Cox Right At Home At Olympic Club
2003 Junior Amateur Runner-Up Hopes To Go One Better This Year
By David Shefter, USGA
Forgive Jordan Cox if he shows up at the 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur at The Olympic Club a little bleary-eyed. Just chalk it up to a severe case of jet lag.
Jordan Cox hopes to become the third player in Junior Amateur history to take the title a year after losing in the final match. (USGA Photo Archives) The Junior Amateur will be the 16-year-old's third competition in as many weeks, covering a total of 16 time zones. Cox, last year's Junior Amateur runner-up, began his sojourn in Sunriver, Ore., at the American Junior Golf Association's Rolex Tournament of Champions where he tied for 18th in the 72-hole event played at the Crosswater Course.
From there, he flew back to San Francisco for a quick one-night sleepover at his Redwood City, Calif., home. That was before boarding a jet for Scotland to compete in the Junior Open Championship, a biennial competition that features one boy and one girl (players must be 16 years of age or under) from a country to play in a 54-hole event (July 12-14) near the site of that year's British Open. The '04 Junior Open Championship was held at Kilmarnock Golf Club's Barassie Course not far from Royal Troon in Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland.
Cox won the Junior Open Championship with a 69 in the final round.
Cox then returned back to the Bay Area on the morning of July 17, giving him enough time to register and get in one practice round at Olympic before the Junior Amateur officially commenced on July 19.
That's a whirlwind tour for a seasoned professional golfer, let alone a player who has yet to finish high school.
It has been a whirlwind three weeks for Jordan Cox, having played events in Oregon and Scotland before returning home to the San Francisco area for the 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur. (USGA Photo Archives) Then again, Cox does have a small advantage over the other 155 competitors at this year's Junior Amateur - he's a junior member at Olympic. Although he has only played the course 10 times since being extended the special membership earlier this year, the local knowledge of this hilly championship venue could be invaluable.
Olympic has hosted four previous U.S. Opens - the last in 1998 - so the competitors can expect a highly challenging layout replete with plenty of the intangibles that make this course one of the best in the country. The 606-yard 16th hole will be the longest in Junior Amateur history. And just like at previous Opens, the uphill 464-yard 17th will be played as a par 4, not a par 5 as the members play it.
"There's definitely a big advantage being a member at the club," said Cox during a telephone press conference at Junior Amateur Media Day on July 6. "I feel very comfortable there. I plan on giving it my best shot."
Cox will be trying to accomplish something that has only been done twice before in Junior Amateur history: win the championship after losing in the final the previous year. Mason Rudolph lost the 1949 final to Gay Brewer, but came back in '50 to defeat Charles Beville, 2 and 1, at Denver ( Colo. ) Country Club. Thirty-two years later, Tim Straub lost the 1982 final to Rick Marik, but returned in '83 to defeat John Mahon, 1 up, at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa.
In 1999, Matthew Rosenfeld of Plano, Texas, lost in the semifinals as a 15-year-old and returned the following year to take the title at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club outside of Portland, Ore.
Last year, Cox was hoping to join fellow Californians Tiger Woods, Henry Liaw and Mike Brannan as 15-year-old champions. Had he defeated Harman, Cox would have been the youngest winner of the Junior Amateur. Instead, Harman became just the third left-hander to win a USGA title, joining Ralph Howe III and Phil Mickelson.
"He flat out-played me," said Cox of Harman's effort. "He played amazing and I couldn't do anything about that."
The two could face each other at Olympic as Harman, now 17, is back to defend the title. He will be looking to become just the second player in Junior Am history to win back-to-back championships. Woods won three consecutive titles from 1991-93.
Something that The Olympic Club has plenty of is history. Besides all the USGA championships waged on the Lake Course, the club, which was founded in 1860, has had plenty of notable members, including Mark Twain, and baseball Hall of Famers Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio.
One of Olympic's long-standing traditions is its junior membership program. Prominent players who have been granted such a privilege include PGA Champion Bob Rosburg, 1973 U.S. Open winner Johnny Miller, 1964 U.S. Open champion Ken Venturi, 1966 U.S. Junior runner-up Ray Leach and 2002 U.S. Junior semifinalist Elliot Wainwright.
Cox received his membership in January, but because of school and tournament commitments, has only been able to play the course some 10 times. And even though he'll only get one practice round in before the Junior Amateur, he should have a good idea how to play each hole.
Sometimes home-course advantage can be a true benefit. It was for George Zahringer at the 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Stanwich Club in Connecticut. Zahringer, a Stanwich member, won the championship thanks to his local knowledge of the challenging green complexes. At last year's Junior Am at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md., member Greg Carlin advanced to match play before losing in the second round to Randy Lowry.
Then again, there's always pressure that goes along with all that knowledge. Cox will likely have plenty of support from family and friends along with the many Olympic members who attend. That sometimes can lead to added pressure.
But the biggest benefit might be the fact that Cox will actually get to sleep in his own bed every night. He doesn't have to worry about a creaky hotel bed or room service.
And for someone who has spent the last few weeks crossing continents, a little home cooking might not be all that bad.
David Shefter is a staff writer for the USGA. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.
