Oakmont gearing up for US Open
I was on two of the most iconic, demanding courses around in a span of 24 hours.
I opted to play the first course, and, despite a lot of internal discussion on the matter, decided against the second course.
The first course was the Mount Summit Challenge on Sunday morning. The 3.5-mile course that follows Route 40 from Hopwood to the Summit Inn is regarded as one of the most unique 鈥� and difficult 鈥� on the eastern seaboard.
I arose bright and early (for the second day in a row) Monday morning and made my way to Oakmont Country Club for the U.S. Open media day. Included in the day鈥檚 proceedings was a round of golf on the venerable golf course that is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Talking myself into walking the Summit Challenge for the 21st time wasn鈥檛 too difficult. There were hundreds of walkers and runners, so a not-so-great performance would just melt into the crowd of people.
Now, I have witnessed Jim Downey play golf. He鈥檚 a decent scramble golfer where he can pull off a shot or two, but straight up on his own, well, let鈥檚 just say he鈥檚 a work in progress.
I surely appreciated the offer to walk the hallowed grounds that so many greats have walked before, but I knew I didn鈥檛 want my first round of golf of 2016 to be at Oakmont. Why have a bunch of guys (sportswriters) that don鈥檛 even know me learn to despise (nay, come to hate) when I addressed a golf ball. I鈥檒l reserve that honor to my scramblemates at the Conn-Area Catholic outing in June.
So, I鈥檒l limit my play of Oakmont to my thumbs 鈥� via XBox. Not to brag or anything, but my thumbs handle the course pretty good. No need to soil the solid reputation to the site of 15 USGA Championships (U.S. Open: 1927, 鈥�35, 鈥�53, 鈥�62, 鈥�83, 鈥�94, 2007; U.S. Amateur: 1919, 鈥�25, 鈥�38, 2003; U.S. Women鈥檚 Open: 1992, 2010) with me on the tee.
The first time I was at Oakmont was in 1994 when I was to track down a young golf professional working on the back side, naturally, of the course. That young professional working one of the merchandising tents was George Laskey, whose son Harison recently won his first collegiate tournament. George won the 1987 WPIAL golf title at Oakmont and the rumor is the championship might return to the course this fall.
I was in grad school at the time, so I missed the epic 18-hole playoff on Monday between Loren Roberts, Ernie Els and Colin Montgomerie, won by Els.
This time around, I鈥檓 hoping another local face will be written about. A number of local golfers will attempt to grind through qualifying for a berth into the national championship.
One of those hopefuls is Waynesburg Central graduate and PGA Latinoamerica Tour player Robert Rohanna. Rohanna starts his quest to the U.S. Open on May 16 at the Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, West Virginia.
鈥淭he Pete Dye course is one of my favorite golf courses,鈥� said Rohanna.
Rohanna鈥檚 attempt to qualify will be in the midst of a whirlwind tour of golf. He鈥檚 scheduled to play in Honduras the week of May 2 and then continue to the Dominican Republic.
鈥淭he tournament in the Dominican Republic is different with a Wednesday start. I can鈥檛 get go from Honduras to the Dominican Republic until Monday. The Pro-Am and practice is Tuesday because of the Wednesday start. The tournament ends on May 14 and I鈥檒l get back to Pittsburgh the day before the qualifier. And, I鈥檓 off the next day (Tuesday, May 17) to Mexico for the next event,鈥� explained Rohanna.
Golfers must go through two rounds of qualifying, local and sectional, for one of the berths into the U.S. Open, but the prize is to do so at Oakmont.
鈥淚t would be great. First of all, to get into an Open, in general, is great,鈥� said Rohanna. 鈥淭hen, not many people can say they played an Open locally.鈥�
Rohanna said he鈥檚 played Oakmont around a dozen times, including the PA State Open in 2009 where he placed in the top 10.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very hard golf course, an unfair golf course,鈥� said Rohanna. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an Open golf course. You couldn鈥檛 play it every day.鈥�
Rohanna wasn鈥檛 at the media day, but he echoed one thought that resounded throughout the media event.
Oakmont is a difficult course.
n n n
Just a loose end or two to tie up the Mount Summit Challenge.
鈥� Apparently my right hand did not properly record what my ears heard and brain interpreted when I interviewed Ohiopyle鈥檚 Brynn Cunningham. I鈥檒l cite the sudden rise of altitude (even though it took me around 48 minutes to get to the top), slight dehydration and general old age, but apparently I had some misinformation/improper information.
So, allow me to square things up for Ms. Cunningham.
I did get it right that she is preparing to run in the Pittsburgh Marathon, starting her training back in December, and she did prepare for the Summit with runs beginning in January. Anyone who has prepared to run a marathon understands long runs are the norm, which she has undertaken, ranging from the 10-miler mentioned in the story up to a 20-miler.
I misunderstood when she explained about her father, A.J. Cunningham. Mr. Cunningham passed away in 2013. The Summit was the last race father and daughter talked about, and the 2015 Summit was her first race since his death. Assigned bib No. 52 (the year of her father鈥檚 birth) in 2015, she finished second to Heather Parks. As it happened, she was assigned bib No. 152 and that naturally caught her attention, inspiring her to give it her best shot for a first-place finish. Cunningham was the first female to cross the finish line in a time of 31:04.聽
Brynn so politely pointed out my boo-boos, something I really appreciate, by the way, I wanted to set things right.
鈥� The proceeds from the race fund a scholarship for at least one male and one female student-athlete from Fayette County who is a member of the cross country or track & field team, possessing a QPA of 2.99 or higher, and recommended by their coach.
The Uniontown cross country team, under the leadership of coach Joe Everhart, also participates by working the water stop. Not only do the Red Raiders hand out much-needed hydration, but they cheer and encourage all who assault the Summit.
鈥� I forgot to mention the champion of the men鈥檚 walk, Jason Lohr, had a pretty good week. The previous Sunday, Jason with WCCC cross country teammates Chase Poole, Regis Pekar, TJ Fox and Josh Clark won the men鈥檚 5K team title. Scored like a cross country meet, the Wolfpack totaled 49 points in the top four places, 110 points better than the second-place quartet.
鈥� Matt Girod should be recovered from his fifth-place finish in the Summit when the Lady Raider track & field squad faces off with Laurel Highlands this afternoon for the Section 2-AAA crown.