Van Sickle Words Hard For The Sonny

More importantly, while the SI golf writer loops for son Mike in the U.S. Amateur, he's able to deliver a solid metaphor for Dave Shedloski, but I'm not sure about the matching outfits.

Van Sickle, ranked 14th in the Golfweek Scratch Players World Amateur Rankings – and sixth among Americans – won both the Pennsylvania Open and the Pennsylvania Amateur, making him just the second man to turn the double in one year, joining Jay Sigel, who won back-to-back U.S. Amateur crowns in 1982-83. A resident of Wexford, Pa., Van Sickle also became the first amateur to win consecutive state open titles and just the third to successfully defend.

He wasn’t shabby on the national stage, either. Van Sickle birdied the final hole at the Southern Amateur at Lake Nona Country Club in Orlando to force a playoff before losing on the first extra hole to 2007 Walker Cupper Kyle Stanley of Gig Harbor, Wash. He also finished third at the Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club.

Iwas fighting my swing a little bit," said Mike, 21, who enters his senior year at Marquette University. "I guess I ran out of gas."

"He was like Kenny Perry at the tail end of his hot streak," said Gary, 54, who for nearly 12 years has been a senior writer covering the PGA Tour for Sports Illustrated. "He played real well for a month or two, but it ended sort of as the Amateur began. Just no way to explain that."

“I thought the pace of play was horrible"

Alistair Tait isn't too wild about the Curtis Cup pace.

Put Carol Semple Thompson in charge of golf. The game would get a lot quicker if she was chief executive of the royal & ancient game.

The U.S. Curtis Cup captain was as fed up with the turgid pace of play for the afternoon four-balls as most in the crowd of 5,800.

The last match on the course, the contest that pitted Alison Walshe and Stacy Lewis against Liz Bennett and Florentyna Parker, took five hours and 22 minutes to complete.

By the time the match got to the 18th, the only one of the three four-ball contests to go the distance, most of the crowd had gone home. Semple Thompson might have high-tailed it out of the Auld Grey Toon too if not for her responsibilities as U.S. captain.

“I thought the pace of play was horrible,” Thompson said.

Beth Ann Baldry reports on the U.S. taking the lead in the matches, as does John Huggan, who has issues with the pacing and manners displayed.

One other noticeable feature of the first two days – quite apart from the disgracefully slow pace of play – has been an apparent inability to count, with players on both sides equally culpable. On day one, the Scottish duo of Watson and Michelle Thomson lay five to six feet from the cup on the Road Hole. Their opponents, Stacy Lewis and Alison Walshe, were four feet away after three shots. Clearly, a concession was the obvious course of action for the young Scots. Not a bit of it. Only after Watson had missed did they belatedly abandon a cause the equivalent of that faced by the Light Brigade.

A similar thing happened yesterday at the 9th hole. After three-putting from not very far away for a bogey, Watson and Thomson asked Lewis to putt from three feet when the Americans had two for the hole. And, just to show that the arithmetically challenged can be found on both sides of the Atlantic, Booth managed to lag her putt stiff from no more than four feet on the 16th green when she and partner Breanne Loucks had two to win their foursomes match against Kimberly Kim and Jennie Lee.

Western Am Moving...Sort Of

Phil Kosin has the details at Chicagoland Golf.

Kuehne Win Confirms Golf Digest's Ability to Rank Wall Street Golfers

They were criticized for lumping Trip Kuehne in with America's richest, whitest men who get their company to pay for a NetJets fractional share, but with his U.S. Mid-Amateur win, look for Golf Digest to consider ending its week-long Local Knowledge blog sabbatical by noting this historic rankings validation.

Golfweek's Ron Balicki reports on the win but fails to give us Kuehne's final Adidas-Taylor Made logo count. Looks like he has a hat-shirt-glove-bag-irons-driver-ball deal.

Oh and what's with that trophy? 

Men's Mid-Am Final Set

Trip Kuehne vs. Dan Whitaker, reports Craig Smith from Bandon.

“Barb has always stood out as someone who epitomizes all that is good about the game of golf."

I make a point to read as many press releases as possible so that I can remain thoroughly jaded. Imagine my pleasant surprise at the Oregon Golf Association's announcement that Barb Trammell had been hired as their CEO.

You may recall that Trammell was the highly respected LPGA official fired early into the Biven regime for placing tournament rules over marketing priorities.  

The OGA release features the usual nonsense and stiff quotes from the parties involved, but what caught my eye were the two endorsements Trammell received in the official release.

David Fay, Executive Director of the USGA commented, “Barb has always stood out as someone who epitomizes all that is good about the game of golf.  She emanates class and integrity, and believes that the golf business, championship operations and the application of the Rules of Golf should be administered with the highest level of excellence.  I am particularly pleased that the OGA will be able to benefit from her wisdom and talent.”

Former LPGA Commissioner Ty Votaw, who worked with Trammell from 1999 to 2005, stated that Trammell is “a consummate professional who is respected throughout the golf industry.  The LPGA was extremely fortunate to have Barb Trammell working for it and I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to work for so many years with a person of such integrity and talents.”

