News
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Local U.S. Open Qualifier Hoping for the Ultimate Big Break
Reality-show participant Eugene Smith earns medalist honors at Haworth C.C. qualifier to advance to sectionals
By David Shefter, USGA
Haworth, N.J. – Eugene Smith didn’t need to appear on the Golf Channel’s “Big Break: Prince Edward Island” to get a taste of a reality show.
The 30 year old’s entire professional golf career has been one life experience after another. From competing on various mini-tours to playing on the Canadian Tour to working as a caddie and car valet between practice rounds in south Florida, the affable Smith has lived as a golf vagabond.
Until the Swine Flu outbreak, Smith, one of eight remaining contestants on the “Big Break” (filming ended last fall but the series won’t conclude until later this spring), had planned on starting his U.S. Open qualifying journey in Florida. His premature return from Mexico, following the postponement of the Canadian Tour’s final three events there, gave him the chance to play his local qualifier at Haworth Country Club in northern New Jersey, where he grew up and attended Bergen Catholic and later Seton Hall University.
On Monday, the Glen Ridge native was the only golfer out of the 57-player starting field to better par on the challenging 6,782-yard, par-70 layout. He carded a 2-under 68 to earn medalist honors. Two others, Brian Gaffney of Rumson, N.J., and Michael Brice of Tullahoma, Tenn., carded even-par 70s.
Mini-tour player John Stoltz of Kiamesha Lake, N.Y., earned the final spot in a one-hole playoff with Somerville, N.J., amateur Kevin Foley after both shot 71s.
The U.S. Open will be held on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., June 18-21.
Foley bogeyed the final hole of regulation and added another bogey in the playoff (par-5 first hole). Stoltz holed a 4-foot par putt.
PGA/Nationwide Tour player Jim McGovern of nearby Oradell, who missed the cut at this past weekend’s Valero Texas Open, shot a 72 and earned second-alternate status.
Because Smith is scheduled to play in a Canadian Tour event in Surrey, British Columbia, June 11-14, he has chosen to play in the June 8 U.S. Open sectional qualifier at Tumble Creek Club in Roslyn, Wash. The other three to advance from Haworth are scheduled to play in the June 8 qualifier in Purchase, N.Y., at Old Oaks C.C. and Century C.C. Sectional qualifying is 36 holes of stroke play.
This will be Smith’s third trip to the sectionals, and this time he’s hoping to get the ultimate big break. Playing any U.S. Open would be fantastic. Playing one in his home area in front of friends and family would be a dream.
“That would be amazing,” said Smith following a round that included three birdies and one bogey and 10 consecutive pars to close. “We played a college event [at Bethpage Black], and it’s just a great course.”
Smith found his way into the world of reality television by accident. During a Canadian Tour event last summer in Edmonton, he did a five-minute interview with Doug Stone, who does the Canadian Tour’s “Chasing the Dream” show for the Golf Channel. Smith didn’t think anything of it until receiving a phone call. “Are you sure you’ve got the right guy?” asked Smith.
Yes, they indeed wanted Smith for the reality series, which gives the winner $100,000. “Big Break: Prince Edward Island” started with six males and six females; after the May 18 show, four males and three females remain.
“You can ask me anything as long as it doesn’t pertain to the last few episodes,” said Smith, who is sworn to secrecy until the show’s completion. “It was a lot of fun. I’m generally pretty reserved. A lot of the stuff I said hasn’t been used on the show.”
Nothing about his qualifying round was sound-bite material, either.
“It was a very standard round of golf,” said Smith. “I hit it really well all day. I just didn’t make any putts. It was very boring.”
The same could be said of the 38-year-old Gaffney’s two-birdie, one double-bogey effort. He made 13 straight pars before finally draining a 20-foot birdie at No. 14. He followed that with a wedge approach to 4 feet at No. 15 before his three-putt 6 at 16.
Nine years ago, the head pro at Rumson (N.J.) C.C. had a taste of major-championship golf when he qualified for the PGA Championship but missed the cut. But Gaffney has never made it to the U.S. Open, despite several trips to sectional qualifying.
An understanding staff and club membership helps. Gaffney, who didn’t participate in Open qualifying last year due to a bout with shingles, can practice early in the morning or late in the afternoon while also serving the needs of the membership.
“This is the first year I’ve had playing goals in like six or seven years,” said the father of an 18-month-old child. “I feel my age, my job, my life is getting to where I am getting close. I feel like I’m doing the right things to get in.”
Three weeks ago, Brice needed a map to find his way around the metropolitan New York area. The 32-year-old Tennessean, who recently took an assistant pro job at Leawood C.C. in Westchester County, still hasn’t figured out all the nuances of life in the Big Apple. In a few weeks he may need a GPS to find Old Oaks and Century country clubs.
“I am enjoying it,” said Brice of his new lifestyle. “They are good people up there.”
Brice grew up in a small town an hour from Nashville and Chattanooga before matriculating at Auburn University, where one of his teammates was 1998 U.S. Amateur Public Links runner-up Jason Dufner. From there, he’s bounced around the mini-tours until landing his most recent gig at Leawood.
Now he’s into U.S. Open sectional qualifying for a second time. Two years ago he failed to advance in Florida.
Like Gaffney and Smith, Brice minimized mistakes. He kept his round going with an up-and-down par from 115 yards on the par-4 16th hole (his seventh of the round). A birdie at 18 got him back to even, which is where he ended the day.
“There weren’t many birdies out there,” said Brice. “You had to grind it out. It was very tough.”
Stoltz, 25, qualified for a second consecutive year, although he didn’t need a playoff in 2008 at Manhattan Woods. He recently returned to the New York area after spending the winter chasing checks in Florida and the Carolinas (Gateway and Tar Heel tours). Last year, he posted 76-77 at Old Oaks C.C. (Century wasn’t used).
As one of the last finishers, Stoltz only had about 20 minutes to rest between the end of his round and the start of the playoff. Foley, meanwhile, lamented in a clubhouse chair with his hands buried in his face for at least an hour. He had bogeyed the par-4 ninth – his last of the day – and thought for awhile that it would cost him a spot. The 71 still got the Penn State senior into a playoff, but a missed 8-foot par putt opened the door for Stoltz to cash in his short par attempt.
Now, he’d like to return to Bethpage Black, where he once tied for sixth in the New York State Open, which is annually held at the venue.
Said Stoltz: “It’s one of my favorite courses.”
David Shefter is a USGA Digital Media staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.
