By STEVE HARMON
Deputy EditorORLANDO, FLA. – Rory Hie enters this week’s Southern Amateur a bit road-weary but pleased with how his game is coming together.
The USC junior is ranked No. 10 in the
Golfweek/Scratch Players World Amateur Rankings. During a rain delay at the July 15 practice round at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, he pointed to the progress he’s made this past year.
“I’m hitting the driver straight and long and trying to work on my pitching and short game,’’ said Hie, who with No. 4-ranked Danny Lee and No. 5 Kyle Stanley headlines a solid Southern field opposite the U.S. Public Links.
Hie, 19, of Los Angeles, is playing a busy national schedule while traveling with his parents Tommy and Rita. Hie contended at the Sunnehanna (T-11) and the Northeast (T-4) before a breakthrough victory at the Dogwood Invitational thanks to a final-round 62. A stumble via a second-round exit at the North & South Amateur preceded a T-27 at the Players Amateur last week. He thinks he’s due.
He pointed to his short-game progress from his freshman to sophomore seasons at USC. Hie noted that he ranked last among the Trojans starters in “up-and-down stats’’ – from 30 yards and in, excluding sand – as a freshman. As a sophomore, he led the team in that category.
“If I putt well, I feel I can win,’’ Hie said. “My swing is always there.’’
As a first-team All-American, Hie has landed an exemption into the Nationwide Tour’s Children’s Hospital Invitational July 24-27 at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course in Columbus.
After that, the Hie Road Show continues at the Western Amateur in Benton Harbor, Mich.
• Matt Savage is sticking with what works for this week’s Southern Am.
Savage, who upset Jamie Lovemark in a 40-hole final match in the recent North & South, pulled his 3-iron in favor of a fourth wedge at Pinehurst No. 2’s tricky mounded greens. He’s carrying 47-, 50-, 55- and 60-degree Vokey wedges again this week, though the green-surrounds at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club will be less penal than what he faced in North Carolina.
Savage put a new set of Titleist AP2 irons into play at Pinehurst. With stiffer and heavier X100 shafts, Savage says he was able to keep the ball down and help his control.
It’s that level of comfort with his game that Savage, up to No. 50 in the
Golfweek Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking, is enjoying this summer as he prepares for his senior year at Florida State.
“I’m driving it well and working on my irons,’’ he said.
Savage, from Louisville, Ky., was still receiving congratulations from his amateur peers at Lake Nona for his North & South victory.
After the Southern, Savage plans to play in the Porter Cup in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and then attempt to make the U.S. Amateur in a qualifier July 28-29 at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla. He and his FSU teammates will head to Scotland in early August.
• The 168-player field was culled from a record 752 entries, most of whom competed in 20 regional qualifiers. . . . The winner will receive a sponsor exemption to the 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando. . . . Lake Nona has hosted numerous big golf events since it opened in 1988. The inaugural Solheim Cup (’90), World Cup (’93), Tavistock Cup (’04, ’07) and numerous Florida state-level events have been staged on a course that is home to many Tour stars. The 2010 U.S. Senior Amateur is scheduled to visit here.
• • •
Steve Harmon is
Golfweek’s deputy editor. To reach him e-mail
sharmon@golfweek.com.
Posted: 7/15/2008
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