Fox getting a good taste of life as pro
Steven Fox has spent his spring and summer playing at Augusta National, Merion and Muirfield, but the Western Amateur has felt like home so far.
“It’s good to be at an amateur event again,” said Fox, who shot a 1-under-par 71 on Tuesday in the opening round at The Alotian Club.
Fox, 22, of Hendersonville, Tenn., is playing in an amateur event for the first time this summer after spending the past few months playing against golf’s biggest names at the Masters, the U.S.
Open and the British Open. He earned spots in those tournaments by winning the U.S. Amateur last year.
He played a practice round with Phil Mickelson at Augusta and then was paired with Bubba Watson, the 2012 Masters winner, and Ian Poulter.
He played with Ernie Els and Webb Simpson at the U.S. Open, and at the British Open it was Henrik Stenson and Ryan Moore.
“They’re majors, so they’re a bunch of fun,” Fox said.
Even if he didn’t make a cut at any of them.
Fox said he left his playing partners alone at Augusta, where he watched Watson “curve wedges from 30 yards,” but that he had a good time with Els and Simpson at Merion.
“Sometimes those guys are in their own world, but [Els and Simpson] took care of me out there,” he said. “They made that experience special for me.”
Fox is among the favorites this week. His amateur ranking (73) isn’t as high as some, but that is partly because he hasn’t played in many amateur events this year.
He started Monday with a birdie, a bogey and a double bogey before rattling off three consecutive birdies and eventually settling for a 71.
“When you’re playing with pros, your mind wanders a little bit,” he said. “I think it’s just you’re more comfortable out here. It’s nice coming back to these courses. I enjoy it.”3 Arkansans at 69
Lane Hulse of Fordyce was joined by Jonesboro’s Austin Cook and Sebastian Cappelen of the University of Arkansas in leading the contingent of nine Arkansans on Tuesday with rounds of 3-under 69.
Hulse’s round was bolstered by a chip-in for birdie on No. 9 and a 25-foot birdie putt on the 10th.
“I wanted to come out, play solid, play one shot at a time and try to get off to a good start,” said Hulse, who is entering his senior year at South Alabama. “I think I did that. I just wanted to carry the chip about a yard onto the green and I carried it right on the spot.”
Cook, who finished his eligibility for UA in the spring, and Cappelen, a senior from Denmark, each missed birdie putts on No. 9, their 18th hole, that would have taken them to 4 under.
Big mistake
Yaroslav Merkulov approached his second shot on No. 18 on Tuesday hoping for a good recovery after a poor tee shot.
Merkulov, from Penfield, N.Y. was at 3 under heading to 18 after starting on No. 10. He hit his tee shot into the rough, then hit his ball back onto the fairway. At least, he thought it was his ball.
“I hit it and it goes about 10 or 15 yards and it’s all chopped up by the mower,” said Merkulov, who plays golf at Duke. “I’m like, ‘That’s not my ball.’ ”
He told an official standing nearby what he had done, and was informed just how costly the mistake would be.
The stroke would count, he would be penalized another shot, and he would have to hit his actual ball that he found just a few feet away.
All things considered, he wasn’t too upset with the 7 he made on the hole, even it meant he went to the back 9 at even-par 36 instead of 3 under.
Merkulov finished his round at 2 under.
“It wasn’t a bad triple bogey,” Merkulov said. “I told myself there’s a lot of golf to be played and if I give up now it could be a lot worse.”Short stay Tucker Wadkins would be near the top of the list as far as big-name golfers playing this week in the Western Amateur.
Wadkins is the son of Lanny Wadkins, the 1977 PGA Championship and 1970 Western Amateur winner.
But he ran into trouble on his second shot of the day when he hurt his right wrist trying to hit out of some rocks.
Wadkins, a junior at the University of Arizona, tried to continue but had to call it quits on the 12th, his third hole of the day.
“I told him that happens,” playing partner Patrick Lee said. “I’ve had three wrist surgeries, so I know it’s tough.
When you don’t have stability in your wrist, it’s hard.
“It’s something he didn’t want to do.
You just want to keep playing because you want to be out in the tournament and experience it.”
Sports, Pages 24 on 07/31/2013