When I was seventeen...

After three rounds, the mind-boggling story at the 2012 U.S. Open is not that of Jim Furyk or Tiger Woods, or the other grizzly veterans, but instead its the play of 17-year-old Beau Hossler. I've watched just about every hole of this U.S. Open due to the fact I'm laid up from my foot surgery, and I'm simply amazed how the University of Texas-bound golfer (once he graduates from high school) maneuvers his way around the tough course at the Olympic Club, battling all the obstacles which accompany all the golfers who are trying to garner the championship trophy on the grueling 18-hole course which overlooks the beautiful Pacific Ocean and the city of San Francisco. When I was seventeen, I spent my summer trying desperately to pass an Algebra course. I was a naive kid with my heart set on making the junior varsity baseball team. My big day or night included the cruising of Johnny's Drive In on Speedway Blvd. I certainly wasn't grown up enough to play golf at a country club, much less play in the U.S. Open...and to top that have a chance at winning the U.S. Open, for goodness sakes. There is so much available for the youth of today, They are growing up fast. A few months from now, Hossler will be sitting in the classroom at his high school, staring out the window and rehashing what he accomplished on Sunday, June 17, 2012. The young man may falter today, or he may win it all. He may turn in another sparking 70, or 71, or 72. Whatever happens, his future is set. Good luck today, Mr. Hossler.