Beau Hossler- My New Hero

[John Kavanaugh]

No John, even if he said he still wanted to be low amateur, once he switched his goal to winning the tournament he was no longer protecting a lead.

Jim,

When do you think he changed his goal on Sunday. I bet no later than when he was +5 and he knew he needed to finish +7. Come on, we all change our goals in the middle of a round. We are not limited to one choke per day.

He could have been low am for the rest of his life instead of just another Beaver Cleaver media darling. We always can use another Charlie Rymer.

[JESII]

I'll bet not until the last couple holes.

[Mike Sweeney]

Jim,

When do you think he changed his goal on Sunday. I bet no later than when he was +5 and he knew he needed to finish +7. Come on, we all change our goals in the middle of a round. We are not limited to one choke per day.

He could have been low am for the rest of his life instead of just another Beaver Cleaver media darling. We always can use another Charlie Rymer.

Jaka,

You are entertaining and you love golf, but seriously you have no idea what you are talking about as evidenced by:

Come on, we all change our goals in the middle of a round.

You actually think you are a good golfer because you can beat everyone at the "World of Asphalt" convention. Let's be clear, you can smoke me in golf.

But Jaka, you are no Beau Hossler.

[John Kavanaugh]

Mike,

Beau made three bogies in a row, 3, 4 and 5, just as Spieth was making three birdies, 7, 8 and 9. This put Beau at +6 where even TV knew he was not going to win. Spieth is the hero shooting 69 - 70 on the weekend.  The media missed this one.

[George Pazin]

John, just so I can try to understand your thinking, is it possible to fail without choking?

[John Kavanaugh]

John, just so I can try to understand your thinking, is it possible to fail without choking?

You can get beat but you can't fail without choking.

[JESII]

That's a bigger load of crap than giving every kid a trophy just for showing up.

If Hossler shot 69 on Sunday he would have failed.

[noonan]

You have to be a shallow person to take a shot at a 17 year old kid

If you have haters...you are doing something right

I have heard insults at his physical appearance.....maybe he lurks here.....those of you should look in the mirror and tell me why you are so much better at anything than Beau is

[John Kavanaugh]

That's a bigger load of crap than giving every kid a trophy just for showing up.

If Hossler shot 69 on Sunday he would have failed.

Do you realize that the top 8 finishers qualify for the Masters? 70 would have got him in. 69 would not have been a failure.

He had pissed away the Masters and the Title by the 5th hole. It took him finishing bogey, bogey, birdie, bogey, par on the easy 17th, double bogey to say too da loo to the low am.

It's great to be good enough to put yourself in position to choke, it's heroic to fight it off.

[John Kavanaugh]

You have to be a shallow person to take a shot at a 17 year old kid

If you have haters...you are doing something right

I have heard insults at his physical appearance.....maybe he lurks here.....those of you should look in the mirror and tell me why you are so much better at anything than Beau is

It would be insulting to his talent to say that finish was his best. Choking doesn't make you a bad person. Why is it ok to praise him for withstanding the pressure for 66 holes while forgetting the last 6?

If you are concerned about fair then think about Spieth who finished 69 - 70 and is all but forgotten because his performance didn't fit the Sunday script.

[noonan]

Reality check here.....high school golf teams are not even fielding teams any more because golf is not cool....this kid beat many pros....MANY

Does it make you feel that much better to call a teenage kid a choker?

[Dan King]

John Kavanaugh writes:
Spieth is the hero shooting 69 - 70 on the weekend.

Spieth was a choking dog. He just choked earlier than Beau.

Cheers,
Dan King

The guy who chokes least wins the most.
 --Hubert Green

[John Kavanaugh]

Reality check here.....high school golf teams are not even fielding teams any more because golf is not cool....this kid beat many pros....MANY

Does it make you feel that much better to call a teenage kid a choker?

Jerry,

Why do you think he played the last 6 holes so much worse than the previous 66?  Was he out of shape?  Did he quit trying? Was he just lucky the first 66 holes?  No, no and no....choking is the kindest thing to say. I'm not happy about it.

[noonan]

Reality check here.....high school golf teams are not even fielding teams any more because golf is not cool....this kid beat many pros....MANY

Does it make you feel that much better to call a teenage kid a choker?

Jerry,

Why do you think he played the last 6 holes so much worse than the previous 66?  Was he out of shape?  Did he quit trying? Was he just lucky the first 66 holes?  No, no and no....choking is the kindest thing to say. I'm not happy about it.

You are all horn...and no driveshaft....

I would bet your mantle is empty of anything won with your golf game...that approaches low am at the open....you have never been there...so you don't even know what it feels like

[Keith Doleshel]

I'm a little late to the party, but can't help but wonder where the hostility toward Hossler is coming from.  This notion of him somehow choking is a bit of a mystery to me.  Did he finish as strong as he could have?  Of course not, we all saw that.  But to say that he somehow choked, well I just don't get it.  He played in golf's toughest tournament, on a tremendously difficult course, against guys who make their living playing golf.  The kid said something he probably wished he could have back about winning the tournament, but why tee it up if you don't have that intention?  He is a 17 year old kid talking to Bob Costas on national TV, give him a break.  His honesty was refreshing.

As far as Spieth goes, good for him, he is a great young player with a bright future.  Nothing against him.  The difference is that most everyone who knows golf projects great things for him in the professional game, based on his prior tournaments on the Tour and his great college success.  Before this week, very few people knew who Beau Hossler is.  Now they do, and I don't know why that is a bad thing.  

