One young Haddonfield athlete is heading to the U.S. Open. Not as a golfer, but as the manager, trainer, and caddy for the youngest athlete ever to qualify for one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in America.
Chris Gold, a 25-year-old golfer and graduate of Haddonfield Memorial High School, has been training 14-year-old Andy Zhang for the past five months. Not even old enough to drive, buy a scratch off lottery ticket, or attend an R-rated movie, Zhang will tee it up on Thursday at 8:21 a.m. for the first round of the 112th U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
Gold will caddy for Zhang during the event. He caddies for the young golfer as often as he can, Gold said, but many of the junior tournaments that he participates in don’t allow caddies.
Zhang is the youngest athlete to every qualify for the U.S. Open. To put it in perspective, Tiger Woods, arguably the greatest golfer of all time was 20 when he made his U.S. Open debut in 1997. He was, however, coming off a record setting Masters victory, so he has Zhang beat in that regards.
It’s been a fantastic few days, Gold said, as the pair weren’t sure that they were even going to be invited to the U.S. Open. After winning their way through the local qualifying round, Zhang was one of the top five finishers out of 83 Nationwide Tour golfers in the sectional tournament.
Zhang shot a 69 in a local qualifier and then 70, 72 in two sectional rounds. He lost in a playoff, but was able to secure the fifth overall finish and claimed the second alternate position.
The championship event is the only truly “open” USGA tournament, with amateurs like Zhang able to play if they make the cut. Other championship tournaments are only open to golfers with PGA or Nationwide Tour cards.
Due to two golfers dropping out because of injury, Gold said he received an interesting phone call on Sunday.
“Jeff Hall from the USGA told us we moved from number five to the number two alternate on the list earlier this week. He said it would be a good idea for us to come out here, he was hinting it to us, but he didn’t outright say anything. He simply said it wouldn’t hurt to come out,” Gold said. “We came out Monday, we landed in San Francisco at 1:30 p.m. We were on the putting green Monday afternoon when I got the call. He said that we’re in the tournament.”
Withdrawals of Paul Casey (shoulder) and Brandt Snedeker (ribs) opened the tournament up for Zhang.
The duo didn’t have much time to process the information, as they were scheduled for a practice round 7 a.m. Tuesday with PGA pros Bubba Watson Webb Simpson. Watson of course won the 2012 Masters Tournament this past April.
According to the USGA U.S. Open twitter account, Bubba Watson said “He (Zhang) was a little nervous and didn’t talk much but maybe I talk too much. His game is good.”
Gold was introduced to Zhang when Zhang’s father approached him at the driving range at Reunion Resort golf in Orlando, Gold’s training course. Zhang is a member of the country club and his father was looking for a young professional/trainer to help mold his son’s game.
“I was on the range at Reunion Resort, he’s a member there and Andy’s dad came up to me and asked me if I could help him out. It started out as being two to three days a week, but then expanded to five and six,” Gold said. “I love being on the course, I love being around kids, I want to play pro golf, but this can’t hurt at all. You need money and I have a tight budget. It’s great experience.”
Gold attends lessons with Zhang, tutors him on the driving range, and takes notes during Zhang’s tournament to help improve his performance.
He plays well over his age and never gets nervous, Gold said, which is a wonder for a 14-year-old. He’s a fantastic ball striker, it’s his best strength, and Gold said that if he plays his best he could most certainly make the cut in the U.S. Open.
He made the same comment to Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon Tuesday afternoon, co-hosts of ESPN’s sports show Pardon the Interruption, and Gold said they immediately blew his statement out of proportion.
“PTI burned me up, Tony was killing me. I said that he’s not going anywhere; he’s going to be here for a while, and they took it to mean that I said he was going to maybe win the tournament,” Gold said, laughing. “I will say that we’re not here to miss the cut. He qualified; he’s good enough to play obviously.”
