The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 15, 1998, Image 3

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    3 %onday • June 15,1998
The Battalion
PORTS
Mm
Into the Great ||iZ
Wide Open
A&M junior golfer Ryan Palmer takes aim
at the chance of a lifetime at the U.S. Open
,
m
ruj|
wo|
^ if,..
By Grant Hawkins
Staff writer
M onday, June 8, 1998, is a day Ryan
Palmer will not soon forget,
shoi ■Champions Golf Club in Houston
>ing hosted the sectional qualifying for the U.
omb SIDpen Championship. The Texas A&M
junior had 36 grueling holes of golf
1 on^ahead of him and only the top two fin
is ir. ishers would qualify for the second ma-
on jor of the PGA season.
ieriwH"! teed off at 7:30 a.m.," Palmer said,
ostr: "Uhot a morning round of 74, and I
| thought Billy Ray Brown and David
nlmf'Hins (PGA notables) would shoot lower
thiin they did."
I then started
hi
earq
thinking I better stick
around just in case I
ipade a playoff.”
- Ryan Palmer
Texas A&M junior golfer
imJ ^' ne h° urs later. Palmer sank a 20-
Kjoter tor birdie on the 18th hole for a
ono-under par 70 and a two-round total
of 144, not knowing it would force a
| 0 n. payoff for the second qualifying spot.
J "1 changed clothes, packed my golf
Uifrbs, ar >d was ready to go," he said. "1
then started thinking I
better stick around just
in case I made a playoff."
The playoff lasted
three holes. Both Palmer
and Jamie Gomez, who
had Palmer's former
Texas A&M teammate
Miguel del Angel as his
caddy, bogeyed the first
playoff hole.
After both made par
at 18, it was back to the
difficult par-4 10th,
where Gomez was left
with a 30-foot birdie
putt, and Palmer was
front and right, with the
pin cut back and left.
"I had a 70-footer for
birdie and I rolled it 10
feet past," Palmer said.
"He (Gomez) left his
birdie putt short. I then
told Dad (who was cad
dying for him) that this
one was going in. 1 hit it center cut."
Gomez missed his putt for par, and
Palmer said he was living a dream. He
had qualified for the U.S. Open.
"At first I thought it was sort of a big
deal, but then I realized this was a really
big deal," Palmer said. "To be playing in
my first pro event, and for it to be the U.S.
Open, it really is a dream come true."
Palmer has been on cloud nine ever
since. One of the first people he contact
ed was Bob Ellis, his golf coach at A&M.
"He called me after he qualified," Ellis
is a
'd
Hu
,11
Photo courtesy of Sports Information
TEED OFF Ryan Palmer (above, with A&M coach Bob Ellis) will tee off on Thursday
at the Olympic Club in San Francisco for the second major of the PGA tour season,
the U.S. Open Championship. Palmer’s father will caddy for the Aggie junior.
said. "I wrote him a note and told him
that he belongs there."
Palmer's qualifying has exemplified
the type of golf he has been playing in
1998. Coach Ellis said Palmer's attitude
has made the difference.
"I tell my players, it is not what
happens to you on the golf course, it is
how you handle what happens to you
that will make the difference," he said.
"Ryan's attitude and how he has been
able to accept it when he doesn't hit
the perfect shot has been the differ
ence for him."
Palmer now has to
prepare for some of the
subtle differences that ac
company golf at the pro
fessional level. One of
the bigger differences is
having a caddy on the
pro tour.
Palmer's dad. Butch,
caddied for him at the
sectional qualifying and
will be on his bag at the
Open this week.
"He keeps me loose,
and it is someone to talk
to," the younger Palmer
said. "Most of all though,
he keeps me loose and
that is going to be impor
tant at the Open."
Another difference.
Coach Ellis points out,
is the tendency to do
what he calls "rubber
necking."
"When you get to that level, you have
a tendency to rubber neck," Ellis said.
"You cannot get caught up in looking
around saying, 'Wow, there is Jack Nick-
laus and Arnold Palmer.' You have to be
lieve you belong at that level, and I know
Ryan does."
Palmer has been preparing for the fast
greens and thick rough that are charac
teristic of a U.S. Open-type course back
home in Amarillo.
The greenskeeper at his country club
cut down the greens for him, and is let
ting the rough grow out.
Palmer has never played at The
Olympic Club in San Francisco, hosting
its fourth U.S. Open this week, but he
said he knows the hard part is over.
Palmer leaves today for probably the
biggest week of his golfing life. The
chances are good that he might run into
Fred Couples, Palmer's favorite golfer
growing up, during practice rounds on
Tuesday and Wednesday.
He will probably see the legendary
Nicklaus sometime this week. The star
power at a major PGA tournament is
enough to test the mettle of even the sea
soned veterans on the tour. Palmer's
nerves will be tested and he knows it.
The question is how will he deal with
the pressure.
"It's going to be nerve racking, but I
know I can do it," he said. "I just hope to
God 1 can get off the first tee okay."
On Thursday, after hitting some
range balls and practicing his short
game for a while. Palmer, with his father
by his side, will walk up to the first tee
of the U. S. Open.
A sea of people will be hovering
around the tee box. Before he is about to
tee-off, an older man, wearing a coat and
tie, will step out onto the box. A hush
will come over the gallery.
"This is the 9:37 a.m. tee time. Playing
out of Amarillo, Texas, please welcome,
Ryan Palmer."
The gallery will give a smattering of
applause for the young man and
Palmer's first professional tournament
will be underway.
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