It would be understandable if Hunter Larson wished a flu bug upon Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club.
It would be understandable if Hunter Larson wished a flu bug upon Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club.
Larson, the assistant professional at Kohanaiki in Kailua-Kona, went to sleep Tuesday night outside Pittsburgh knowing he was tantalizing close to qualifying for the U.S. Open as the first alternate.
“I’m going to get up (Wednesday), play a practice round, prepare mentally and hope to hear my name called,” Larson said.
The full field of 156 has assembled in Oakmont, so Larson, a 2006 Kealakehe graduate, presumably needs a golfer to either get injured or fall ill to get a chance to tee off Thursday in the national championship.
If Larson doesn’t get in, he and his father, Greg Larson of Naalehu, can still watch the tournament on the United States Golf Association’s dime, enjoying an insider’s look as one of their many perks.
A certain just-along-for-the-ride mentality may sink in at some point, but Larson said the past nine days were an emotional roller-coaster. Larson missed a short putt June 6 in a Northern California sectional that could have clinched a berth in the U.S. Open, and after falling short in the subsequent playoff, he watched other non-exempt players reach the field as he rose from ninth to first on the alternate list.
“Hope is always a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing,” he said. “Mentally, I’m telling myself I’m not going to get in, so I can prepare myself.”
However, it’s evident the road to the U.S. Open – Larson shot a 71 in local qualifying and was 7-under at the 36-hole sectional – has boosted the PGA apprentice’s confidence.
“I can tell you this,” Larson told the Tribune-Herald. “This won’t be the last time we talk. Not with the way I’m playing.”