Hossler upbeat despite losing low am on final hole

• By Randall Mell
• Jun 17, 2012 10:20 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Beau Hossler didn’t win low amateur honors Sunday at the U.S. Open, but the 17-year-old who just finished his junior year of high school won a rich reservoir of memories contending for a major championship title.

Hossler needed to get up and down out of a greenside bunker at the 18^th hole to tie Texas All-American Jordan Spieth as low amateur.

Instead, Hossler left his bunker shot short in the rough and made double bogey to shoot 76.

Spieth, closing hard and fast with a 70, took low amateur honors at 7-over 287. Hossler ended up at 289.

“There are so many positives for the week,” Hossler said. “I played well. Out of 72 holes, I probably played 60 of them well. I made some crucial mistakes, missed some on the wrong side of the holes, but just like last year, it's a learning experience. I still have some time before I come out and start doing this for a living.”

Hossler, who played Sunday in a University of Texas visor and shirt, has committed to playing collegiately for the Longhorns. First, though, Hossler has to complete his senior year at Santa Margarita High School in Southern California. Spieth, who will be a sophomore at Texas next year, helped recruit Hossler.

“He was a good friend of mine in junior golf the last couple years, and I would like to say that I helped convince him to come to Texas, along with obviously our coaches,” Spieth said. “I've been close to Beau and aware of how good a player he is and what he's capable of doing. He’s just walking with a little extra cockiness in his step out here. He just looks really confident on the course, and he's handling himself well off the course, too.”