With so many amateurs performing well in professional golf events, this could be called the “Year of the Amateur.” Reigning NCAA champion John Peterson of LSU got carried away, however, in an interview last week with GolfWorld.
“The top guys in college, the top 20 or 30 guys, can beat the top 20, 30 guys on the PGA Tour,” Peterson said.
Peterson was no doubt feeling high and mighty as he led the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational. He eventually lost by a stroke, but the winner was another college player, Harris English, a recent graduate of Georgia.
Here’s a recap of some other feats by amateurs this year.
» UCLA sophomore Patrick Cantlay, ranked No. 1 in the world among amateurs by the R&A, has made the most noise, finishing in the top 25 in all four PGA Tour events he has entered, including the U.S. Open.
» Last week, Texas-bound Jordan Spieth won his second U.S. Junior Amateur. The only other player to do that is Tiger Woods. Spieth, who graduated from high school in May, has contended the last two years at the Byron Nelson.
» Peter Uihlein, an Oklahoma State junior and the winner of the 2010 U.S. Amateur, has made the cut in three of five PGA Tour events, including the British Open earlier this month.
» England’s Tom Lewis, 20, shot a 65 to share the lead in the opening round of the British Open. At No. 9, he’s not even the highest-ranked amateur from his country. That distinction belongs to No. 6 Andrew Sullivan, 24.
» Earlier this year, another Georgia player, Russell Henley, became the second amateur in history to win on the Nationwide Tour.
