West Chester Golfer Plays in Amateur Championship

For as technical and mechanical golf can be, sometimes there is just no explanation for a bad day on the links.

That’s the way West Chester native Jeff Osberg felt after his first round in the U.S. Amateur at Blue Mound Country Club in Wauwatosa, WI. Osberg shot a 77, which was seven shots over par on the 6,666-yard, par-70 course.

“I felt good coming in, but couldn’t put anything together out there so it was a tough day for me,” Osberg said. “I hit it OK off the tee, hit my irons poorly and just putted really bad.”

Osberg was one-under following a birdie on the 11^th, his second hole of the day after starting on the back nine. But things quickly unraveled for the 27-year-old. He played the next four holes in four over-par to finish the back nine with a 38 and bogeyed three of the first four holes after making the turn and starting at the first.

“The pins were difficult, the greens were fast, but I just didn’t play very well,” Osberg said.

Osberg brought in a friend from college to be his caddy for at least the two rounds of stroke play. He also has a couple of friends who are also competing in the tournament.

The U.S. Amateur continues Tuesday with a second round of stroke play, after which the field of 312 will be cut to 64 for head-to-head match play competition through Sunday.

Two years ago, Osberg played in the U.S. Amateur at Southern Hills. And he knows that with a good round on Tuesday at Erin Hills and some luck, he could sneak into the match play section.

“Try and make a lot of pars, see if I can roll in a few birdies here or there and the weather is supposed to be bad tomorrow, which is good for me having a bad score today,” Osberg said. “I need the weather as bad as it can be tomorrow.”