Author: Bill Huffman

Huff’s Stuff Arizona Golf Blog – Arizona Golf Authority

A waiter from Scottsdale, Michael Wog, will meet a “weekend warrior’’ from the same city, Bowen Osborn, in Saturday’s championship match of the 87th Arizona Amateur at the Country Club at DC Ranch.

It marks the first time in eight years that a college-age player will not win this major championship sponsored by the Arizona Golf Association.

“I guess all that’s left is just a couple of us older guys,’’ observed Wog, who is 29 to Osborn’s 31 years of age.

“I don’t know much about (Osborn), but I do know that I’ve been lucky enough not to be down in any of my matches yet. So I’ll just do what I’ve been doing, try to make smart shots that don’t get me in trouble.’’

Wog, the No. 6 seed, would have to be considered the favorite, especially since Osborn, a high-tech salesman for golf-GPS applications maker Shotzoom, doesn’t get to play that often.

“I’m a weekend warrior who, maybe, gets to play once or twice a week and occasionally hit some balls,’’ said Osborn, who is competing in his first Arizona Amateur.

“I haven’t played much competitively lately, but it’s nice to be back into it. I was a little concerned with my short game, but it’s been pretty good so far and I’ve been hitting it well.’’

But Osborn, the No. 4 seed, has had plenty of experience with it all on the line. He was the 2002 Patriot League individual champ when he played college golf for Lehigh, and he also captured the 2002 Minnesota Amateur in his home state.

Osborn never was in any real trouble Friday during his 1-up victory over Scottsdale’s David Lowe and a 3-and-2 decision over Scottsdale’s Adam Walicki, a former pro who was the No. 1 seed.

About the most difficult thing for Osborn was recalling his morning match with Lowe, a former Brophy Prep standout who is headed for Arizona State in two weeks.

“(Lowe’s) a good player and we just kind of went back and forth, nobody being more than 1-up through (the first 13 holes),’’ said Osborn, who won the 14th and 15th holes to go 3-up before Lowe came roaring back at the 16th and 17th.

“Specific details are hard to remember. I mean, each hole is like its own little match, and every little hole is important, so you’re just in there grinding away and it’s hard to remember.’’

Osborn was more in control – and cognizant – in his match with Walicki, where he went up for good with a birdie at the ninth hole, a par to win the 10th, and the shot of the day at the 11th, where a 4-iron from 236 yards settled 3 inches from the cup for a kick-in eagle. That put him 3-up, and in his own words: “It really wasn’t very pretty after that, as we halved a lot of holes with ugly pars and bogeys.’’

In Walicki’s defense, he might have been a little worn down after a very tough match he won, 1-up, in the morning over Arizona State’s Jin Song. And it already had been a long week for Walicki, who ended up playing 105 holes in five straight days – or 21 holes a day.

Wog, who was the 2009 AGA player of the year but has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals of this tournament, would seem to be the more seasoned player. He’s been working hard on his game for eight years pretty much full-time with the exception of last year, when he helped his father back home in Washington get through some tough times.

“I’ve been playing really good,’’ he said after his three birdies without a bogey spelled out a 4-and-3 win over Scottsdale’s Marc Watkins, the son of noted instructor Scott Watkins.

“I didn’t have much going, but I made a lot of pars and really didn’t make any real big mistakes. Several holes also turned out to be pivotal in that it could have gone either way.’’

Such as the eighth hole, where Wog chipped in for birdie and Watkins ended up missing his attempt from eight feet. Or the 11th hole, where both players came up short of the green, and Wog chunked his chip while Watkins hit it close for a “gimme’’ birdie.

“I ended up running in my (birdie) putt from 20 feet and that was kind of crucial to get that halve there,’’ said Wog, who ended up winning the 13th and 14th holes with pars to ice the match.

Wog also was pretty much on cruise control against Juan Fernandez in his morning match, disposing of the former Scottsdale Community College standout, 3 and 1. Like is sometimes the case in match play, Wog got a little help from Fernandez, as the Mexico City native couldn’t overcome four bogeys and a double with a lone birdie.