There's something you don't see every day. The Executive Director of the USGA and a high ranking PGA Tour official endorsing a regional golf association hiring.

Their comments would seem to speak to the esteem others in executive circles have held for Trammell's work. And perhaps it's a statement about what other higher-ups think of Bivens' decision to fire her.

Multiple Mid-Am Medalists

Ron Balicki reports from Bandon Dunes on the chosen, uh, six...

Knost Chooses Q-School First Stage Over Masters, Wouldn't You?

Rex Hoggard has the details and repeated use of a quote nicely crafted by his handlers.

“Foregoing my invitations to their championships was a very hard decision. But I feel like now is the time to begin my professional career,” said Knost, who ends his amateur carrer [sp] No. 1 in the Golfweek/Titleist Amateur Rankings.

“I hope to play in many of their championships in the years to come.”

I guess it would have been tacky if he said toon-a-mint. 

Update on 2007-09-25 03:23 by Geoff

Reader Brian notes that Colt Knost could have remained an amateur all through Q-school, and on the off chance he didn't qualify, could have retained his amateur status through the Masters.

Colt Knost Unswayed By Masters Pairing With Just A Midwestern Guy From Cedar Rapids; Decides To Turn Pro In Time For Fall Finish

Love this comment to Art Stricklin:

"I will make my announcement this week, but I've been told to stay quiet until then," Knost said. "It's been very hard. Do I take a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play in the Masters as an amateur? Or do I end my career as the No. 1 amateur in the world having won the U.S. Amateur and the Walker Cup with my team? I've been going back and forth."

"We are treated to an intimate glimpse into the souls of those participating."

John Huggan celebrates the beauty of team golf. Well, except for the ugly American antics he witnessed at the Walker Cup.

For example, two days at Newcastle told me everything I will ever need - or want - to know about the current US Amateur champion, Colt Knost. A highly talented golfer, one who already looks good enough to make the perennially hazardous transition into the professional ranks, Knost is, on the evidence of this Walker Cup, an arrogant and boorish so-and-so.

His reaction to not winning his singles match on the second day, when his opponent, Daniel Willett, holed a 20-foot putt on the final green to clinch at least a half point (Knost followed him in from perhaps a yard) was disappointing to say the least. After 'treating' Willett to one of those limp-wristed, no eye contact handshakes one always hates to see at the end of any match, Knost strutted around the putting surface for an unhealthy length of time shaking his head and staring up at the heavens. The implication was clear: How dare this obviously less gifted chopper make such an outrageous putt and deprive me of my pre-ordained victory? For Knost, his match was clearly all about himself and not about what he could do to help his teammates. Let's hope, given time, that this spoiled young man will mature to the point where his character matches his ability.

And on the beauty of team events... 

All of which - the good and the bad - is part of the inherent attraction of team golf. Win, lose or draw, we are treated to an intimate glimpse into the souls of those participating. Which is also, of course, one of the great things about match play. In a head-to-head contest it isn't possible to coast along, finish tied for sixth and pick up a nice cheque. Oh no. In match play there are winners and losers. And no one likes to be a loser. Or admit to being a loser. Somehow it's easier to start a post-mortem with, 'I came fourth' rather than, 'I lost.'

The best news is that, over the course of this month, we are going to be treated to a host of to-class team matches. This week I'm popping down to Dunbar to watch the ladies Home International matches, where the cream of the British Isles' female amateurs will be on display.

Then there is the Solheim Cup in Sweden, where Europe and the US will be going perm-to-perm in the ladies equivalent of the Ryder Cup. And less than two weeks after that, the Americans will be taking on the International squad in the Presidents Cup while, across the water, Great Britain & Ireland's professionals will be facing up to their mates from the continent of Europe for the Seve Trophy.

Okay, the Seve Trophy? In that group? Uh no. 

Proving He's No Monty, McEvoy Demonstrates Perspective, Wisdom

Lewine Mair reports on the mature insights and realistic perspective of the now former amateur golfer.

Peter McEvoy, the former Walker Cup captain, does not exonerate himself from blame when he accuses amateur officialdom in the UK of "negligence."

Though he believes that the golf on offer to the elite squads in GB and Ireland is nowadays on a par with that at an American university, he worries that there is no educational process going hand in hand with the sport. "Negligence," said McEvoy, "is not too strong a word in that we are requiring people to play full-time in the knowledge that there isn't room for them all to make a living. We're helping to eliminate everything else from their lives."

McEvoy points to how more and more youngsters are seeing the elite programmes as an option to university in that they can sign on for a single year. In contrast, someone like the 22-year-old Rhys Davies, who was playing in the Walker Cup at the weekend, will have spent four years at his American college.
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McEvoy feels duty-bound to remind these young men that they are taking a risk. "What," he asks, "will they do with themselves if they pick up an injury or lose interest?"

"I've never seen such naked courage on a golf course before."

