Vick savors his U.S. Open performance
Rising senior hopes to keep improving; Hammer turns pro
Three weeks ago, Travis Vick won the deciding match at the NCAA golf championship, giving Texas the national title. This past Sunday, he finished as low amateur at the U.S. Open after making the 36-hole cut.
It’s been quite a whirlwind for the 22-year-old, who played baseball at Second Baptist under coaches Lance Berkman and Andy Pettitte.
At the Country Club in Brookline, Mass., the long-hitting Vick reached as high as 1-under in Saturday’s third round. He finished the tournament in a tie for 43rd place at 8-over. That was 14 strokes behind winner Matthew Fitzpatrick, but only shot behind heavyweights Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose and Justin Thomas, who won the prior major, the PGA Championship, in May.
“I’m of the mindset where I like to do better, never settle,” Vick said. “Short game needs a little work, but to make the cut with not having my best stuff, it gives me confidence.
“I’m looking forward to downloading about the week, celebrating the good stuff, but we’re addressing the areas I need to work on.”
There’s not much to Vick’s game that needs improving. Even though he’s going to play golf his senior year in Austin, he’s pretty much PGA Tour ready, including mentally.
A three-sport star in high school, Vick is an elite ball striker. He hits it not only far but straight. He was one of four amateurs who advanced to play the weekend of the U.S. Open. He was two shots clear of Texas A&M senior Sam Bennett for low amateur.
This past weekend, Vick hit 34 of 56 fairways (61 percent) with average driving distance of 319.5 yards. He was the ninthbest player for strokes gained putting (+5.84).
None of Vick’s stellar play on the golf course surprises his Longhorns teammate and fellow Houstonian Cole Hammer, who is in the field this week at the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship after receiving one of four sponsor’s exemptions. Hammer, a two-time U.S. Walker Cup team member and 2021 Big 12 Conference individual champion, is playing in his eighth PGA Tour event but his first as a professional.
“Travis is one of the best drivers of the golf ball that I’ve ever seen, if not the best,” said Hammer, who, at age 15, qualified for the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in Seattle. “And he has turned into a great chipper and a great putter. When you combine those, he’s hard to beat. With all this recent experience, and you put that on top of talent, the sky is the limit.”
In the final round at Brookline, Vick was paired with fourtime major winner Brooks Koepka. Vick and his caddie at the U.S. Open, Adam Porzak, who has been his swing coach for nearly a year, arrived at the golf course a few days early for several practice rounds. On the Monday before the tournament, Vick joined Scottie Scheffler’s group.
Playing in one of the PGA Tour’s four majors was a unique and inspirational experience for Vick, who carded rounds of 7069-76-73. After two days of competition, he was 1 under and tied for 16th.
He was playing well enough to compete for four days, making the experience even more rewarding. Among the players Vick finished ahead of were Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed. Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Cameron Smith failed to make it to the weekend.
“I really wanted to know how my game stacked up against the world’s best from a ball-striking perspective on one of the biggest stages in golf,” Vick said. “So I was very analytical. I was trying to figure out how my short game looked compared to theirs. What do they do different in their practice? Just really study.”
While Vick has a year remaining in college, Hammer has concluded his schoolwork and is focusing on golf full-time. In addition to having earned Korn Ferry Tour status for the remainder of the season, he has sponsor’s exemptions for two other PGA events besides the Travelers: the 3M Open and the Wyndham Championship.
“It’s amazing how much time I have in a day to play golf,” Hammer said. “I’m pumped. It’s what I’ve dreamed about for a long time. Since I was 10 years old, I wanted to play golf on the PGA Tour. It’s special.”
Before heading to the U.S. Open, Vick sought advice from Hammer, who played in three U.S. Opens as an amateur.
“He asked what his preparation should look like,” Hammer said. “I told him that I learned
it’s important to focus on what you need to focus on to get ready to play well. It’s no different than the national championship. It looks like he took that to heart.”
Porzak, who is based in San Diego, has made a push to get Vick to improve his wedge game, playing around the green, and putting.
Vick, who will be playing at UT one more year, said he hopes
to gain a sponsor’s exemption into the Houston Open on Nov. 10-13.
“Playing in the Houston Open would be a huge honor,” Vick said. “I’m from Houston, and it would be cool to represent my hometown. Memorial Park — I love that place.”