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List Shows He Belongs At Open 6/15/2005
By ALEX PODLOGAR Editor’s note: Luke List, a rising junior at Vanderbilt, is playing in the 105th U.S. Open this week at Pinehurst No. 2. List agreed to have his championship week chronicled each day by The Sanford Herald. This article is the first in that series. PINEHURST, N.C. – Luke List played well Tuesday. Thus, he accomplished his goal for the day. Wednesday?s goal? Wake up early, warm up early – and find Tiger Woods. “I’m signed up (to play) with him right now,” List said, moments after completing his second practice round Tuesday, just two days before the opening round of the 105th U.S. Open. “Of course, he has the right to refuse, but I’m probably going to be here a little earlier and hopefully be able to sneak off with him. It would be a blast to play with him.” Woods teed off Tuesday around 6:30 a.m., preferring to get in as many holes as possible before the big crowds got out to the golf course. And while it’s no secret that Woods enjoys playing practice rounds with young amateurs, he wants to tee off as early as possible. For List, that means arriving at the golf course at around 5:45 a.m. and being good and loose by 6:15 a.m. With most of the Open’s field taking part in Tuesday?s practice round, play slowed considerably. Woods, who played with Davis Love III and Jim Furyk, finished 13 holes before dropping out for the day, about two hours before his scheduled news conference with the media. Should List fail to hook up with Woods on Wednesday, List could always find himself paired with the eight-time major champion over the weekend. But for a 20-year-old amateur playing in just his second Open, that may be a longshot. Then again, a 20-year-old amateur playing in just his second Open isn’t supposed to be able to hit the kinds of shots List was hitting early in his practice round Tuesday. “I’m hitting it real well,” admitted List, casting aside his trademark modesty for the time being. “I got off to a great start. It’s still a practice round, and I don’t keep score, but I liked a lot of things I did today a lot better than I did yesterday. If I can keep doing that, I’ll be in good shape.” Vanderbilt’s second-year star and 2004 U.S. Amateur runner-up teed off at 7:30 a.m. with Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman, PGA Tour veteran Tim Herron and Pepperdine star Michael Putnam and got off to a blistering start, outplaying all three through the first six holes. List’s opening drive on the 401-yard par-4 was nearly 350 yards, leaving him with a short pitch to the elevated green. List nearly holed it from the fairway, leaving himself a tap-in birdie. List hit six of the first seven fairways in regulation, but found himself in the intermediate rough on the left side of the fairway on the second hole. His approach landed in the bunker in front of the green, and his third shot rolled to the back edge of the green, suggesting an early bogey. But List shook off that misstep and hit his approach on the third hole to six feet for a makeable birdie putt. His most impressive play of the day came on the 550-yard, par-5 fourth hole where he split the fairway with a drive of 310 yards, well past the rest of his playing partners. With 242 yards to the hole, List rifled a 3-iron to just six feet from the cup for a makeable eagle putt. During the practice rounds, most players don?t putt out, choosing instead to work on rolling putts toward potential tournament pin placements as well as trying a variety of chip shots around the greens. But after playing the 472-yard, par-4 fifth hole smartly, List hit his tee shot on the par-3 sixth hole to 15 feet. He then made that putt, which, under tournament circumstances, could have left him anywhere between 3 and 4 under through six holes, depending on how he would have stroked the other putts. Sure, nobody was keeping score, but it was hard not to notice the shots List was hitting. “He’s swinging as good as I’ve ever seen him swing,” said Danny Elkins, List?s primary golf instructor for the last three years. “All he lacks out here is the experience. He’s got the game.” List, who led the Masters field in driving distance and was 11th in driving accuracy on his way to tying for 33rd in April, was certainly pleased with the way he was striking the ball. “I’m just getting a little more comfortable out there and feeling my swing a little bit better,” he said. “I’m pretty confident and I’m continuing to get used to the course.” Overall, List hit 9 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in regulation. With temperatures soaring into the mid-90s and the round dragging on – Lehman and Putnam bowed out on the 14th hole as play backed up – List began to struggle off the tee, missing four of five fairways in one stretch. Still, because he hits the ball so long and because he’s strong, List never found himself in serious trouble. There were probably a few bogeys in List’s back nine, but Elkins admitted that Tuesday was not the day to start worrying about getting up and down. “Ideally, in a practice round, you want to identify the places where you can and can’t be,” Elkins said. “That’s the key. What you don’t want to do is find yourself grinding all day long all the time. There’s plenty of time for that. You have to be able to relax some.” List admitted he tired on the back nine and tried instead to concentrate on course management. “Particularly on the back nine I got tired, and it was hot out there,” he said. “It’s tough. It’s nothing really to focus on, or worry about. Once we get into the tournament, I’m usually much better off. I’m not worried, and I’m looking forward to Thursday.” As for relaxing, List was well on his way to doing just that. He had lunch a few minutes after his round, and then it was off to the Pinehurst home he is renting with his parents for an afternoon nap. After that, he planned to be back on the driving range working on his swing in the evening. Soon thereafter, it would be time for bed. After all, he’s got to be up early Wednesday. Tiger doesn?t like to wait. |
