Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
July 18, 2003, Washington Post

Glimpsing Golf's Future

One of the fun things about sports is seeing some athletes before they hit it big as pro superstars. You have a chance to do just that next week when the U.S. Junior Amateur golf tournament for boys is played at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase.

The best golfers under 18 years old will be playing for the title of U.S. junior amateur champion. These kids come from all over the country, and they can play. More than 3,200 junior golfers competed to be among the 156 qualifiers.

I am sure that some of the kids who will be playing Columbia next week will be winning Professional Golf Association (PGA) tournaments before too long.

Just take a look at the list of past U.S. Junior Amateur champions. U.S. and British Open champ (and now TV golf announcer) Johnny Miller won in 1964. David Duval won in 1989 and later became the top-rated player in the world. And, oh yeah, someone named Tiger Woods won the tournament three years in a row.

All the golfers play 18 holes on Monday and Tuesday. Then the 64 golfers with the lowest scores for the two rounds play 18-hole matches for the next four days to see who is crowned the champion on Saturday.

The match-play part is like a golf version of the NCAA basketball tournament. Golfers play each other head-to-head. The golfer who wins a match moves on to another match. The losing golfer is out of the tournament. Talk about pressure. A golfer has to win six straight matches to win it all.

Columbia Country Club is a beautiful place to watch the tournament. But if you don't play golf and haven't been to a tournament before, there are a few things that you need to know about how to act at a golf course before you go.

Be quiet: Golf is different from other sports where the fans scream and cheer. Golfers are used to silence when they are about to hit the ball. So don't talk when the players are getting ready to swing or putt. And if you have to talk when the players are not playing, try to talk softly.

Be careful: Even though golf courses are green, beautiful and wide open, they are not playgrounds. You cannot just run all over the course. Stay away from the greens and the sand traps. It is best to walk along the edge of the fairway in the higher grass. And watch out that you don't step on anyone's golf ball.

Be safe: Golf can be dangerous. You definitely don't want to get hit by a golf ball. To stay safe, stand in back of the player hitting the ball and off to the side. And follow the directions of the marshals on the golf course. They are there to make sure that everyone is safe and enjoying the matches.

I know all these rules make it sound like school, but watching a golf tournament can be lots of fun.

So what are you waiting for? Get Mom or Dad to take you to Columbia Country Club to see the tournament. (The Web site is www.columbiacc.org.) It's a cool event, in a beautiful place and it's free.

And, who knows, you may see the next Tiger Woods.