Mamaroneck, N.Y. – Talking last week about the possibility of going to New York on the chance of getting into the U.S. Open, Bret Guetz mused he would likely only do so “if I were the first alternate, or were the second and the first guy was someone from Europe who wasn’t going to show up.”
Tuesday afternoon, however, Guetz stood on the practice green at Winged Foot Golf Club, a 15-footer away from 2003 champion Jim Furyk, preparing for his shot at winning the golf lottery. The runner-up at the June 5 sectional qualifier at Columbine Country Club was indeed listed by the United States Golf Association as the second overall alternate. The first, Pablo Martin, decided to compete in his native Europe.
A member of the Canadian Tour, Guetz was scheduled to play in an event in Vancouver, but he took the chance on someone dropping out and leaving him a spot in the U.S. national championship.
“I didn’t want to be in a hotel room in Canada and getting a phone call from the USGA saying they had a spot for me,” he said.
The USGA bases its alternate formula on a combination of strength of field from the sectionals as well as the number of guaranteed spots given to each of the 15 sites around the world.
Last year, John Hayes finished second at Columbine but was the first overall alternate. This year, the site at Creswell, Ore., was listed as the top sectional location. Martin, a native of Spain who attends Oklahoma State, was the first alternate there.
The parents of his wife and caddie, Kelley, have traveled to Vancouver to watch him play in the event there. Hayes went to last year’s event at Pinehurst in North Carolina but never got into the field.
Tuesday, Guetz could walk the course as a spectator with Kelley and work on the driving range and practice green, but because he is not officially a part of the tournament yet he could not hit shots on the course.
Officials could not remember the last time a player withdrew from the Open.
“Everybody’s been giving me reports,” Guetz said. “Someone will say that Robert Allenby’s hurt, so it looks good, or that Rocco Mediate’s hurt, so it looks good. Somebody said that Tom Lehman has a bit of a constipation problem.
“I don’t really want to hear any of it right now. If I get in, I get in.”
