As a former assistant golf pro at Westchester Country Club, Thomas Noonan Jr. had plenty of opportunities to get an up-close and personal view of what PGA Tour pros could do. On Monday, however, Noonan will gain a whole new perspective on the experience.
After surviving a six-man, three-hole playoff 10 days ago at Fort Collins’ Collindale Golf Course to get through local qualifying, Noonan moved on to Monday’s U.S. Open sectional qualifier at Columbine Country Club, where he’ll be one of 20 players vying for what’s likely to be one spot in the 156-player field at Oakmont Country Club, site of this year’s national championship.
And, what’s already a daunting enough challenge, beating 19 players over a grueling 36 holes, will undoubtedly become that much tougher when Noonan reaches the first tee and shakes hands with his playing partner for the day.
That would be 2001 British Open champion David Duval.
“Yes, I get the pleasure of playing with Mr. Duval,” Noonan, now an assistant pro at Boulder Country Club, said Wednesday, adding that while the pairing isn’t exactly a man-to-man duel for Oakmont, “I think he would be considered the player that everyone feels they have to beat in order to advance.”
Duval’s five-year exemption into the Open ended a year ago. His 11-over-par 291 at Winged Foot left him a tie for 16th place, just one spot out of an automatic berth in this year’s event, scheduled for June 14-17.
Many pros who have to play in Open sectionals will do so at locales like Columbus, Ohio, site of this week’s Memorial, or at Woodmont Country Club in suburban Washington. Those places traditionally yield the most qualifiers, given the quality of entrants.
But while it would appear Duval is taking something of a gamble by playing at Columbine, the idea likely wasn’t driven by a sense of being a big fish in a small pond – or even by golf at all. Duval, a resident of Cherry Hills Village, hasn’t played on tour since the Nissan Open in mid-February, instead staying home to be with his wife, Susie Persichitte. Persichitte is on bed rest, awaiting the birth of their second child.
Duval has played in 14 U.S. Opens. Noonan, 36, is looking to reach his first, having failed to advance to sectionals in five previous attempts. Even so, Noonan said he has a chance to advance Monday, regardless of the difference in résumés, or whether Duval is rusty.
“If I’m playing at my best, I think I have a fairly good chance. The question is just if I can do it for 36 holes,” he said. “I’ve played with lots of good players before. I won’t be intimidated by him – what he’s done five years ago or 10 years ago or even last year doesn’t matter. It’s the person who plays the best on Monday.”
Also in Monday’s field is Dustin White, who qualified for the Open from Columbine last June, then later won the Colorado Open. Other notable players include Zen Brown, a sophomore all-Mountain West golfer from Colorado State; Scott Petersen of Parker, who has spent time on both the PGA and Nationwide tours; and Mike Zaremba, who qualified and played in the 2004 and 2006 senior U.S. Open and the 2006 senior PGA Championship.
Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
SPOTLIGHT: THE BIG GUNS
Welcome back
While much of the attention will be focused on Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson meeting at the Memorial, the LPGA will have a very interesting potential duel of its own. This week’s event, the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika, not only marks the return of the hostess, Annika Sorenstam, to tour play, but also the 2007 LPGA debut of Michelle Wie. Wie, a 17-year-old from Hawaii, has been sidelined since January because of wrist injuries. Sorenstam has not played since March’s Kraft Nabisco Championship because of back problems. Since her injury, Sorenstam has lost her status as the world’s top player to Lorena Ochoa. Wie, who will miss her high school graduation to play this week, also has committed to play in July’s John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour.
He’ll be there, not here
“My intent is to play, but my wife will have something to say about that.”
Tiger Woods, on his tournament, the AT&T National, which is replacing The International on the PGA Tour schedule. Woods, whose wife is expecting their first child in early July, last played at Castle Pines in 1999.