“This would be really special if I could somehow win this,’’ said Wog, who normally works five or six nights a week at Eddie V’s in the Scottsdale Quarter.

The championship match starts bright and early at 7:30 a.m. It should be interesting, as neither player knows the other’s game. They had their first encounter as both were leaving the course late Friday afternoon.

“Have fun tomorrow,’’ Wog told the weekend warrior.

“We will,’’ Osborn countered.

That was the extent of the conversation.

For the full scoreboard, click here.

Huff’s Stuff AZGA Arizona Golf Blog – Arizona Golf Authority

The last time Jin Song went this far into the Arizona Amateur’s bracket of 64 players, he was just like his future teammate, David Lowe – an 18-year-old fresh out of high school kid just two weeks away from going to Arizona State.

But here it is three years later, and there’s Song again in the quarterfinals of this major championship sponsored by the Arizona Golf Association. And there’s Lowe, too, trying to do his best imitation of Song, who won the 2008 AZ Am.

“Yeah, it feels a little different this time around,’’ said Song after winning two tough matches on Thursday at the Country Club at DC Ranch, the toughest being a 2-and-1 win over veteran Chris Kessler of Scottsdale.

“I was just a kid when I won at Troon Country Club and I’m a little older now and, hopefully, a better player. But the one thing that stays the same is that, when you get past the first round, everybody’s playing good so you’ve got to be at your best.’’

That’s where Lowe is right now, as the Scottsdale teenager took down his two opponents with relative ease on a hot, muggy day.

“Actually both of my matches were against solid players, but thankfully my lag putting was spectacular and I didn’t beat myself,’’ said Lowe, an 18-year-old who played for Brophy Prep and already is wearing Sun Devil garb.

Asked what his secret has been this week, Lowe showed why he’ll be living in the Barrett Honors College dorm this season, although he gave all the credit to his dad, Allen, who doubles as his caddie.

“My dad and I kind of talked about it, and in match play you want to make the other guy beat you; don’t beat yourself. And that’s kind of what I’ve been able to do, play solid, don’t make bogeys, and make the other guy beat me.’’

Because they are in the same bracket, it’s possible that Song and Lowe could meet in the semifinals after a third ASU freshman, Austin Quick, was eliminated. That would be just fine with Lowe, although. . . .

“A win is never that great over a teammate,’’ he said. “At the same time, this would be a great tournament to win and maybe get some momentum going into college.’’

Certainly it would be a big bonus for his new coach, as ASU’s Tim Mickelson has been a more than casual spectator at the Amateur throughout the week.

But if you’re looking for the inside favorite, don’t look past veteran Michael Wog, who was the AGA’s player of the year in 2009 and would like nothing more than to add the Amateur to his resume after coming close on several occasions.

“So I’m the old guy, ‘the veteran,’ ‘’ chuckled the 29-year-old Scottsdale resident, who pulled off a brilliant, 2-and-1 win over Quick, to play another day.

“I guess I just keep sneakin’ them out, huh? Well, they’ve all been really tough, and (Quick) was the toughest. He’s a very good, solid player. I mean, most kids his age can’t hit a fade the way he does, and he hits it with total control.’’

How good is Quick? In his morning match, when he eliminated the sensational Peter Kyo Won Koo of Chandler, the 15-year-old who earlier this year captured the Arizona State Stroke Play Championship, Quick shot 28 on the front nine with five birdies and an eagle from the fairway at No. 9. That led to possibly the best quote of the week, and it came from Koo.

Asked how he played, Koo shrugged his shoulders: “Well, I was two-under and 5-down after nine holes. And believe it or not, that was with him making a bogey (at No. 2).’’

But that’s match play, said No. 1 seed Adam Walicki, a former pro from Scottsdale who got his amateur status back last year.

“At this stage, you can’t just play well, you have to play great,’’ said Walicki, who just slipped past another former pro, Mark Bellhorn, 1-up, to reach his next big challenge — Song.

“I mean I had to eagle the 17th hole just to win my second match, and that just got me back to even par after playing my first match 3 or 4 under.’’

