Thursday Notebook: Curran Deep-Sixes Olympic Club

 

By David Shefter, USGA

 

San Francisco - Jon Curran was so dialed into his game Thursday afternoon at the 57th U.S. Junior Amateur that even Tiger Woods might not have wanted to face him.

 

Jon Curran blistered the Olympic Club's Lake Course on Thursday, shooting the equivalent of 6 under par in his 7-and-6 victory. (John Mummert/USGA)

Curran, 17, of Hopkinton, Mass., was the equivalent of six under par through 12 holes when his third-round match against 15-year-old Kevin O'Connell of Cary, N.C., ended, 7 and 6. Had it been a stroke-play round, Curran might have come close to establishing the competitive par-70 Olympic Club Lake Course record.

 

Rives McBee (1966 U.S. Open) and Keith Clearwater (1987 U.S. Open) each have shot 64, while Jim Gallagher Jr. had a 63 in The Tour Championship when the course played to a par 71.

 

Curran 's round was in sharp contrast to his morning affair against Mark Silvers of Savannah, Ga. Curran was 4 down through seven holes, got back to all-square by No. 14, and then watched Silvers birdie 15 and chip in for eagle on the par-5 16th to go dormie 2.

 

"I thought it was over," said Curran, who lost in the second round of the 2003 U.S. Junior to Phillip Francis. "I made a good par on 17 [to win the hole] and birdied 18 [to force extra holes]."

 

Curran then drained an 18-foot birdie putt at the 19th hole (par-5 first hole) to close out the match and provide a harbinger of the afternoon.

 

"It was only easier [in the afternoon] because I was playing much better," said Curran. "What are you going to do when a guy is six under? I wouldn't have beaten [Silvers] this morning if he was six under."

 

Forty-eight hours ago, Curran was on the cusp of departing The Olympic Club before match play even commenced. Rounds of 73-79-152 left him right at the cutline and in a 10-for-9 playoff for the final spots in the draw. Curran got through that without much of a hitch and has since found a comfort level with the golf course and its challenging nuances.

 

Finding the right club has been Curran 's challenge, especially with the swirling winds.

 

"I was choosing a lot of the wrong clubs and that showed in my qualifying [rounds]," said Curran. "I'd hit it a little long and it would bounce into the thick rough or I'd come up short and go into a bunker and plug. Now I've got my clubs down good and I'm swinging a lot smoother. It's going good."

 

Curran 's summer has been quite solid. He shot 12 under over 54 holes to win the American Junior Golf Association's Scott Robertson Memorial in Virginia and he placed 11th at the Northeast Amateur. He also came in 28th at the Monroe Invitational, another "open" amateur competition and last week he placed 23rd at the Western Junior in Denver.

 

When he arrived at Olympic, Curran didn't feel quite comfortable with his swing, so he and his father, along with the assistance of his pro back home, Ken Chzran, worked out the kinks. "My dad knows my swing better than anyone else," said Curran. "Him and Ken both do. We worked it out and I'm hitting it great now. I hit it great in the qualifying rounds."

 

Curran now stands three victories away from the Junior Amateur title. He meets Colombian Juan Pablo Candela in the quarterfinals on Friday morning.

 

"It would be awesome [to win this championship]," said Curran. "It would be great."

 

Tough Assignment

 

Korean-born Sihwan Kim, 15, pulled out a tough 1-up third-round win on Thursday over Tyler Obermueller. (John Mummert/USGA)

Not long after surviving a tough third-round match with lefty Tyler Obermueller of River Falls, Wis., Sihwan Kim learned that his quarterfinal opponent on Friday would be defending champion and stroke-play medalist Brian Harman. For the 15-year-old Kim, who was born in Korea and now resides in Fullerton, Calif., it will be the opportunity to see how his ever-improving game matches up against one of the best juniors in the country.

 

Then again, Kim didn't seem too confident he could knock off the powerful left-hander from Savannah, Ga.

 

"Harman is a great player, but I don't know [how I'll do]," said Kim, a sophomore-to-be at La Mirada ( Calif. ) High School. "I hope I win, but since he's the defending champion and player of the year of the AJGA (American Junior Golf Association), if I lose, it's OK because he's much better than me. I hope I learn something from him. It's just good for me to go this far."

