Tuesday at the University of Maryland Golf Course, Fairfax’s Ji Soo Park found himself in the same threesome as his University of Virginia coach, Bowen Sargent, as they tried to qualify for the U.S. Amateur.
Firing his second straight 3-under-par 68, Sargent made it, but Park (140) did not, earning alternate status. Oddly enough, it wasn’t the first time Sargent was in this situation. Two years ago when he qualified in Charlottesville, he was paired with another Cavaliers player, Kyle Stough.
“I kept telling myself there’s a lot of similarities,” Sargent said. “I treated [Park] like any other person, probably complimented him more than I would another player. I was pulling for him.”
In addition to Sargent, others who qualified were Episcopal grad Patrick Bailey Jr. (136), recent George Mason grad Josh Apple (137) and longtime Washington-area amateur Rusty Pies (137).
They advance to the Amateur, Aug. 13-19, at Cherry Hills (Colo.). It is the second trip to Cherry Hills for Sargent. He played there the first time he qualified for the Amateur 22 years ago as an All-American at North Carolina State.
It’s been an eventful week for Virginia golf. On Sunday, Virginia grad Ben Kohles became the first player in history to win on the Web.com Tour in his first professional start. As Sargent played the 18th hole on Tuesday, he drew inspiration from the 2012 graduate.
“I was telling myself, ‘Be like Ben. Be like Ben,’?” Sargent said. “Damned if I didn’t do it.”
– Kevin Dunleavy
