At U.S. Amateur, Walker Cup pressure can be felt everywhere
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CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. – Dylan Menante was brutally honest on Monday afternoon at Cherry Hills.
“My speed on the greens was pretty awful,” the North Carolina fifth-year senior stated.
Luckily for Menante, he withstood. He left himself back-to-back 6-footers for par to begin his first round at the 123rd U.S. Amateur, and he made both. One birdie and one bogey later and Menante, a semifinalist last year at this championship, was signing for an even-par 71.
That won’t hurt him at an event where it’s all about survival.
“It’s really hard because there’s so much anxiety going into all these big events,” Menante said. “I mean, you put pressure on yourself, but how much pressure do you want? For me, I kind of feed off negativity, so after hitting those two bad putts, I step up and make the next ones. … But yeah, it’s hard not to put too much pressure because you want to do so well because it’s the biggest tournament in the U.S. and you get the Masters and U.S. Open [if you make the final]. You have so much pressure for that, but you have to keep even keeled.”
For Menante and a handful of others, that challenge is exponentially tougher this week. While Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent, North Carolina’s David Ford, Tennessee’s Caleb Surratt and Alabama’s Nick Dunlap have already locked up their places on the U.S. side for next month’s Walker Cup at St. Andrews, the remaining six spots – one more since Stanford senior Michael Thorbjornsen announced last Wednesday that he’d be out indefinitely with a back injury – are very much up for grabs.
Menante, ranked fifth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, figures to have as good a chance as any of the remaining American candidates. There are as many as eight others who could realistically secure spots on U.S. captain Mike McCoy’s 12-man squad without a win on Sunday – Virginia’s Ben James (No. 6 in WAGR), North Carolina’s Austin Greaser (No. 8), North Florida’s Nick Gabrelcik (No. 10), Vanderbilt’s Cole Sherwood (No. 12), mid-amateur Stewart Hagestad (No. 13), Florida State’s Luke Clanton (No. 14), Arizona State’s Preston Summerhays (No. 19) and Ohio State’s Maxwell Moldovan (No. 23).
Those names all have strong resumes. James was the Phil Mickelson Award winner last season. Greaser had a strong summer last year, making the cut at the U.S. Open and winning the Western Amateur, but he’s been battling a hand injury this year. Hagestad has little competition for the lone mid-amateur invite – and that was before the three-time Walker Cupper made match play at the Western Amateur. Moldovan has qualified for each of the past two U.S. Opens, making the cut this summer at LACC. Gabrelcik captured the Southern Amateur this summer.
“It’s the most important thing to me right now, making that team,” said Gabrelcik, who fired a 68 Monday alongside Menante and Sherwood (75). The USGA has grouped a handful of Walker Cup hopefuls to make viewing easier for McCoy, who is on site.
Gabrelcik wasn’t supposed to play last month’s Southern, but after failing to qualify for the NCAA Championship and then tying for 45th at the Northeast Amateur, he felt like he couldn’t afford to take a month off like he initially planned for his final summer as an amateur.
“I didn’t play great at the Northeast, and it kind of dropped me back, in my opinion, in the Walker Cup race, so going out there and having a good week and ultimately winning, I think it just helped me so much with confidence and hopefully impressed everyone on the committee,” Gabrelcik said. “After that performance, I need to go get some confidence for myself and to also try and make a statement to get myself on that team.”
Though the USGA’s selection committee is usually tight-lipped, it’s believed that Menante, who posted top-10s at all three college postseason events and was runner-up at the Southern, is a lock along with Hagestad and Gabrelcik. Moldovan’s success in USGA events should help his case while James, who had been losing momentum this summer, shot 5-under 67 Monday at co-stroke-play-host Colorado Golf Club, besting playing competitors Clanton (70) and Wake Forest’s Michael Brennan (76). The last ticket to Scotland, of course, would go to the U.S. Amateur champion if he is American and not already on the team.
“I have had a tough summer,” James said, “but I have been busy playing Travelers and have played in a lot of high-level events. I haven’t played my best stuff, but you know I have worked really hard. Just saw my coach before coming to this. … To make the Walker Cup would be unbelievable. But no, it’s not really on my mind. I just want to go out and play good golf, that’s all I want to do.”
Menante isn’t shy to admit that with the remaining six Walker Cup berths being announced Sunday upon conclusion of the final, the pressure is mile high.
He doesn’t care about the odds.
He won’t rest until he gets the official call.
“It’s just tough knowing that huge expectations are on my shoulders, and especially if I have a bad week here, I don’t know if they’d pick me,” Menante said. “Literally my whole summer, it’s like, you have to play super well to make it. I played well at Southern, and I’m like, Oh, am I going to get picked? Then they came out with three picks, and I didn’t get picked. I played all right at the Western and made the big cut, and I’m like, Is this enough? It’s constantly been like, Oh, one more. I just gotta keep playing extremely well.”
And making putts – no matter how jittery his hands gets on those 6-footers.
“Sometimes in the back of your head, it’s like, Is this putt going to make the difference?” Menante said. “Especially the Western, right on the cut line, I had to make an 8-footer to make the cut, but if I miss, am I automatically out just like that from one putts? All these little shots are so much more important than what they actually are. … This year it’s like, Holy cow, that could be the difference.“
And with that, Menante was headed to grab a quick lunch before heading out to Colorado Golf Club, where he’ll play Tuesday, to work on his speed.
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