Asked if being the No. 1 seed was a boon or a bane, Walicki shook his head and laughed.

“I don’t think when you get to this part of the tournament you’re really going to intimidate anybody by being the No. 1 seed,’’ he reasoned. “The only way I’m going to get an easy match is if somebody falls out of bed and gets hurt.’’

Yes, you just never know what each day will bring in mano y mano, or who will be the next big thing. Like little Zachary Sardina of Goodyear, the No. 63 seed who is alive and kicking after holding off AGA points leader Camron Howell, 1-up.

“I’m hanging in there,’’ said the 18-year-old Sardina, who is on his way to Scottsdale Community College this fall. “I think I’m handling adversity really well.’’

Asked if he’s surprised he’s made it this far, Sardina kept it real: “Honestly, I am. I knew I had some potential, but to pull it off, well, yeah, it’s surprising.’’

Huff’s Stuff AZGA Arizona Golf Blog – Arizona Golf Authority

Zachary Sardina, an 18-year-old from Goodyear, was well aware of the challenge he faced Wednesday as the No. 63 seed in the 64-player bracket of the Arizona Amateur. After all, he was pitted against Sierra Vista’s Colin McCarty, the No. 2 seed and a very good player headed to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville this fall.

Then came the 18th hole at the Country Club at DC Ranch, with the match surprisingly all-square and both players putting for birdie – Sardina from 20 feet with McCarty just inside of him.

“I knew I was the underdog, but I was just trying to stay patient, hang in there and overcome my mistakes while hoping he might make a couple (of mistakes),’’ said Sardina, who didn’t take up golf until he was a sophomore at Millennium High School.

“When my putt went in for birdie, I was so excited that I did my little Tiger Woods fist pump. But I still wasn’t convinced I’d won the match because I kind of thought he might make his putt, too. When it didn’t go in, I was actually kind of shocked.’’

Sardina’s 1-up “shocker’’ over McCarty, who also is 18 years old, was the biggest upset posted among the 32 matches that unfolded in Round 1. Not only does it show the depth of this major championship sponsored by the Arizona Golf Association, it also revealed a rising talent in Sardina, who will play golf for Scottsdale Community College this fall.

“I’ve had a lot of runner-up finishes in junior golf but never a win, so this was a big step for me,’’ said Sardina, who was 2-down after three holes, evened the match after nine holes, trailed 2-down after 14 holes only to rally back and win the 15th and 17th holes with pars.

The other top seed in this event, No. 1 Adam Walicki, easily moved past his opponent Steven Ortiz, 4 and 3. Walicki, a stockbroker from Scottsdale, was medalist with a 7-under-par aggregate to earn the top spot.

In the day’s longest match, Chandler’s Peter Kyo Won Koo upended Grand Canyon University sophomore Alec Dahlquist in 23 holes. Koo, a 15-year-old who earlier in the year captured the Arizona State Stroke Championship, was 3-up after 15 holes, lost the last three holes and then prevailed on the fifth extra hole.

The shot of the day went to Mesa’s Robbie Kernagis, who made a hole-in-one from 174 yards at No. 5 that proved pivotal in his 2-and-1 win over the University of Arizona’s Tom Conran.

The most impressive victory of the opening round, in terms of score, was Juan Fernandez’s 7-and-6 drubbing of Matt McClure. Fernandez, who was the No. 1 player for Scottsdale Community College the past two seasons, never trailed in the match.

“I played pretty good and he didn’t play so well; it was a combination of both,’’ said Fernandez, 21, whose four birdies and lone bogey were good enough.

“He gave me one at the third hole, where he four-putted, then I was 2-up after six, won the seventh with a par, and birdied (Nos.) 8, 9 and 10 to go 6-up. I made a par at the 12th to win the match. I think the real key for me is I haven’t had a three-putt since Monday, so I’ve been able to figure out the speed of these greens.’’

Fernandez, who is from Mexico City but spent over half of his life in Spain, said he had wanted to play for either Arizona State or Washington this fall but couldn’t get a scholarship. So after the Arizona Amateur, he plans to turn pro.

