Gavin Hall of Pittsford tees off from the first tee at Old Oaks Country Club during the U.S. Open qualifying on Monday. Hall shot 67 to finish in a tie for first and qualify for next week's U.S. Open in Ardmore, Pa. / Joe Larese//The Journal News
From Golfweek online
PURCHASE, N.Y. – For most of Monday, the Metropolitan Golf
Association's U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier, held at Old Oaks Country
Club and Century Country Club, was a somber, soggy affair. But in the
last 45 minutes, as the clouds parted in the late afternoon and the sun
peeked out, the event burst to life.
After a morning that was marked by intermittent rain, Gavin Hall
– an amateur who enrolled briefly at UCLA last year but will be
competing this fall for Texas – birdied his final four holes to race up
the leaderboard and grab a share of medalist honors. Joining Hall at 4
under were Geoffrey Sisk and Jesse Smith.
Each of the three has a spot in next week's U.S. Open Championship at
Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. Joining them will be Jim Herman, who
finished at 3 under.
"Playing my last nine holes, the lead was at 4 under," Hall said
after signing his card at Century Country Club. "I figured that if I
could get to 4 under I would have a pretty good shot. But if I didn't,
then I was happy about the way that I grinded out the day and hung in
there."
As impressive as his birdie run was, Hall's calm, methodical demeanor
and ability to handle pressure down the stretch was equally notable.
He made a 15-foot birdie on the par-3 No. 7 hole (his 16th), then
drained an 8-foot slider after escaping from the lip of a greenside
bunker on No. 8 ("That was probably the best putt of the day.").
With a crowd of more than 100 encircling the ninth green, the
Pittsford, N.Y., resident poured in a 10-foot birdie putt and gave a
subtle, restrained fist pump. There was no yelling, no jumping, no
histrionics. Hall, 18, who won the 2012 Ping Invitational and the 2011
AJGA Junior Players Championship, acted like a golfer who simply had set
a goal and achieved it.
"I knew I had to make some putts," he said. "I knew I didn't really
play too well this morning, so I was really happy to get out of Old Oaks
at even par."
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