ERIN, Wis. — The U.S. Amateur can be a grueling test, what with six straight days of golf and a 36-hole final.
But Peter Uihlein knows it can’t compare to what he endured during the third round of the British Open. How’s this for a good walk spoiled? Pelting rain, temps in the 50s, the wind whipping at 30 mph.
“The Brits said they wouldn’t even play in it,” said Wally Uihlein, Peter’s father and CEO of Acushnet, the parent company of Titleist.
Said Peter: “We went through five towels, and my golf bag was unusable after the round. My hands were pruny.”
Uihlein (pronounced U-line) still managed to shoot 75, better than all but 34 players. He was one of only two amateurs to make the cut at Royal St. George’s.
Yes, he has some game.
Erin Hills and Augusta National caddie Julius Germany looped for Uihlein during a practice round before the Masters and witnessed a shot he still cannot believe.
After Uihlein drove it well right into the trees on No. 11, he had 250 yards to go. Rather than lay up, he slashed a 2-iron that cut about 70 yards and settled 20 feet from the pin.
“Better than Phil Mickelson could have done,” Germany said. “That boy (Uihlein) is going to win a lot.”
Uihlein beat Stanford’s David Chung on his 21st birthday to win the 2010 U.S. Amateur at Chambers Bay. He enters the 2011 championship as the world’s third-ranked amateur — and one of the shyest.
While speaking to reporters and USGA officials last month at Erin Hills, he said: “I’ll probably be a little less nervous when I tee it up than I am now.”
During a recent practice round, Uihlein stepped to the tee of the 563-yard, dogleg left first hole and inquired about his line. In other words, how much real estate could he cut off with his driver?
“How long do you carry it?” asked Rich Tock, Erin Hills’ director of operations.
“290 to 300,” he replied.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Uihlein belted several 320-yard drives, and on the 199-yard 13th hole, he selected an 8-iron. (OK, it was downwind.)
Uihlein just might be the perfect horse for the course that is Erin Hills. At 7,760 wind-swept yards, it’s the longest layout in the history of a USGA event.
As a refresher, Erin Hills opened in 2006 on a site 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee with spectacular topography — native fescue and hills formed by glaciers. Planners aimed for the finest $50 greens-fee course in America, but USGA officials fell in love with the property and its spectator areas, seeing potential for galleries in excess of 60,000.
The minimalist design was altered to accommodate major championships. Now the greens fee is $200 (plus caddie fee) for the walking-only course, which has been awarded this week’s Am and the 2017 U.S. Open.
“We’re close enough for the Chicago golf nuts to come,” tournament chairman Jim Reinhart said.
The wind is such a factor that the par-3 ninth can play anywhere from a 5-iron to pitching wedge.
“It’s cool,” Uihlein said. “And long. I usually don’t have to hit many long-to-mid irons (into par-4s).”
Uihlein is the fourth Oklahoma State player to win the U.S. Am, and that tradition is what attracted him to the school.
“I was a huge Duke fan as a kid — Jay (then Jason) Williams, Mike Dunleavy,” he recalled. “I asked my dad: ‘What’s the Duke of college golf?’ He said Oklahoma State.”
Uihlein grew up near Boston, saying “I’m sorry” when I told him I was raised as a Yankees fan.
At 10, he played well enough in a tournament at Doral to be paired with a youngster from Northern Ireland named Rory McIlroy. Uihlein took third, and then had an adult conversation with his parents.
“I can compete with these guys,” he told them, “but not if I can only play six months a year (because of the cold).”
His father replied: “Well, I can’t move the company.”
Peter visited the IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy in Florida and, at 13, convinced his parents to let him attend. His mother, Tina, moved nearby.
“It’s not the Citadel,” Wally said. “We were not going to send him down by himself. Peter’s brother, Jonathan, stayed in Massachusetts, and we became America’s dysfunctional family.”
Wally would not recommend it for everyone but said: “It worked for us.”
That it did.
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein
