Journeyman Hicks making a name for himself
Journeyman tops star-studded field
SAN DIEGO - What is it about the name Justin Hicks that causes commotion when pro golf comes to Torrey Pines?
It happened in January, when local club professional Justin Hicks earned a spot into the Buick Invitational and it happened in yesterday's first round of the 108th US Open, when longtime mini-tour and Nationwide journeyman Justin Hicks posted a stunning 3-under-par 68 to seize the lead.
Same name, same game, but different people. No one seemed to realize that a few months ago when Justin Hicks, the local club pro, got into the Buick.
"The [PGA] Tour got us mixed up," said Justin Hicks of the Nationwide. "Companies got us mixed up. [His] checks were going to my place, [my] checks were going to his place. They actually withdrew me out of the Nationwide event. I called them up and they said, 'You committed to the Buick and we figured you wouldn't want to go to Panama.' I said, 'No, I'd like to go to Panama because that's not me.' "
Justin Hicks the local club pro missed the cut in the Buick. Justin Hicks the journeyman didn't make it to Panama, though he's played in six Nationwide Tour events.
A successful run through local and sectional qualifying landed Justin Hicks the journeyman into the US Open, another twist to the story that offers up some laughs, because Justin Hicks the local club pro came out during a practice round earlier this week to watch him play. Sure enough, with his namesake watching, Justin Hicks the journeyman holed a sand wedge for an eagle at the par-4 second.
No such fireworks in his first-round duty, but Hicks rode a roller coaster on the back nine. He failed to make a par on that outward nine, his six birdies and three bogeys sending him to the turn in 3 under. He pushed to 4 under with a birdie at the par-4 fourth, but bogeyed the par-4 seventh.
It was good enough to send the surprising name to the top of the leaderboard, tied with another stunner, Kevin Streelman. Then again, does Hicks consider it a surprise?
"Hopefully not too surprised, at least my good friends," said Hicks, who hails from Michigan, but has settled in Florida where he plays out of Bear Lakes Country Club in West
"There's always games going on, whether it's skins or Nassaus or whatever," said Hicks, who missed the cut in his one PGA Tour event, the Genuity Championship, and at the 2004 US Open, he missed the cut as a qualifier. But everything else on his résumé relates to tours called Golden Bear, Gateway, Montgomery, and Maverick.
Not a lot of polish, but it's not like Hicks thinks he should give up. A round of 68 at a course that battered some of the bigger names in the game shows that.
"Being 33, I think of myself as pretty young, I guess," said Hicks. "My career has progressed fairly nicely."
To the top of the leaderboard in a US Open certainly qualifies as a positive direction. Streelman, who had the lead before he bogeyed his 18th hole, the par-5 ninth, could say the same thing, only he's been there before. In January, he shot 67-69 and was in second place, four behind Tiger Woods at the halfway point. He faded to T-29 thanks to a 75-77 weekend, but has nothing but positive memories.
"All of a sudden, I was paired with Tiger," said Streelman. "So that was definitely an eye-opening experience. But to this day, it's one of the cooler experiences of my life."
Hanging tough
A birdie at the par-5 18th had Brett Quigley smiling, though he was still hurting. "I'm going to go get treatment right now. I need some ice," said the Rhode Islander, whose shin splints in his left leg have been hurting him since Friday. He shot 2-over 73 and said there was never any doubt he'd play. After turning in even-par 35, Quigley bogeyed three of the first five holes on the back before he settled down and finished with a two-putt birdie at the 18th . . . Hicks and Streelman were two of four players to reach 4 under. Steve Stricker was another, thanks to birdies on four of his first seven holes. But he played the front side in 41 and wound up shooting 2-over 73. Sweden's Robert Karlsson also got it to 4 under through 10 holes, but he played the next eight holes in 3 over to settle for a 1-under 70 . . . Kevin Silva of New Bedford, Mass., birdied the par-4 fourth to get onto the leaderboard at 1 under, but he dropped a shot at the par-4 fifth, made a triple bogey at the par-3 eighth, and never recovered. He closed bogey, bogey to shoot 80, one of 20 players who failed to break 80. "I am going to go home, get some dinner, and go to sleep," said Silva, who had three-putts from 6 feet at the eighth and 15 feet at the 17th . . . Brett Wetterich withdrew before the start of the first round, citing an injured wrist. He was replaced by Andrew Svoboda, who had been the first alternate at the Purchase, N.Y., sectional . . . Mark Calcavecchia had just three pars going out as he shot 43 before withdrawing . . . The field average was 75.60 with the par-4 12th playing toughest (4.600). The par-5 18th (4.800) and par-5 13th (4.851) played easiest . . . One eagle was made at each of the par 5s - Ian Leggatt at the ninth, Russ Fisher at the 13th, and Eric Axley at the 18th.
Food for thought
It was a day of contrasts for Oklahoma State teammates Rickie Fowler and Kevin Tway. Fowler shot 1-under 70, while Tway, accompanied by his father, Bob, the 1986 PGA Championship winner, as his caddie, needed birdies on two of his last three holes to salvage a 75. Fowler was 1 over through 12 holes, but birdied the par-4 14th and par-5 18th. Tway turned in 2 over, then bogeyed Nos. 10, 11, 12, which is where it helped to have a 24-year PGA Tour veteran on his bag. Bob Tway reached in and gave his son a candy bar. "When you have a good meal, you're less grumpy," said the caddie. The son had no complaints about his father, though he reminded everyone that he's just a college kid and can't afford the high prices of caddies. "I don't think I'm going to give him anything," he said . . . One of the curious situations involves the no-smoking rule in effect at Torrey Pines because it's a state park. Spectators aren't allowed to light up, but players, caddies, and media members have been given special dispensation to do so.
