The 12th hole of the Mather Golf Course pretty much summed up
Ryan Han’s two rounds at the 2011 Nor Cal Junior PGA Championship
earlier this month. During his first round of the June 15
tournament, the incoming sophomore at San Benito High School hooked
his tee shot into the woods, punched it out to the fairway, and hit
a gap wedge onto the green that left him with a difficult downhill
putt. He ended up 3-putting, and carded a bogey on the par-5 hole.
But later that same day, Han completely reversed his fortunes on
the 12th hole, first by starting with a
”
perfect drive
”
down the middle of the fairway, then following it up with an
approach shot that left the ball within three feet of the pin. This
time, he recorded an eagle, or 2-under on the par-5 12th.
HOLLISTER
The 12th hole of the Mather Golf Course pretty much summed up Ryan Han’s two rounds at the 2011 Nor Cal Junior PGA Championship earlier this month.
During his first round of the June 15 tournament, the incoming sophomore at San Benito High School hooked his tee shot into the woods, punched it out to the fairway, and hit a gap wedge onto the green that left him with a difficult downhill putt.
He ended up 3-putting, and carded a bogey on the par-5 hole.
But later that same day, Han completely reversed his fortunes on the 12th hole, first by starting with a “perfect drive” down the middle of the fairway, then following it up with an approach shot that left the ball within three feet of the pin.
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This time, he recorded an eagle, or 2-under on the par-5 12th.
“I got used to the course,” said Han, whose come-from-behind second round on June 15 qualified him to the 36th Junior PGA Championship, presented by Under Armour and Heritage F.S.E., on Aug. 2-5 at the Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne, Ind.
“My first round, I didn’t make enough birdies because I didn’t know the course that well,” Han added. “But my second round, my club selection was much better and I was hitting better shots.”
Case in point: the 473-yard, par-5 12th hole, where Han went from 1-over to 2-under in the same day. And one round after carding a 3-over 75, the 14-year-old Hollister golfer finished his second round with a 7-under 65 to complete two rounds of nerve-racking, tournament-qualifying golf with a 4-under 140.
He defeated his nearest competitors, Steven Choi of Dublin and Hayden Shieh of Fremont, by just a single stroke.
Han, whose 65 came in two strokes higher than the course record and who erased a five-stroke deficit to win, will now test his hand at the Junior PGA Championship in Indiana — the biggest bullet on his brief golf resume.
“It’s definitely a big deal,” said Han, 14. “But before I qualified, I didn’t know it was that big of a tournament. I knew it was important, but not worldwide.”
The Junior PGA Championship, which welcomes several competitors from Europe and Asia, is open to one male champion from each of the 41 PGA sections, according to a statement, and has traditionally been a stepping-stone tournament for many of today’s PGA Tour professionals, including Stewart Cink, Jim Furyk, Trevor Immelman, Anthony Kim, Justin Leonard, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, among many others.
It’s also a qualifier to the 2012 USA Junior Ryder Cup team, awarded to the top finisher at the Junior PGA Championship.
Han’s 65 on June 15 was just the second time the local golfer has reached 7-under in his brief career. The round included seven birdies, two bogeys and, of course, the eagle on 12.
In fact, holes No. 11, 12, 13 and 14 during Han’s second round all finished below par — birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie.
“Those four holes were what fueled my round,” said Han, who, on Monday, competed in the section qualifier for the 2011 USGA Junior Amateur Championship. Unlike in Mather, though, Han was unable to better his first-round score earlier this week when he shot 1-over, with his second round score coming in at 9-over.
“Everything kind of fell apart,” he said.
Still, that wasn’t the case earlier this month, when Han finished with a 5-under 31 on the back nine of his final round en route to a 7-under 65. Although he was 3-over on par 4s, he was 5-under on par-5 holes.
“A couple of putts in the first round, I had the same exact putts in the second round,” he said. “But I knew the lines the second time, and I think that saved me one or two strokes, at least.”
—
The 36th Junior PGA Championship, presented by Under Armour and Heritage F.S.E., will be held on Aug. 2-5 at the Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne, Ind.