“If I could win this, that would be a great good-bye to amateur golf,’’ he said.

Among the other notables to advance, all three Arizona State players – No. 9 Jin Song, No. 21 David Lowe and No. 43 Austin Quick – advanced. Song and Lowe each won, 3 and 2, while Quick squeaked out a 2-and-1 win.

Among the veterans (translated: not kids) who made the match play, Tucson’s Patrick Geare emerged from a hard-fought, 2-and-1 win over Mesa’s Steve Dallas; Phoenix’s Jeff Johnson ousted Paul Welle of Scottsdale, 2 and 1; and AGA points leader Camron Howell of Queen Creek beat Anthem’s Gary Quinn, 4 and 2.

The 87th Arizona Amateur continues Thursday with two rounds of play before getting down to the quarterfinals and semifinals on Friday. The championship match is set for Saturday at 7:30 a.m.

Huff’s Stuff AZGA Arizona Golf Blog – Arizona Golf Authority

In recent times the Arizona Amateur has been ruled by college players, with the past seven champions falling into that age-group category.

This year’s version is so heavy with collegians that even a coach from a major university showed up for the first two rounds of qualifying at the Country Club at DC Ranch. Yes, Tim Mickelson, the new guy at Arizona State who just moved into his office on Tuesday, has been “a very interested spectator.’’

“It’s been great to have the opportunity to watch a few of my future ASU players and all of this young talent,’’ said Mickelson, the former University of San Diego coach who just got the Sun Devils’ job last month.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised the way Jin Song is playing in this tournament along with several of my incoming freshmen. And if they keep going like they’re going, I plan to show up later in the week, too.’’

For the moment, Scottsdale’s Adam Walicki, a former pro who got his amateur status back just last year, is the No. 1 seed for the match play portion of this major championship, which starts Wednesday and concludes Saturday morning. Walicki, who played college golf for Michigan State and the University of Detroit, shot rounds of 66-67 to finish all alone at 7-under par.

“I guess with all these kids, I’m now officially the old fart in all of this,’’ quipped the 31-year-old stockbroker, whose only bad swing in Round 2 cost him a double bogey that he offset with five birdies.

Asked if he liked match play, Walicki, who played on the Gateway Tour in 2005, never missed a beat.

“No, and I have the record to back me up on that. But I’m willing to take a different approach if that’s what it takes. Most people I know who have had success in that format ignored their opponent and played the course, and I guess that’s what I’ll try to do when we get going tomorrow.’’

Being a wily veteran, Walicki knows that he’ll have to go through a bunch of kids if he’s going to make Saturday’s championship match. That list starts with Colin McCarty, an 18-year-old from Sierra Vista who is bound for Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. McCarty was at 6 under following a 66.

In a group tied for third place at 5 under were Juan Fernandez, the No. 1 player at Scottsdale Community College the past two years who also shot 66, and Nevada Reno’s Andrew Augustyniak, a sophomore who soon will turn pro as evidenced by his day’s best score of 65.

Song, who Mickelson alluded to, is in a group at 4 under after following his opening 65 with a 71. Other Sun Devils to make the match play included two freshman from Scottsdale — David Lowe (even par, 72) and Austin Quick (3 over, 70). A fourth incoming freshman from Scottsdale, Cameron Palmer, was 3 over for the tournament with nine holes to play before self-destructing with a 42 on his last nine holes.

The Sun Devils weren’t the only team that earned spots in the match-play bracket of 64 players. Two out of five Wildcats entered here also advanced, including Tom Conran (2 under, 68) and Dylan Kornberg (1 over, 70).

Other notables in the match play included Scottsdale’s Michael Wog, the 2009 AGA Player of the Year, who was tied for third at 5 under after a 69; Phoenix’s Paul Welle, the 2008 AGA Player of the Year with a 73 that left him 1 over; and Peter Kyo Won Koo, the 15-year-old from Chandler who earlier this year captured the Arizona State Stroke Play title and was 4 over after a 73.

