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Hossler, Cantlay will play in U.S. Open
GLENDALE – Just last year they were rivals playing for the Trinity League boys championship. In less than two weeks, Beau Hossler and Patrick Cantlay will meet again on one of the biggest stages in golf: the U.S. Open
Cantlay is a freshman now at UCLA, but Hossler’s still in high school, a sophomore at Santa Margarita.
Hossler’s still has a final to take on Thursday, exactly one week before he’ll tee off in the first round on June 16 at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.
Hossler made it there after finishing tied for third in the Sectional Qualifier on Monday here at Oakmont Country Club after carding a 4-under-par 138 after 36 holes.
Cantlay, on the other hand, was in Columbus, Ohio to pick up the Jack Nicklaus Award as the nation’s top Division 1 college player, so he entered the qualifying tournament there and shot a 65 and a 70 at the two area courses: Brookside Golf & Country Club and The Lakes Golf and Country Club.
As Hossler walked off the 18th green at Oakmont, someone from the gallery handed him a hat and a green Sharpie. Could I have your autograph please?
“I think that’s like maybe the second time I have signed something,” Hossler said.
Walking alongside Phil Mickelson and defending US Open champ Greame McDowell, though, is not something that Hossler was dreaming about as he stepped onto the first tee at Oakmont on Monday. His goals this year were to play in the U.S. Junior and U.S. Amateur.
“So I guess the U.S. Open is beyond that,” Hossler said. “But I am pretty confident, though, and my game feels really good right now. My goal today, though, was to go out there and play as well as I could, not to qualify, and if someone like Charlie Wi goes out there and beats me, what I am supposed to say.”
Wi didn’t beat Hossler however, as the PGA Tour regular posted a 70 and 73 and failed to place among the top five golfers who were guaranteed a spot at Congressional Country Club.
Hossler was one of the first groups to finish on Monday, so he had to wait more than two hours before he knew if his score was safe.
He tried to find a quiet place at the golf course and sat on a wall by the putting green as far away from the crowd huddled around the 18th green. But he never was alone for very long. Everyone wanted to track down this teenager who beat the odds and a field filled with pros to qualify for one of golf’s four major’s
“I am never surprised by anything this kid has done,” said Bill Schellenberg, Hossler’s godfather and caddie. “He’s a polished player. He is unflappable.”
