Junior mints bright future
U.S. win alters Thorbjornsen’s plans for better
When Michael Thorbjornsen planned his summer golfing schedule, he circled a difficult stretch featuring the U.S. Junior Amateur July 16-21, the Wyndham Cup at Old Sandwich in Plymouth July 24-26 and the Junior PGA Championship that began yesterday and runs through Friday.
Then there was supposed to be a little down time before starting his junior year at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
However, thoughts of any upcoming down time were erased when the 16-yearold from Wellesley had the week of his life at Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey, winning the Junior Amateur. Thorbjornsen defeated Akshay Bhatia, the topranked junior player, 1 up after rallying from an early 3 down deficit.
After a lengthy buildup to the tournament that consisted of two days of stroke play qualifying and five matches over the next three days to reach the 36hole final, came a sudden conclusion for which Thorbjornsen was not prepared.
“It’s finally over. One putt conceded just ends this six-day stretch of long, hard golf,” Thorbjornsen said. “Everything started to come toward me. It was hard for me to stop thinking, `OK, this tournament is over. This was the last hole of the whole thing.’ It really came and hit me hard. I wasn’t really sure with what to do.”
The USGA title comes with a few perks. The biggest is a spot in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach next June. Thorbjornsen will also get a look at Pebble Beach in less than two weeks as he earned an exemption into the next two U.S. Amateurs.
“It means the world to me playing in two of the biggest tournaments a golfer can play, both as an amateur and pro,” the Wellesley resident said. “I feel that playing at Pebble Beach, one of the most iconic golf courses in the world and having those two tournaments being held is quite the experience.”
It will be just his second trip to California and first time playing Pebble Beach.
The 2019 Amateur will also be held at one of the country’s top courses, Pinehurst No. 2. Thorbjornsen has fond memories of the Pinehurst area, having won a pair of U.S. Kids Golf World Championships as a 10- and 11-year-old.
He also clinched one of six spots on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team that will play a European contingent at Golf Disneyland just outside of Paris in the days leading up to the Ryder Cup in September.
“So many doors have been opened up. Just knowing I’m playing in the Junior Ryder Cup, that’s really something special,” said Thorbjornsen, who has never been to Europe. “I haven’t really been thinking about that because of how tough it is to make that team because it is based on winning, top finishes in certain tournaments. It’s a pretty select team.”
Thorbjornsen also got a big boost in the world amateur golf rankings, jumping up 175 places to 36th.
Despite the quick turnaround following the Junior Amateur, having the AJGA Wyndham Cup, which pits a team of junior golfers from the Eastern U.S. against a team from the West, in the Boston area helped him unwind. He said he was able to take in a Red Sox game during his brief time back and showed a number of the competitors a few sights in the city.
During his time in Plymouth, Thorbjornsen managed to connect with the state’s other reigning USGA champion, Matt Parziale, who is a member at Old Sandwich.
“We shared a small moment of him congratulating me and really praising how good of a job I did,” Thorbjornsen said. “I was thinking what he had to go through with that Mid-Amateur, being the same type of a tournament, and knowing how hard the U.S. Junior was I had to put that into perspective as to what he had to go through as well.”
Despite the big victory, he is trying not to let other people’s expectations interfere with his game.
“Maybe a little bit,” Thorbjornsen said about increased expectations. “But I’m actually just playing like I have all these other big tournaments. I’m just going to try my best.
“People are expecting me to play well, but that’s their expectations. I obviously expect myself to play well but it is what it is and it’s just another tournament and it just happens to be the one after I won.”
Thorbjornsen opened the Junior PGA Championship with an even-par 72 after eagling No. 18 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.