BALL GROUND – America’s secondary school calendar continues to play havoc with the U.S. Open.
First it was Phil Mickelson, who announced his intentions to skip the one major that has eluded him in order to attend his daughter’s high school graduation, scheduled for Thursday of Open (June 15).
Now it is Alex Smalley’s dad faced with a sticky conflict. Terry Smalley expects to caddie at Erin Hills (Wisconsin) in a couple weeks. It’s only fair. After all, he gave the Duke sophomore life. “I have some pull. I know people,” dad said with a smile.
Yet his daughter has a high school graduation on Open week as well.
“Luckily her graduation is on a Tuesday. It is a good problem to have,” Terry said.
The 20-year-old Alex turned the Smalley house upside down Monday by shooting rounds of 68-69 (7 under) and winning a rare Open spot at the sectional qualifier here at Hawks Ridge.
Joining him was 28-year-old, two-time winner on the Web.com Tour, Stephan Jaeger (67-70), as the two to emerge from this 36-player qualifier with a guaranteed Open tee time.
The first alternate coming out of Hawks Ridge, one of 10 U.S. sectional qualifying sites, bears a familiar name, if a slightly different Roman numeral: Davis Love IV. The son of the Ryder Cup captain/PGA champion from Sea Island holed out for eagle on the 36th hole, finished an excruciating one shot shy of a playoff for the two spots in play here (67-71, 6 under) then won a one-hole playoff for the first alternate spot.
“It’s hard not to be a little disappointed coming up one shot short. But it’s my first time trying to qualify for the U.S. Open and I missed it by one shot. I learned a lot more today than I would have going and doing a Monday somewhere else,” Love IV, a redshirt senior at Alabama, said.
At least he finished better than dad. Attempting to qualify at the Columbus, Ohio, site, Love was over par and well out of contention as play went late.
When asked if had had been in contact with his father, who was still playing in Columbus at the time, Love IV said, “He texted me as soon as I signed my scorecard. I think he had his phone in his pocket (on the course) out there in Columbus. Just said, “Good playing.” It was short. He’ll call me after and I’ll tell him what I did wrong and he’ll tell me how I can do better next time.”
The kid from Duke and the seasoned secondary tour player — who played collegiately at Tennessee-Chattanooga — took different routes to close out their big day.
Both strung together three straight birdies over their back nines to distance themselves from the field. Jaeger kept hitting approaches stiff and putting from inside six feet each time. While Smalley scrambled. He missed the green on the par 4 11th and chipped in for birdie from 45 feet. Made an 11-footer for birdie on No. 12. Hit it into the trees on the par 5 13th, punched out, hit a hybrid from 225 yards to 20 feet and made the birdie putt.
For one last dramatic moment, Smalley saved par on the finishing hole with a nervy 6-foot putt. “You’re thinking how many six-footers have you had on the practice putting green while saying this is to win the Open,” he said. “It was kind of similar. Good feeling to make that and win by one.”
Prior to his first tee shot at the Open — presumably with dad on the bag — Smalley’s biggest stage last year’s U.S. Amateur. He was stroke-play medalist and advanced to the round of 32 in match play. “Be a little more people, a few more grandstands than the U.S. Am. I’m sure the first tee shot of the first round is going to be pretty nerve wracking. But I think it’s going to be a pretty cool experience.”
Jaeger qualified for the 2015 Open, shot 74-80, and called it a major. “It was a cool week for sure; I didn’t play as well as I wanted to. Hopefully I’ll do better this year. I feel like I’m a better player than two years ago,” he said.
As for young Love’s chances of breaking into the field, given the USGA’s complex formula for choosing alternates to replace Open dropouts, he could only shrug and say, “I honestly have no clue.
“I got a couple text messages from my coach at Alabama, and a couple guys I trust and know a lot about the game that said I have a good chance of getting in. It’s a big ol’ crapshoot.”
He planned on going to Wisconsin and circling, awaiting an opportunity. He earned at least a buzzard’s chance Monday.
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