. (Even)
- Patrick Cantlay, 1:14 p.m. (6-over)
- Andy Zhang, 1:36 p.m. (9-over)
- Nick Sherwood, 2:42 p.m. (8-over)
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As high-school sensations go, Hossler, of
Mission Viejo, Calif., has been decidedly
under the radar this week. Andy Zhang
has drawn all the attention, and
deservedly so -- at age 14, he became the
youngest U.S. Open participant in history.
(He shot 79 Thursday.)
That’s an impressive feat, certainly, but
Hossler authored his own USGA history
this week, becoming the first high-
schooler to play back-to-back U.S. Opens
since Mason Rudolph in 1950-51.
Naturally, his second Open has created
new memories. On Tuesday, Hossler and
partner Alberto Sanchez engaged Phil
Mickelson and Mark McCormick in a spirited
match-play battle. (The kid emerged
victorious, but the main takeaway for
Hossler was Lefty’s credo to take
conservative lines and make aggressive
swings.) On Wednesday, Hossler tagged
along with Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and
Zach Johnson as they made final
preparations for Olympic. (A wise trio to
follow, with the three veterans having
combined to make 41 previous U.S. Open
appearances.)
“As hectic as it is,” Hossler said, “I feel a
lot more comfortable with the situation
now than I did last year, because it was
something so new to me.”
The only mental mistake he made
Thursday was his third shot on the 640-
yard 16th, which plays more like a par 5
1/2. Having missed the fairway, Hossler
could only advance the ball about 40
yards with his second shot, then tried to
reach the green from 275 yards away. He
missed the green right, in an impossible
spot, and wound up making bogey.
“I just expected to get the most out of my
rounds,” said Hossler, one of eight
amateurs in the field this week. “I can’t
really put a number on it because the
course is changing. I just want to make
sure I’m not making any mental
mistakes.”
That’s the key at a U.S. Open. Anybody
with a major-championship resume knows
that.
ABOUT THE
U.S. Open Golf Championship
The U.S. Open is the biggest of the 15 national
championships conducted by the USGA.
Open
to amateurs and professionals. Amateurs gain
entry via USGA win or runner-up finishes while having the opportunity
to qualify alongside non-exempt professionals in an 18-hole "Local' qualifying followed
by 36-hole "Final" qualifying which is affectionately known as golf's longest day.
Highly-ranked amateurs will be exempted past the 18-hole Local Qualifying. See the
USGA website for details. And if you are exempt on any level be sure to apply by the deadline anyway.
The USGA intends to make the U.S. Open
the
most rigorous, yet fair, examination of golf
skills, testing all forms of shot-making. The
USGA prepares the course after careful
consideration of 14 different factors.
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