Aussie guns set for Sahalee showdown
IN: News | US Mens Amateur | Sahalee Players Championship (2008) | Preview | by Anthony Powter | 01 Jul 2008
Pick four of our most promising young guns that have evolved from the junior ranks in recent times and the names Scrivener, Jager, Giles and Nisbet, immediately spring to mind.
When you then have them together in a top US amateur tournament playing for the first time, a potent mix of raw talent and winning potential develops, and with that a real prospect of the first Australian victory on US soil in 2008.
The Sahalee Players Championship starts tomorrow in Seatlle at the Sahalee Country Club and Scrivener, Jager, Giles and Nisbet are eager to make their respective marks.
A relatively new tournament, the Sahalee Players Championship was first been played in 1992 and past champions include Casey Martin (1993), Jason Gore (1996), Aaron Oberholser (1997) and Ryan Moore (2004). The tournament presently is not ranked highly on the US major amateur championship rankings but that is more a reflection of is adolescent stages of development as opposed to the field that it attracts.
The tournament is 72 holes of stroke play over Sahalee’s demanding South and North nines and with no cut. American Daniel Summerhay won the title last year with 8-under-par total.
From an Australian perspective, this week’s Sahalee Players Championship represents the perfect opportunity for Scrivener, Jager, Giles and Nisbet, to not only play on PGATour layout where the 1998 PGA Championship and 2002 World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational were held, but to also secure their maiden US amateur title.
All are blessed with immaculate games and achieved considerable success in the Junior ranks before graduating to the main amateur tour. Giles was 2006 World Junior Champion, Scrivener won the 2007 Australian Junior title, Nisbet won the 2008 Australian Junior title and Jager has continued to develop well, with a string of top-10 finishes in National Trial events back home in Australia.
Giles moved to the US earlier in the year and is a freshman at the University of South California. At 18, he has already received a PING All-America honourable mention by the Golf Coaches Association of America. He was the top Australian at last week’s Dogwood Invitational in Atlanta, Georgia, finishing T12 at 10-under-par, eleven strokes from winner, American, Rory Hie.
“The course is one of my favorites and I love coming here and playing,” said Giles this week.
“Sahalee is a tough layout and the field is more younger than some other events you have here, so it’s a great opportunity to test yourself against guys you’ll be competing against for some time.”
Scrivener, like his good mate Jager, ventures on his maiden US tour on the back of an impressive Australian season. Scrivener’s best results included a runner-up finish at the Western Australian Amateur and a 3rd at the Mandurah Easter Amateur, as well as numerous top-10 finishes in other National Trial events.
His opening US amateur tournament at the Northeast Amateur was a little patchy with a T51 finish, however, during last week’s Dogwood Invitational, Scrivener played four rounds under-par against a strong field to finish T32.
“Sahalee is an incredibly tight layout,” remarked Scrivener this evening after his first look at the course. “It’s presented in an unreal fashion and it will certainly play tough.”
Scrivener certainly has the game to seriously compete in the US and with two main US amateur events now under his belt and the opportunity to settle in, I feel we should see a excellent showing from him this week in Seatlle.
Matt Jager is another that should perform well.
“You clearly need to be accurate off the tee to do well here this week,” remarked Jager.
“That suits my game well and it will be a matter of discipline with your game to do well here. Lose focus and make poor decisions and you’ll be punished and I guess that’s why this course has hosted a Major championship.”
Daniel Nisbet will play this week in his US opening tournament and comes off the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan a few weeks ago, where he finished T12 in the individual. A powerful driver of the ball, it will be interesting to follow Nisbet and gauge his game at the main amateur level.
Also in the field of 61 this week are Phil Mickelson’s brother, Tim, and Greg Norman Jr.
