Lakeside grad Wil Griffin may have just finished his freshman year at Eastern Kentucky University, but after a strong showing at Hot Springs Country Club on May 10, he is bound for the final qualifying round for the US Open.
Griffin shot a 4-under par 68 to finish in a three-way tie for third place in the first round of qualifying for the US Open held at a course the teen has played for much of his life.
"It's not more of a question of why but more why not try and qualify?" he said. "I know that course better than anyone. So it was really just a matter of time, I think until, you know, I eventually made it to sectionals. I played that course my whole life, and I know it fairly well, it just, it was a matter of time, you know, if I started out pretty hot, got it rolling early, which is what happened, thank goodness."
Griffin did start out hot, hitting an eagle on the par-5, 555-yard 10th before recording a birdie on his third hole of the day, the par-4 12th. He picked up two more birdies on the 15th and 17th to finish the back nine with a 5-under 31.
His trip back out was not as spectacular as he bogeyed three of the first five holes before getting back on track with a birdie on the par-5 sixth. He then wrapped up the day with a birdie on the ninth to finish the round at 4-under.
Griffin was the only player to advance who had an eagle on the course while Henderson State grad Mitchell Ford, who just finished his final year for the Reddies, finished tied for the lead with North Little Rock's Peyton Wilhoit with a 5-under par 67.
Prior to their first qualifying round, players chose three courses from a list of nine for the next round, and Griffin chose courses in Dallas; Roswell, Georgia; and Columbus, Ohio.
"My three choices were first with Dallas at Lakewood (Country Club)," he said. "I played the Byron Nelson Junior (Championship) there, so I thought, you know, if I got through, I'd have a pretty good chance to put together a couple of good rounds because I played there previously. I played they're pretty good. Second was Atlanta (Ansley Golf Club at Roswell, Georgia) and third was up in Columbus, Ohio (Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club). And those other two besides Dallas were pretty much closer to me than any of the other ones."
Griffin said that most of the players with exemptions from the first round filled the roster for the Dallas qualifier, which will be held today, so he expects to hear about his other two choices on Wednesday.
The rising sophomore for the Colonels played a total of 25 rounds in nine events his freshman year where he finished with a 77.16 stroke average and had three rounds at par or better, according to the university. He shot a season-best 68 at the EKU Intercollegiate in September before tying for 10th at the Silver Lakes Tri-Match to earn his only top-10 finish of the year.
"My fall, I was new to everything and I played the first two (tournaments)," he said. "And then had a little rough patch where I was kind of figuring out, you know, balancing ... the adaptation between college school and then college golf. I played in the last term of the fall and ended on a pretty good note."
Griffin said that while he did not play as well as he hoped his first year, it was a learning experience.
"It was a really good year," he said. "I learned a lot. I learned a lot about team golf because it's just so much different than, you know, individual golf. You know, each shot matters. Whether you think you're playing bad, you know, 'One of my other guys is gonna be playing good enough to cover my shot.' Well, that's not always the case. So it was, it was different, and then walking 36 holes the majority of the time on our first day, it was also good. It helped get me in shape really quick."
With a field that will likely be better than any he has faced at this point, Griffin said that no matter what, it will only make him better.
"I was talking with my sports psychologist, Dr. Bhrett McCabe, and we were kind of picking his brain about it, because it is a big event," he said. "You know, it's the best field I've ever played in and the biggest tournament in my life. And, you know, at the end of the day, it's not -- let's say I win sectionals. Great. You know, if I finish dead last at sectionals, it's great.
"But either way, it's not going to change my career or life, particularly in my life, you know. It's not, you know, it's not life-ending. It's just, you know, if I played good, that's phenomenal; I'm going to the US Open. But you know, if I just didn't happen to have it that week, or that day, then you know what, let's go back to the drawing board and finish up the summer right."