Griffin Law
Entering this week’s 75th U.S. Junior Amateur Championship held at Daniel Island Club in Charleston, South Carolina, Griffin Law had a goal to make it to Wednesday and the match play portion of the event.
Half of his wish has come true in that the East Hamilton High School rising junior will tee it up Wednesday morning. As far as advancing into the match play rounds, that’s still to be determined.
Law posted a round of 2-over 73 on Tuesday, leaving him tied at 2-over 145 with 13 other participants battling for the final seven spots into the 64-golfer bracket. The outcome will be decided in a sudden death playoff until the last slots are filled starting at 7 a.m. with qualifiers promptly moving onto their head-to-head matchups.
“I feel good about being first off so I can go ahead and post a number,” Law said. “I think I’ll sleep fine but I’m definitely going to have some adrenaline going on the tee box. As long as I stay focused on each shot at a time, I think I can hang in there.”
Law, a member of Council Fire Golf Club, recorded four bogeys and a pair of birdies in Tuesday’s round. But his deft work with putter enabled him to remain in contention.
“I didn’t hit it too well today, but I was able to make some clutch putts multiple times,” Law said. “I did miss a three-footer for par on number 10 which was frustrating. But then I was able to shift my focus quickly to the next hole.”
A birdie on No. 7 – his 16th hole of the day after starting on No. 10 – got Law to 2-over for the tournament, but he still had to grind on his final two holes.
“I don’t look at the leaderboard but I knew I had to be close after the birdie,” Law said. “Then I went on to get up and down for par on my last two holes.”
McCallie School rising senior Thad Whitfield bounced back from his tough opening round to shoot an even par 71. Whitfield converted five birdies which were offset by five bogeys, finishing the tournament at 9-over 152.
The U.S. Junior Amateur began in 1948, compiling a storied history of winners including three-time winner Tiger Woods. Jordan Spieth is the only other repeat champion, while other notable champions are British Open victor Brian Harman, David Duval, Hunter Mahan, Johnny Miller, Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler.
The competition is limited to anyone under the age of 19, and the winner receives an exemption into next year’s U.S. Open Championship at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club.
Tommy Morrison of Dallas, Texas was the stroke play medalist in the 254-participant field, firing an 8-under 135 over course of the two days.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com