 

For one thing, Kim 's victory over Obermueller earned him an exemption into the 2005 Junior Amateur (all quarterfinalists get that invitation, provided they are still eligible). Playing match play also has been an invaluable experience.

 

"This is my first time playing match play," said Kim. "Yesterday before my first match I was pretty nervous about it. When you get close to the hole you have to wait for the other guy to putt. That kind of confused me."

 

Kim came to the U.S. four years ago strictly to enhance his golf game. Golf in Korea is expensive and it was cheaper for Kim, his two sisters and his mother - his dad stayed in Korea to continue working - to move here. The biggest obstacle was the language.

 

"I was in elementary school with no Koreans so it was stressful," said Kim. "Right now it's OK. I can speak English pretty well I guess."

 

Local Assistance

 

The Olympic Club received some 70 requests for caddies prior to the championship. Some competitors brought their own caddie, but because parents are forbidden to carry bags in the competition, players usually resort to local caddies.

 

Olympic Club junior member James Costello, top, helps Kyle Takesue line up a putt in the third round of match play on Thursday. (John Mummert/USGA)

The local caddies came from a variety of sources. Some work at the club, while others were Olympic Club members.

 

The expertise these caddies provided to their players proved to be invaluable since virtually the entire field never before had played the course.

 

"I think there's a definite advantage to using a local caddie," said Olympic Club junior member James Costello, who carried for Kyle Takesue of Cerritos, Calif. Takesue lost in the third round to Juan Pable Candela in 19 holes. "Eventually after a couple of days you can figure out where to hit the ball, but to play well you have to figure out the wind and where in the fairways to hit the ball."

 

While he was junior member, Costello, who attends California-Berkeley, caddied from seventh grade through his sophomore year at St. Ignatius High in San Francisco. At one time, he was a low single-digit handicap player, but the 22 year old has since given up playing golf on a regular basis.

 

"He's been able to help me read putts and yardages and wind," said Takesue. "He's been a lot of help."

 

Bobby Ingersoll, the nephew of longtime member and Mark Avelar, is carrying for Jon Curran. Curran said the arrangement has worked out perfectly. Curran had advanced to a Friday quarterfinal encounter with Juan Pablo Candela.

 

"He carries the bag and agrees with everything I say," said Curran. "He's good. We have good chemistry."

 

Mike Abendroth, a recent graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, is another junior Olympic member who volunteered his services. He estimates he has played the Lake Course some 200-250 times. This week, he "looped" for Matthew Swan of Birmingham, Al a., who advanced to the second round before dropping a 3-and-2 decision to Robert Riesen.

 

Abendroth, who also caddied for John Olive when Olympic hosted the Pacific Coast Amateur four years ago, spent the practice rounds giving Riesen strategies to play certain holes. For instance, he had him hitting 3-wood off several of the par-4s to position himself better.

 

"I think it definitely benefited him," said Abendroth, who rated the experience of the week a 10. "If he had a friend [carry the bag] they would have had some problems on the greens. It might have taken them more time to adjust."

 

Then again, the early exit forced Abendroth to do his own adjusting.

 

"I didn't make any plans through Saturday [day of the final]," said Abendroth, "so I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow."

 

 

Thanks For The Memories

 

Match play began with six players from northern and central Californina. By Thursday afternoon, they had all been vanquished from the field, including a pair of De La Salle High School teammates, Roberto Galletti Jr. and Jake Yount.

 

"I was happy to get this far," said Yount, who hails from Danville, some 45 minutes east of Olympic Club. "I was definitely happy to make it to the second round of match play."

 

The last area player to be eliminated was Erik Flores of Grass Valley, Calif. (east of Sacramento ). Flores, one of the 10-for-9 playoff survivors, had ousted sixth seed Seung Su Han of Korea and Ji Moon before he ran into Timothy McKenney of Scottsdale, Ariz., who posted a 3-and-2 victory.

 

David Shefter is a USGA staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.