Par-fect scenario for Patel
Bakersfield native advances to quarterfinals of US Amateur golf championship
| Thursday, Aug 27 2009 11:45 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Aug 27 2009 11:54 PM
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Bakersfield's Bhavik Patel hits from the 14th tee Thursday during the round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship in Tulsa, Okla.
Bakersfield's Bhavik Patel hits out of the bunker on the 13th green Thursday during the round of 32 of the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship in Tulsa, Okla.
When Bhavik Patel stepped to the 16th tee at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., Thursday, his improbable dream was all but over.
So he did the only thing he could. He hit a fairway. Hit the green. Hit another fairway. Hit another one.
All the while, Patel's opponent in the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship's Round of 16 played erratically, opening the door for the dream to continue.
Patel, a 2008 Bakersfield High graduate and sophomore at Fresno State, walked right through. He knocked off Marcel Puyat of the Phillippines, 1 up, winning each of the final three holes with pars.
"I just told myself it's the same as it always is," Patel said. "'Step up to the tee, put a good swing on it, and if it works out, it works out.'"
Now Patel will tee off against Phillip Molica of Anderson, S.C., in the match-play quarterfinals at 8 a.m. today, three victories away from joining legends like Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as a U.S. Amateur champion.
If he reaches Sunday's final, he'll automatically be qualified as an amateur for next year's Masters and U.S. Open. If he wins it, you can add the British Open to that list.
"I kept telling people it hasn't sunk in yet," Patel said Thursday evening. "To be honest, it still hasn't."
It almost didn't happen. Patel had to play two rounds in the Oklahoma humidity Thursday. It started well -- he was four-up through four holes in his round-of-32 match against Canada's Brad Revell.
But then, as Patel puts it, he "fell apart a little bit" in the middle of the round, losing his big lead by the ninth hole. He built another three stroke lead with three birdies to open the back nine, but then had to survive four bogeys in the final six holes to win 2 up.
"At this course, it's so crucial to hit fairways," Patel said. "Luckily I did that ... I don't need to change anything. I'll just go out (today) and feed off how the other guy is playing."
