Newman wins U.S. Public Links

By Lynn DeBruin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 19, 2008 at 6:50 p.m.

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AURORA — After nine rounds of golf, the last in near 100-degree heat, Jack Newman still had a little smirk on his face.

"I can't get rid of it," he said Saturday afternoon.

Call it a Masters smirk, because that's where the kid from Des Moines, Iowa, is headed after winning the 83rd U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at Murphy Creek.

After needing extra holes in two of his three previous match-play rounds, Newman closed out challenger John Chin, 5 and 3, in Saturday's 36-hole final.

"It's pretty awesome," said Newman, a junior-to-be at Michigan State.

"I can't even explain it in words. I'm excited to go play in the Masters. It was a dream since I was a little kid. Now it's finally achieved. I don't think it's settled in yet."

Newman took down highly rated Billy Horschel in three extra holes Thursday, then outlasted 2007 APL semi-finalist Corey Nagy in 24 holes Friday.

Saturday he found himself down again, by 2 after four holes.

But it didn't faze him, not with a hot putter in his bag and bleary-eyed family members, many making the nine-hour drive from Iowa Friday night, walking alongside.

While the long-hitting lefty routinely blasted drives 30 and 40 yards by him, Newman simply found a way to get the ball in the hole.

He sank an 11-footer for birdie on No. 14 to get to all-square, matched Chin with an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 15 and took the lead for good when he rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on No 16.

Even when Chin stuck his approach to 3 feet on No. 18 and Newman was on the fringe, he matched him with a 30-footer to stay 1-up through the first 18.

"That was really big," said Newman, who pulled oldest brother, Andy, out of the crowd to carry his bag the final 27 holes. "My brother said, 'Try to rain on his parade.' I figured he'd make (his) because he'd been making those putts all day. So it was just all or nothing on that, and I got lucky it went in."

After a 75-minute lunch break, Newman would catch another break as Chin made a rare mistake, hitting his drive way right into high weeds on No. 1. He'd take a double-bogey and concede the hole.

Chin would cut Newman's lead to 1 again when Newman missed the green left on the par-3 No. 5, but couldn't get any closer as his putts kept coming up short.

The junior-to-be at Cal-Irvine, who in the morning round drove the 348-yard par-4 No. 9, with a 2-iron, found only the ravine in the afternoon round. When he couldn't locate his ball, he had to go back to the tee, and eventually conceded as Newman went 2-up.

Newman went 3-up when he stuck his approach No. 10 to within 4 feet, and went 4-up after Chin's tee-shot on the par-3 No. 11 went 10 yards over the green.

Chin's last-ditch effort to make something happen came up short, when Newman matched his sand save at No. 14. When Chin his his drive into the water on No. 15, he'd eventually concede the hole and the match.

"It was very frustrating today," said Chin, who until he lost the 8th hole in the morning hadn't trailed since the 17th hole of his 20-hole first-round match. "In the morning I shot the equivalent of 4-under and I was 1-down. Jack was just awesome out there. He putted great."

Though disappointed, Chin gained an exemption into next month's U.S. Amateur in Pinehurst, N.C.

Newman, meanwhile, was making plans for next April a little farther south, to Augusta, Ga., and was hoping to track down a fellow Iowan - 2007 Masters champ Zach Johnson.

"I'm going to The Show," Newman said.

And he still had that little smirk.

• July 20, 2008

  6:51 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  NeilC writes:

  I began following Newman on Tuesday for no other reason than his threesome was on the 1st tee when I arrived. What was amazing about his play was his fine and even temperament which was clearly the best of all the opponents whom I saw. He simply never got rattled, regardless of predicament. Upon winning the tournament, Newman's grin was more one of disbelief than a smirk, which is usually used in a pejorative and offensive way. He is a class act and a credit to the game.

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