It took an aggregate of 5 over to make the match-play bracket, with nine players going after seven spots. The final four days of the 87th Arizona Amateur include 32 matches on Wednesday, two rounds on Thursday, the quarterfinals and semifinals on Friday with the championship set for a 7:30 a.m. start on Saturday.

Click Huff’s Stuff Golf Blog at the Arizona Golf Authority and check out Bill Huffman’s complete golf articles archive.

Huff’s Stuff AZGA Arizona Golf Blog – Arizona Golf Authority

If former major league pitcher Mark Mulder really took his golf seriously, who knows how well he’d play? But even if it’s “just for fun,’’ as Mulder likes to say, the ESPN commentator is pretty adept at golfing his ball.

Mulder had it going Monday during the opening round of qualifying for the 87th Arizona Amateur Championship. His two-under-par 68 at the Country Club at DC Ranch placed him among the leaders and gave him a great opportunity to reach the match play round of 64 for a second straight year in this major championship sponsored by the Arizona Golf Association.

“To tell the truth, I’m not exactly sure how I shot 68,’’ quipped the 33-year-old Scottsdale resident, who was an All-Star hurler for the Oakland A’s in 2003 and 2004 and also pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals.

“I mean, the first hole (No. 10), I roll in a 60-foot putt for birdie and I’m thinking: ‘Just don’t three- or four-putt.’ Then the second hole, I make another birdie to go with an eagle on my seventh or eighth hole (No. 17), where I ‘thin’ a 4-iron to three or four feet of the cup and make the putt. So things were just kind of going my way, which is good, because the reality is I’ve played so little lately I was just trying my best to break 80.’’

Such is the quirky game of golf. Instead of looking like a weekend hack, Mulder drew within three shots of the first-day leader, Arizona State junior Jin Song. In all, only five players in the 144-player field were better than Mulder, who needs another good score today if he is to make the match play portion of this tournament that starts Wednesday and runs through Saturday.

The 20-year-old Song, who at 65 is one shot better than Scottsdale’s Michael Wog and Adam Walicki, certainly is no stranger to match play despite his youth. In 2008, fresh out of Pinnacle Peak High School, Song captured the Arizona Amateur when it was played at Troon Country Club, which is just down the road in Scottsdale from DC Ranch.

Other contenders who looked like they were a “gimme’’ to move on to Wednesday’s mano y mano format included Tucson’s John Bobroski and Alec Dahlquist of Phoenix, as well as ASU-bound freshman David Lowe of Scottsdale, who also shot 68. At 1-over 71 was Chandler’s Peter Kyo Won Koo, a 15-year-old who earlier this year captured the Arizona Stroke Play Championship.

Mulder, for one, knows match play can be a fickle format.

“I play a little bit of that at Whisper Rock (in Scottsdale) and also at a club in (Jupiter) Florida called The Dye Preserve, where I’ve been the club champ the last two years,’’ Mulder noted. “Obviously, those experiences are not quite the same level of competition as the Arizona Amateur, but it is a real great time.’’

Asked what he’s expecting as the six-day tournament unfolds, Mulder laughed.

“Not much. I started playing golf to fill that competitive void I lost when I quit pitching,’’ he said. “And, seriously, it’s turned out to be a real good thing because I have a lot of fun with it and it lets me still compete.

“But I’ve got to be realistic, too. My little boys shortly will be 4 and 2 years old, and with the stuff I’m also doing for ESPN, well, those things in my life are really killing my golf game. And that’s OK, because I still manage to average a day or two a week – maybe! — and that’s good by me.’’

Huff’s Stuff AZGA Arizona Golf Blog – Arizona Golf Authority

Seldom do coaching changes in college golf merit big headlines. But that rule of thumb was bent back nicely over the weekend when Arizona State confirmed that Tim Mickelson – the younger brother of PGA Tour star Phil Mickelson – will be the new men’s coach of the Sun Devils.

Tim Mickelson, who led the University of San Diego to four West Coast Conference championships and three straight NCAA appearances in his eight years in charge of the Toreros, takes over for Randy Lein, who was fired three weeks ago after 18 years in charge of the ASU program.

