The immortal Bobby Jones won it five times. Tiger Woods' name is inscribed on its trophy three years in a row. Jack Nicklaus? He came home with the Havemeyer Cup twice.
Yet, for Virginia golfers Brad Tilley, Eammon McLoughlin and Carter Henderson, one historic victory would be more than enough.
By virtue of their performances in sectional qualifying tournaments earlier this summer, Tilley, McLoughlin and Henderson all earned the right to play in the 2005 United States Amateur Golf Championship, to be held August 22-28 at the historic Merion Golf Club in suburban Philadelphia. Virginia head coach Bowen Sargent and former Cavalier Kevin O'Connell also qualified as alternates.
"The U.S. Amateur is as good as golf gets," Tilley said. "The courses, the competition, the tradition -- it's the best."
First played in 1895, the USGA-sponsored event is the leading tournament in the world for male amateur golfers. There are no age restrictions (Woods won it when he was a only 18), but players must have a handicap index of 2.4 or less to be eligible. Thousands attempt to qualify in sectionals, but only 300 or so make it to the week-long championship. After two days of strokeplay, the leading 64 golfers are placed into an NCAA tournament-style bracket, where elimination matchplay decides a winner. The victor, who must survive eight 18-hole rounds in 7 days, receives an invitation to three of the four professional majors (excluding the PGA Championship), and gains the title of United States Amateur Champion.
"The U.S. Amateur is the biggest tournament there is, and the hardest to win" McLoughlin said. "For an amateur golfer, it'severything."
All three of the Virginia golfers have played in the U.S. Amateur before, but none has ever advanced to the matchplay round of 64. Tilley, who competed in 2001 at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, and in 2004 at Winged Foot Golf Club in White Plains, N.Y., said that for him, the U.S. Amateur has been a mental challenge more than anything else.
"The first time I played, my expectations were very high, probably a little too high," he said. "I was impatient during the first two rounds of strokeplay, didn't play well and missed the cut. And last year, playing basically in my own backyard [his Chappaqua, N.Y. home is a 20 minute drive from Winged Foot], I put too much pressure on myself to do well, and again didn't shoot like I could have."
McLoughlin, who is Tilley's roommate, took part in the 2003 championship at Oakmont and shot well, missing the matchplay round by only three strokes. Henderson also played in that tournament, but his memories aren't so fond.
"I missed the cut by at least nine shots," he said. "I had two double bogeys, too many high scoring holes -- that was my downfall."
Each golfer said that their previous U.S. Amateur experiences will help their chances at Merion.
"I learned a lot in 2001 and 2004," Tilley said. "This year I'm going to be patient and play my game, and not change what I do because it's a big event."
That all three enter the championship on high notes should bolster their chances as well.
Henderson, a 2003 transfer from Middle Tennessee State, was the only one of the three Virginia qualifiers not to win his sectional, but he did shoot the lowest 18-hole round of his career -- a 65 on the first day of the two day event -- to capture a second place finish and that all-important invitation. He also won the James Fyke Municipal Amateur on July 19.
"I'm hitting the ball much better now than I was in 2003," he said. "I was hitting it badly then. My swing is better and my short game is better. I've improved so much."
Tilley, like his teammate, qualified behind a strong 65. Unlike Henderson, however, Tilley's low round came on the second day, after a miserable 75 on the opening 18. To make his 10 stoke turnaround even sweeter, Tilley punctuated his victory at Pine Hollow Country Club in East Norwich, N.Y., with a 35-foot birdie putt on the 35th, followed by a 50-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the qualifier.
"To be able to respond to such a bad round with such a good one really meant a lot," he said. "I consider myself tournament tough."
Tilley might have learned a thing or two about comebacks from his roommate. Shortly after the 2003 Amateur at Oakmont, McLoughlin went into a prolonged funk that severely sapped his confidence and kept him out of action for Virginia all of last season.
"I completely lost my golf game," he said. "Everything was looking pretty dim."
The slump didn't drain his will, however. McLoughlin's triumphant fight to regain his swing culminated with a two day score of 138, good enough to win the Harwington, Conn. sectional as well as a chance at even further redemption.
"To play well from start to finish [at the qualifying tournament] and make it back to the US Amateur Championship is validation for all the hard work I've put in. Playing at Merion will be very special."
So what are the chances that a Wahoo walks away with the Havemeyer trophy on Aug. 28? Tilley, the most accomplished of the three in the collegiate ranks, was by far the most confident, and credited his experience at Virginia with preparing him to compete against the top talent around.
"The strongest amateur golfers in the country come from college," he said. "I've played with and against the best at U.Va., and I won't be intimidated. I expect to make the round of 64, and there's no doubt in my mind that if I play my game, I can win."
McLoughlin, like his roommate, expects to make the round of 64, but was more hesitant to make bold proclamations.
"[My chances of winning] don't look very good on paper," he said. "But it could happen. Once you get into matchplay, anything can happen."
As for Henderson
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