San Jose’s Suh relies on organic, free-range style

PEBBLE BEACH — Justin Suh took an unconventional path, in some ways, from his formative years in San Jose to his lofty standing as the world’s second-ranked amateur golfer.

He seldom took lessons, preferring to practice alone on the range. Or, ideally, he and older sister Hannah competed on the course. They learned from each other and grew to understand their games, rather than counting on a swing coach to constantly tinker.

“Throughout the college season, I’m figuring it out on my own,” Suh said Monday. “Ultimately, you’ve got to perform. That’s something I learned early, not relying on the swing but on performing.”

Suh, 21, spoke at Spyglass Hill after his 1-under-par 71 in the first round of the 118th U.S. Amateur Championship. If he follows with another strong effort Tuesday at Pebble Beach, he

will find himself in position to advance to match play in the nation’s most prestigious amateur event.

Suh, who soon will begin his senior year at USC, attended Evergreen Valley High in San Jose. He was introduced to the game by his dad, developed a homemade swing of sorts and came to take pride in the power of improvisation.

The formula helped him win the San Francisco City Championship in 2015, at age 17. Even now, as an elite amateur player — he won the Pac-12 individual title in April and the Northeast Amateur in June — he sees his coach, Bill Johnson, only four or five times a year.

Forget about intricate swing thoughts and mechanical obsession, hallmarks of many young players today. Suh smacks the ball, sees where it goes and adapts.

“That’s kind of how I grew up,” he said.

Or, as Johnson put it, “Justin has always had ownership. He’s not going on someone else’s theory.”

Suh does not figure to become rattled this week while chasing a trophy bubbling with history. The list of U.S. Amateur champions reads like a who’s-who of golf, from Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Suh has a long way to go, obviously. He owns a keen sense of the challenge involved in a USGA event after he qualified for the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont, outside Pittsburgh.

Suh missed the cut by two strokes and learned all about the difficulty of thick rough and firm, fast greens. So though he acknowledged the tough conditions at Spyglass, he also realized it was nothing like the Open at Oakmont.

“The rough there, I couldn’t even see my ball standing above it,” Suh said.

Suh bounced back nicely after making double bogey Monday on No. 1. He finished with three birdies in his final six holes, a logical surge given his long history of junior competition at Spyglass.

Tuesday’s round represents a different task, because Suh hadn’t played Pebble Beach until his practice round there Sunday. He savored the experience, trying to duplicate Tom Watson’s chip shot on No. 17 (from the 1982 U.S. Open) and Woods’ second shot around the tree on No. 18 (2010 Open).

And how did those work out?

“Not good,” Suh said, laughing. “That’s why they’re in the history books.”

Soon after Suh posted his 71, another player with Bay Area ties did the same. Ryan Burnett of Lafayette is only 18, barely two months removed from completing high school at Campolindo-Moraga.

But Burnett, who will begin

“Not good. That’s why they’re in the history books.” Justin Suh, laughing as he described his attempts to copy classic shots by Tom Watson and Tiger Woods

his freshman year at North Carolina next week, brings plenty of game to his first U.S. Amateur. He navigated his way around Spyglass with just one bogey, no small feat.

Burnett is accustomed to competitive junior tournaments — he missed Campolindo’s graduation in June while playing in an international team event in Japan — but the Amateur belongs in another realm.

“Everything just kind of feels bigger,” he said. “Everyone kind of keeps to themselves more, and everything is a little more serious than in junior golf.”

Briefly: Isaiah Salinda, who grew up in South San Francisco and attends Stanford, shot 3-under 68 at Pebble Beach. … Gary Nicklaus (son of Jack) struggled in his return to the Amateur, posting 78 at Spyglass.