“It wasn’t an easy decision to leave San Diego, a wonderful place where my roots are, where my family still lives, and where I’ve worked for most of my adult life,’’ said Mickelson, who is 33 — or eight years younger than his brother.

“But getting a chance to lead a storied program like ASU, where I went to school for three years and where Phil was an All-American (four times), that’s really a dream job for me. Without question, with everything the ASU program has going for it, including one of the best facilities in the country, it’s one of the most coveted jobs in college golf.’’

Mickelson said his new contract “is for more than one year, but I really don’t want to get into the specifics.’’ And he downplayed the idea that his brother had urged him to take the job.

“It wasn’t any one person that influenced me,’’ Mickelson said. “It was the entire Phoenix golf community, which is a big one that really does care about and support the ASU program.’’

ASU had fallen on hard times under Lein, with only one tournament win punctuated by several disappointing Pac-10 and NCAA finishes in the past two seasons. This past year, the Sun Devils finished ninth in the conference and 18th at the NCAA tournament, where they entered as the 20th seed.

Asked how he planned to turn the program around with the cupboard essentially bare (six incoming freshmen), Mickelson said he had a “three-pronged strategy.’’

“It’s kind of like the ASU pitchfork, you know,’’ he said with a laugh. “But, basically, I’ll be trying to recruit three types of players every year, the first being the No. 1 player in Arizona, the second being the No. 1 player in America, and the third being the No. 1 player in the world.

“I’m a very structured coach; that’s the kind of program I built at USD and that’s the kind of program I foresee at ASU. At the same time, we’ll have some fun, like going to the football and basketball games and taking part in other school activities. So we’ll play hard and practice hard, but still allow for the guys to be college kids, too.’’

Mickelson said he was not concerned about a recent story in the local newspaper that reported that the ASU Karsten Course might be sold when its lease along the Rio Salado expires in 2012.

“Anything is possible in this economy,’’ Mickelson said of the ASU Karsten Course, which reportedly could be sold for up to $180 million as raw real estate or possibly turned into a new site for an ASU football stadium.

“But I’ve been assured that’s probably not going to happen for some time, and I’m confident it will be around for a long time, beyond (2012). If eventually that does happen, well, I’d make sure that our next facility would be even better than ASU Karsten.’’

Mickelson also dis-spelled the notion of a rift between himself and Lein, who Mickelson played under for three years before leaving in a dispute over his lack of playing time. The rift stayed in the spotlight for Mickelson’s senior season at Oregon State, where he ended up as the runner-up in the Pac-10 Championship while setting school records for the Beavers for 18, 36, 54 and 72 holes – marks that still stand.

“I have a ton of respect for Randy Lein,’’ said Mickelson, who becomes ASU’s 13th golf coach.

“I know there has been some sentiment out there that there is animosity between the two of us, but that’s really not true. I was unhappy when I left, but Randy and I resolved that a long time ago. And given the fact Randy has won a national championship at ASU (1996) as well as eight Pac-10 titles, and also was a very successful coach at USC, well, I’ve got my work cut out for me.’’

Of course, it will help that Mickelson can occasionally call on his big brother, who along with the late Pat Tillman are probably ASU’s most famous alums. Even though ASU vice president of athletics Lisa Love said in a release announcing his hiring, “Tim Mickelson possesses the qualities of what we’re looking for and not just because of his famous last name,’’ it’s all about the last name if Mickelson is going to turn around the ASU program.

Seriously, if you need a fat check to help out with an expense for the program, or a call to seal the deal with a potential recruit, why not dial up the program’s most well-known student-athlete ever? Hey, it never hurts to have the PGA Tour’s most popular player on your side, right?

“Obviously, I want to get Phil involved,’’ Tim conceded. “He helped me a lot at USD, and that was really nice of him because his loyalty has always been to ASU.

“So we’ll lean on him a little bit if it’s possible.’’

Chances are if Tim Mickelson is as clever as we think he is, he’ll lean on Lefty a lot.

Click Huff’s Stuff Arizona Golf Blog for Bill Huffman’s complete archive at the Arizona Golf Authority.