[noonan]

I'm a little late to the party, but can't help but wonder where the hostility toward Hossler is coming from.  This notion of him somehow choking is a bit of a mystery to me.  Did he finish as strong as he could have?  Of course not, we all saw that.  But to say that he somehow choked, well I just don't get it.  He played in golf's toughest tournament, on a tremendously difficult course, against guys who make their living playing golf.  The kid said something he probably wished he could have back about winning the tournament, but why tee it up if you don't have that intention?  He is a 17 year old kid talking to Bob Costas on national TV, give him a break.  His honesty was refreshing.

As far as Spieth goes, good for him, he is a great young player with a bright future.  Nothing against him.  The difference is that most everyone who knows golf projects great things for him in the professional game, based on his prior tournaments on the Tour and his great college success.  Before this week, very few people knew who Beau Hossler is.  Now they do, and I don't know why that is a bad thing.  

Well said!

[George Pazin]

So if you're not Jack at Turnberry, you're just a choker, I guess.

A bunch of the best golfers in the world bogeyed those same holes. They're kinda tough.

Not even you are that screwed up, John. Sorry, I don't buy it.

[John Kavanaugh]

George,

Will you admit that Tiger, Furyk and McDowell all choked?

[Tim Martin]

Hard to believe that this thread has devolved into a discussion about whether this kid chocked or not. John if you look at his showing as a 17 year old qualifier as anything less than a marvelous achievement than I won't try to convince you otherwise. I'm hoping that it's just to be controversial and stir things up which is certainly your MO. Otherwise it really is pretty jaded.

[Mike Sweeney]

Mike,

Beau made three bogies in a row, 3, 4 and 5, just as Spieth was making three birdies, 7, 8 and 9. This put Beau at +6 where even TV knew he was not going to win. Spieth is the hero shooting 69 - 70 on the weekend.  The media missed this one.

Looks like the media company ESPN figured it out without Jaka:  

http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/8065232/jordan-spieth-edges-beau-hossler-low-amateur-us-open

While only 2-3 years difference in age, Spieth and Hossler have a world of difference in recent experiences, preparation and coaching:

"A Dallas native, Spieth got into the championship when Brandt Snedeker withdrew last Monday, citing a rib injury. Spieth almost had dropped out of his U.S. Open sectional in Houston after arriving there off three hours' sleep following the Longhorns' triumph in the NCAA men's golf championship at Riviera in Los Angeles."

Having your Mom (yes I saw the pictures,  ) drive you to tournaments is much different than playing for the NCAA Champions. If Texas is similar to the University of Florida, who facilities I have seen, then they too are professional athletes hiding behind the amateur status regulations of the NCAA and USGA.

Back to the Asphalt Open for Jaka!

[Mike Sweeney]

George,

Will you admit that Tiger, Furyk and McDowell all choked?

Tiger - No choke, he has never come from behind to win a major. It is a blemish on his resume, but losing on Saturday is just losing.

Furyk - Major winner who lost the lead down the stretch. Lost 3 shots on the final 7 holes. He choked this one.

McDowell - Major winner who blew it on the front of the final round. Could go either way on this one.

[John Kavanaugh]

Tiger - No choke, he has never come from behind to win a major. It is a blemish on his resume, but losing on Saturday is just losing.

 

Alright, now we are stuck on semantics.  I didn't realize that if you can only choke trying to do something you have done before.  Who are you people trying to protect here?  Choking is a core part of our human condition.  Even Jesus choked when he saw his friend Lazarus dead and brought him back to life.  He learned from his mistake and took one for the team later when the chips were down.  It's no big deal.

[George Pazin]

George,

Will you admit that Tiger, Furyk and McDowell all choked?

Easy one first - I don't think McDowell did at all. He played a really hard course in really hard conditions. Made a moderate length must make birdie putt on 17 to put himself in a position to tie, then hit a good putt that he misread. That's golf.

Tiger? I don't think he really choked, I just don't think his game is back to where it needs to be yet, and the course and setup exposed that. If you want to call that choking, based on where he was 3-5-7-10 years ago, I don't have a problem with that, that is indeed just semantics. I do think it cheapens the word a bit.

Furyk? Probably, at least a little. I don't know how tough it is to sling that hook tee shot on 16, so I can't say for sure what happened on that swing. But he didn't capitalize on 17 like he needed to, either, and he missed the green with a wedge on 18. I wouldn't have a problem calling that a choke.

Hossler? No way. No way at all. Not if he was 17, not if he was 37. He competed hard, unlike some others who seemed to pack it in on Thursday and Friday. Sometimes a bogey is a good result. The line between 73 and 76 is incredibly fine at a course like Olympic in US Open conditions. That's golf, too.

[Mike Sweeney]

Who are you people trying to protect here? 

Jaka from himself!!

I am sorry that I paid attention during Latin and Logic class taught by The Jesuits. I realize that it is difficult for you to keep up your Twitter trending online persona, and to have to deal with people that make refined detailed comments to your message board generalizations. 

What is your Klout score these days anyway?

[John Kavanaugh]

Who are you people trying to protect here? 

Jaka from himself!!

I am sorry that I paid attention during Latin and Logic class taught by The Jesuits. I realize that it is difficult for you to keep up your Twitter trending online persona, and to have to deal with people that make refined detailed comments to your message board generalizations. 

What is your Klout score these days anyway?

Mike,

I gave up Twitter when the world found it.  I am trying to learn something about myself and how I judge people from this thread.  My wife says I scare those people who feel obligated to love me.  Maybe it is me and everyone really has done the best they can.