Hammer eager to test swing after surgery
Teen joins fellow Houstonians Vick, Lee in tough 54-hole event
THE WOODLANDS — Two years ago at age 15, Cole Hammer became the third-youngest golfer to qualify for the men’s U.S Open. Last year, the Houstonian underwent right elbow surgery and didn’t swing a club for nearly four months.
Fortunately for Hammer, despite the inactivity, his game is still spot on. In his return to tournament golf, the high school junior finished third in the prestigious Jones Cup Invitational earlier this month at Sea Island, Ga. The amateur tournament consisted primarily of college players.
“I went into that tournament not knowing what was going to happen, how my game was,” Hammer said. “It was encouraging to start the year off and come back after surgery and play like that.”
Citing continuous use of throwing while playing baseball in his early years for the wear and tear on his elbow, Hammer picked up a golf club for the first time Jan. 3 following his Sept. 16 surgery.
Declaring he is 100 percent healthy, Hammer, along with Houstonians Travis Vick and Walker Lee, as well as top-ranked junior golfer Noah Goodwin of Corinth, headline the CB&I/Simplify Boys Championship. The threeday tournament will be played on the Fazio Course at The Club at Carlton Woods starting Saturday and concluding Monday.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, this weekend’s 54-hole tournament will be played at Carlton Woods for the ninth straight year. The 72-player field will have participants from 21 states and nine countries. Past champions of this event include Jim Furyk (1987), Tiger Woods (1992), Rickie Fowler (2006) and Jordan Spieth (2011).
“The AJGA does a fantastic job, Carlton Woods does an amazing job,” said 17-year-old Hammer, who at age 12 won the U.S. Kids World Championship. “And the whole military aspect behind it, the United States aspect. It’s really cool for someone like me who loves to be an American. And the competition is great.”
Plays multiple sports
Vick, 16, also is making a name for himself in junior golf, winning stroke play by three shots last summer at the U.S. Junior Amateur. Vick shot a course-record 8-under-par 64 in the opening round. That was one shot better than Hammer’s 65.
Vick’s swing coach is Hal Sutton, winner of 14 PGA Tour events, including the 1983 PGA Championship. Sutton said Vick has a feel for the game. It’s not calculated.
“Travis loves to play golf and the best way you really learn golf is on the golf course, not on the driving range,” said Sutton, who teaches at the Hal Sutton Golf Academy at the Big Easy Ranch near Columbus. “People learn how to swing a golf club, but they don’t even know how to play the game. Travis has a great feel for knowing how to play the game.”
Vick, a high school sophomore, is an anomaly in junior golf. He doesn’t specialize in one sport. He plays football and baseball at Second Baptist. Lance Berkman is the baseball coach and Andy Pettitte an assistant. This season Vick is playing outfield and pitching for the defending TAPPS Class 4A champions. In football last fall he played outside linebacker and backup quarterback.
“Most people I know are all in on golf,” Vick said. “I don’t know many multisport athletes.”
Patience the key
It was Berkman and Vick’s father Trey, who came up with the idea for Vick to bat from the left side in baseball.
“I swing lefty so it doesn’t affect my righthanded golf swing,” Vick said. “The baseball swing and the golf swing, they look similar but there are so many different little things that can mess you up that I try to stay away from.
Vick recently was named the Southern Texas PGA Junior Golfer of the Year for 2016. Hammer, who is currently coached by Cameron McCormick and formerly by Kevin Kirk, was the 2015 recipient of the award.
From an early age, both Hammer and Vick have excelled on the golf course. Placing third at the Jones Cup aside, the highlight of Hammer’s young career was playing in the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay (Wash.)
“I got some great advice from Webb Simpson just to be patient on the golf course,” said Hammer, who attended The Kinkaid School but currently is taking online courses. “You never know when something good can happen, and that’s carried me a long way.”