Help on the way
Cambridge swing coach to assist Garrett Rank at U.S. Open
CAMBRIDGE — Help is on the way.
Galt Country Club general manager Dave Smallwood will travel Sunday to Southampton, N.Y., to assist Garrett Rank in his preparations for the 118th U.S. Open, which starts Thursday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
Smallwood has worked with Rank, an Elmira native and NHL referee, the past decade. And he will be on hand for three practice rounds starting Monday, before returning to Cambridge on Wednesday night.
The purpose of the visit is twofold, said Smallwood — to assist Rank with mental preparation and last-minute swing tweaks; and to help develop a course strategy and game plan.
“Ten years of playing top amateur tournaments around the world, and competing in (three) Canadian Opens, has prepared him for this,” said Smallwood. “He knows he belongs there, and I’ll be there to help him create a goal that aligns with his ability.”
Rank qualified for his second major of the season by winning a sectional qualifying tournament outside Atlanta this week.
The former member of Golf Canada’s national amateur team — currently the world’s 74thranked amateur — experienced his first taste of NHL playoff action in April as an emergency replacement in a first-round game between Washington and Columbus.
He’s been working on his golf game since then. He qualified for the U.S. Open by finishing in a tie for first place Monday, in a 36hole sectional qualifying event at Ansley Golf Club in Rosewell, Ga.
Rank has a 7:18 a.m. tee time Thursday, and will play alongside Australian Aaron Baddeley and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas. Smallwood, who talked with Rank on Thursday night, said his student was “thrilled with the grouping.”
“They (Rank and Hughes) played on the national team together, they’ve played hundreds and hundreds of rounds together, and I think it’s a great pairing for both of them,” he said.
“They’re very good friends and there will be a lot of time for catching up on the course, which helps take their minds off where they’re actually at and what they’re trying to accomplish.”
Rank secured a spot at this summer’s U.S. amateur golf championship, in Pebble Beach, Calif., with his victory at the U.S. Open qualifying tournament. His summer schedule also includes the Ontario amateur in St. Thomas, the Canadian men’s amateur in Duncan, B.C., and the Canadian mid-amateur in Victoria, B.C.