BETHESDA, Md. – Chris Wilson entered his U.S. Open practice round against the world’s No. 1-ranked player on Wednesday with a little hubris.
“I’m going to take his money!” he joked.
Michael Barbosa preceded his with a more healthy dose of humility.
“I’ll don’t think I’ll be winning any money today,” he said.
Facing off against the world’s two most consistent – and best – golfers, at least these guys were giving it the old college try.
Literally.
College ties brought the pair of local qualifiers together with fellow alums at Congressional Country Club.
Wilson, who played on the PGA Tour last season and is on the Hooters Tour right now, competed at Northwestern a few years after Luke Donald. Meanwhile, Barbosa, a career amateur who works in financial services, attended Georgia Tech just after Matt Kuchar.
It isn’t often that players of differing levels are included in the same field, but such is the romantic notion of the Open, which is, well, truly an “open” event.
“It should be open to those who have a chance to make it, and that's great,” Donald said. “It's great to see a mixture of guys. It's an opportunity for a young guy to break through and have a stellar week and always makes for a fun story. It's good to have a mixture in the field.”-
Tags: US Open, Luke Donald
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Sobel has covered golf since 2004 and provides columns, blogs, chats for Golf Channel.
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