Sooners Fare Well at Pub Links

July 13, 2009

NORMAN, Okla. - University of Oklahoma's Phillip Bryan and Liam Logan stand T15th and T37th, respectively, after the first round of the 84th U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Okla., on Monday. The duo were among 156 golfers battling temperatures reaching 106 degrees Fahrenheit Monday afternoon at the par-71, 7,289-yard track.

Bryan, the current OU men's golf assistant, was unfazed by the heat as the Mustang, Okla., native rattled off a tournament-opening 71 despite a tee time of 1:55 p.m. (CT) in the scorching temps. Playing the par-5s at two-under, Bryan was steady throughout, carding 12 pars while overcoming three bogeys with a trio of birdies.

After bogeys on the difficult par-4 first and fourth holes, Bryan played his next 14 holes at two-under including birdies at the 621-yard, par-5 fifth and the 434-yard, par-4 seventh in making the turn at even par.

Bryan opened the back nine with five straight pars before dropping a shot at the lengthy 281-yard par-3 15th. Pars at the 16th and 17th left Bryan at +1 on his round before he carded a closing birdie at the 584-yard, par-5 18th.

Logan fired a tournament-opening 73 on Monday morning, highlighted by a 35-foot birdie putt on the 480-yard, par-4 17th.

Competing on OU's home track, the junior-to-be found red figures on his opening nine with a 35 on the back side, capped off by birdies at No. 12 and No. 17. Logan played steady throughout, rebounding from his lone bogey on the back nine at the 281-yard par-3 15th hole by rolling in the lengthy putt on the 17th.

"I thought I would be more nervous than I was, but it really only hit me on the opening tee shot," said Logan. "I started to fully understand the prestige of this event at last night's banquet. It's pretty special to be representing OU. After that first hole, I calmed down and realized this should be an advantage for me, being our home course."

Logan hit just four greens in regulation on his second nine, but scrambled to remain at even par through 16 holes before back-to-back bogeys to close his round.

Logan missed birdie opportunities on both par-3s on the front side, sticking iron shots to 10 feet on No. 2 (170 yards) and five feet on the 175-yard sixth hole.

Official Site of the 84th U.S. Amateur Public Links
Liam Logan's Scorecard | Phillip Bryan's Scorecard

The Fort Worth, Texas, native failed to convert an eight-footer up the hill for par at the 1st (his 10th hole of the day), after his chip from the back fringe went long. He hit driver just short of the green at No. 3, a short par-4 playing 328 yards, but came up short on his lob shot and in a large bunker that draped the front portion of the green. Logan's putt slid by, putting him at +1 through 12.

After hitting driver near a large Oak tree that lined the left side of the 4th fairway, Logan punched a seven iron just behind the green, where he would eventually roll in a five footer for par. Marking par at the difficult par-5 fifth hole (621 yards), Logan's birdie attempt at No. 6 slid by on the low side of the hole, resulting in his third straight par. He wouldn't miss the next time, draining a six-footer for birdie after a magnificent second shot at the 434-yard No. 7 to get back to even par on his round.

Logan pulled his approach into the left greenside bunker on the par-4 eighth, where he would fail to convert the up-and-down after blasting driver to the top of the ridge in the center cut of the fairway. The 505-yard hole is typically played as a par-5 for the public, but has been set up as a par-4 for the championship.

Another perfect tee shot at the 9th left Logan with a short-iron approach, where he found the center of the heavily guarded green. After leaving his first putt eight feet short, Logan's second putt circled the cup before rimming out, resulting in his second straight bogey to close the round.

"I thought I played ok overall, I just didn't get a whole lot out of my round," said Logan. "I hit the ball well off the tee and hit some quality iron shots but didn't make some of the ones I needed to."

Logan benefitted from the early tee time as temperatures were expected to top out at 106 degrees Fahrenheit Monday afternoon.

"It was cool and calm on our front nine, so that was nice," said Logan. "The back nine was stupid hot. There were a couple times that the club slipped out of my hand and I definitely went through a lot of gloves."

Logan decided to forego an afternoon practice session, choosing instead to go see a movie.

"I'm going to spend the rest of the day inside in the air conditioning," said Logan. "I'm going to go see `Bruno,' get a good night's rest and come out and practice some in the morning. Playing in the afternoon tomorrow, you just have to mentally prepare yourself for the heat. I was more surprised about the lack of wind today, as the wind always blows in Oklahoma. "

Bryan will begin his second round on the 10th hole at 8:55 a.m (CT) on Tuesday, while Logan opens his second round on the No. 1 tee at 1:03 p.m.

Nick Taylor, 21, of Canada, shot a 5-under-par 66 on Monday to take the lead in the first round of stroke-play qualifying. A senior at the University of Washington, Taylor tied for 36th and was the low amateur at the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park. His round included six birdies and a lone bogey, as Taylor shot a 4-under-par 31 on his second nine.

Following Tuesday's 18-hole round, the field will be narrowed to 64 players for the match play portion of the event which begins Wednesday.

Admission and parking are free for each round of the championship and tickets are not needed.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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