Mike Aitken reports on the thrilling U.S. Walker Cup win at Royal County Down.

If GB&I couldn't, in the end, overcome the handicap of enduring a 4-0 whitewash in the morning foursomes, it hardly seemed fair to summarise their 5-2 fightback in the singles as heroic failure. The determined and sure-footed quality of the home side's golf at the end perhaps deserved better than losing 12-11. As Peter McEvoy, the former captain of GB&I, observed: "I've never seen such naked courage on a golf course before."

Oh I don't know, have you seen those streakers at the Open Championship?

There is also this Craig Smith story on the USGA's official site, these notes and John Mummert's images from the day.

Update on 2007-09-10 14:01 by Geoff

The Principal says Trip Kuehne and Lloyd Saltman represented America with class but that, not surprisingly, Colt Knost and Dustin Johnson put on a sportsmanship and spitting exhibition that did not exactly impress.

Walker Cup Day 1

John Huggan says the first day of Walker Cup play was enthralling

David Normoyle focuses on the United States' lone morning foursome's win.

While this unbylined game story has all of the results and Sunday lineups.

The USGA offers a photo gallery from the day and it looks like things got pretty intense out there. They also posted these notes.

Walker Cup Captain's Picks

The U.S. Amateur finalist and British Amateur Champion were passed up for younger players...

FOWLER AND STANLEY COMPLETE USA TEAM
FOR WALKER CUP MATCH AT ROYAL COUNTY DOWN IN IRELAND
 
Far Hills, N.J. (Aug. 27) – Rickie Fowler, 18, of Murrieta, Calif., and Kyle Stanley, 19, of Gig Harbor, Wash., have been selected to complete the 10-man squad that will represent the United States of America for the 2007 Walker Cup Match. The Match is scheduled for Sept. 8-9 at Royal County Down Golf Club in Newcastle, Northern Ireland.  
 
Chosen by the International Team Selection Committee of the United States Golf Association, the squad will face an amateur team representing Great Britain and Ireland.
 
The USGA had earlier announced eight members of the team. They are: Billy Horschel, 20, of Grant, Fla.; Dustin Johnson, 23, of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; and Chris Kirk, 22, of Woodstock, Ga.
 
Also previously named were 2007 U.S. Amateur and U.S. Amateur Public Links champion Colt Knost, 22, of Dallas, Texas; Trip Kuehne, 35, of Irving, Texas; Jamie Lovemark, 19, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Jonathan Moore, 22, of Vancouver, Wash.; and Webb Simpson, 21, of Raleigh, N.C. All but Kuehne are collegians or recent graduates, who are playing on their first Walker Cup team.
 
The alternates to the team, in rank order, are Michael Thompson, 22, of Tucson, Ariz.; Drew  Weaver, 20, of High Point, N.C., and Alex Prugh, 22, of Spokane, Wash.
 
The Walker Cup Match consists of 16 singles and eight foursomes (alternate shot) matches. The USA reclaimed the Cup with a one-point victory at Chicago (Ill.) Golf Club in 2005. Great Britain and Ireland’s team had won the three previous Matches, in 1999, 2001 and 2003, twice by scores of 15-9 and by 12½ -11½ in 2003. The USA leads the series overall, 32-7-1.
 
Fowler won the 2007 Sunnehanna Amateur in Johnstown, Pa., by one stroke, finishing at 8-under-par 272 for his four rounds. He followed with a win at the 2007 Players Amateur in Bluffton, S.C., where he was 24 under par for 72 holes. He also was a quarterfinalist at the 2006 U.S. Amateur.
 
At the Sunnehanna, he was in the 60s for three of the four rounds. At the Players, his four rounds in the 60s included a 63 and 64.
 
He won the individual title at the 2007 Southern California High School Championship and the 2006 California State High School Championship. He is currently in his first year at Oklahoma State University.
 
Stanley won the 2006 Southern Amateur in Birmingham, Ala., as part of a resume that includes five top-10 finishes in highly regarded amateur events over the past two summers. In winning the Southern Amateur, he posted a 9-under-par total of 275 for 72 holes to win by a single stroke. He reached the second round of match play at the 2007 U.S. Amateur.
 
He was individual runner-up at the 2007 NCAA Championship, where he had a 65 in the third round. He was invited to play in the PGA Tour’s 2007 Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla.
 
Stanley, a sophomore year at Clemson University, will be playing in his first Walker Cup Match.
George “Buddy” Marucci, 55, of Villanova, Pa., who played on the USA Walker Cup teams of 1995 and 1997 and was runner-up to Tiger Woods at the 1995 U.S. Amateur, will serve as team captain.
 
“I couldn’t be more pleased to lead this Walker Cup squad to Ireland,” said Marucci. “It is an honor to be involved with this competition and these fine young men who will represent the USA. I appreciate the commitment on the part of our players who were chosen and those who were considered.”

Anyone who follows amateur golf closely care to weigh in? On paper, it seems odd to pass up the first American to win the British Amateur in ages when you will be playing links golf.