At 31, John Ellis no longer searches for moral victories after
the kind of week he had at Congressional Country Club. It was up.
It was down. It was short. Ellis came within a stroke of making the
cut for the first time in a PGA Tour event
— the U.S. Open Championship, no less — but sounded much farther
away Monday, and not just because he was in Denver preparing for a
National Professional Golf Tour event of which he couldn’t recall
the name.
MORGAN HILL
At 31, John Ellis no longer searches for moral victories after the kind of week he had at Congressional Country Club.
It was up. It was down. It was short.
Ellis came within a stroke of making the cut for the first time in a PGA Tour event — the U.S. Open Championship, no less — but sounded much farther away Monday, and not just because he was in Denver preparing for a National Professional Golf Tour event of which he couldn’t recall the name.
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“Yes, I hit a lot of quality shots and did some good things, but I didn’t go there to come close to making the cut,” the 1998 Live Oak graduate said. “It’s disappointing. It’s frustrating. You try to take more positives than negatives, but I can’t say — I won’t say missing the cut would be good.”
While Rory McIlroy, a 22-year-old from Northern Ireland, continued his record-breaking run to the title, avenging his Masters collapse in April, Ellis went sight-seeing Saturday in Washington D.C. and flew out Sunday after watching “a little golf” with some friends.
Periodically, his mind wandered back to Friday’s second round. Ellis was poised to extend his tournament after 12 bogey-less holes. He had shot even par on the 10th and 11th holes, which Ellis said were among the toughest after his 3-over 74 Thursday, and had birdied the par-4 eighth and par-5 ninth to climb to 1-over for the tournament.
The cut was 4-over.
“I was really confident,” Ellis said. “It was there.”
He still was after a bogey on the 13th. Ellis rebounded with par on No. 14, then went bogey-par on No. 15 and 16 to remain 3-over.
“It just got a little tougher toward the end,” he said. “It was getting late, and the storm was moving in.”
Hope was not lost, though. Ellis’ putting had begun to deteriorate on Congressional’s notoriously challenging greens. He needed to shoot even through his final two holes — the par-4 17th and 18th — but would have to wait until Saturday morning to get the chance. Play was suspended because of rain with Ellis on the 17th fairway.
“I thought they pulled us off prematurely, because basically when we came back (Saturday) it was night again,” he said. “But that’s how it goes.”
Ellis’ camp teetered in anticipation. The Morgan Hill native has long been trying to earn his way onto the PGA Tour, proving his worth on smaller pro circuits but falling short in annual qualifying tournaments, otherwise known as Q-School. Monday Ellis played a practice round with defending champion Graeme McDowell. Thursday night he gave an interview with Bob Fitzgerald and Rod Brooks on KNBR, saying:
“I’d be lying if I said I (didn’t) want a chance to win. I do want a chance to win. Who doesn’t? But a successful week would be … I made the cut. That would be a good week.”
Now, Ellis was on the brink of making the cut at a major in his second attempt and first since the 2008 Open at Torrey Pines.
“He’s right there. He’s in great shape,” said Ellis’ cousin, Don Leone, a PGA-certified director of instruction at Coyote Creek Golf Club. “I hope he can sleep tonight.”
Although well rested, Ellis could not improve his putting Sunday. He finished the 17th with a bogey and, with his back to the wall, bogeyed the 18th to finish at 5-over 147.
“I didn’t feel any pressure the next day,” Ellis said. “I was just trying to get the ball in the hole. Sometimes your putts just don’t go in. You can say they deserved to go in, but I can’t hang my hat on hitting good putts that didn’t go in.
“I just have to get back on the horse and try to play some good golf, eliminate mistakes and learn.”
No player is too old, or too young, to do that.
