Oh, it’s been some kind of summer
Win the hole, win the hardware.
After a gruelling week, capped by a marathon championship match, it turned out to be that simple for Calgary’s Emmett Oh in the final showdown at the 116th Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur.
His opponent, Idaho’s Derek Bayley, had been whittling away at his lead. When they arrived at the 36th hole of Saturday’s slugfest, the scorecard showed all-square.
“At that point, all the momentum was his way,” Oh said. “But I just somehow found a way. I hit probably my two best shots of the entire day — the drive and then the shot into the green on that par-5. It was incredible to get it there.”
From just off the dance-floor, Oh chipped to about a foot for a clutch birdie. Bayley settled for par. After nine laps of Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell, Ore., over a six-day span, the 23-year-old Oh was the champ.
He made 33 birdies along the way, including several biggies.
He won his quarter-final match with a bird on the third playoff hole. He survived the semis with a birdie on the final assignment. He saved a bit of magic to outlast Bayley in the championship.
“I think everybody wants to view themselves as a pressure player and a guy who thrives in that environment. But to be honest, it’s taken me a really long time to be able to thrive under pressure,” said Oh, a graduate of the junior program at Bearspaw and now one of the crew of top-notch amateurs at Glencoe.
“Growing up, being in these situations to win in stroke-play or match-play, I was never the best at it. I’ve just realized over time that it’s all about how many times you’ve been there and learning from every time that you’ve been there. You have to feel pressure a lot to be able to thrive under it, I think.”
Oh, who just completed his senior campaign with the NCAA’s University of Houston Cougars golf squad, has been in contention several times this summer.
He finished third — tops among locals — at the Glencoe Invitational, and that was without his usual tools after his vehicle and golf clubs were stolen. Oh also advanced to final of the Alberta Match Play Championship but was defeated by clubmate Brendan MacDougall.