Published: May 12, 2015
England’s Senior recalls US Amateur match with Spieth
Golfer defeated Masters champion in 2011
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News
When Jack Senior played Jordan Spieth in the 2011 U.S.
Amateur Men’s Golf Championship at Erin Hills, the Englishman couldn’t believe
he was playing a 17-year-old from Texas.
“He played like he was ready to be on the tour,” said
Senior, now 26, living in Lancashire, England.
Senior has bragging rights over this year’s Masters
champion.
Senior defeated Spieth, 1 up, in the quarterfinal of the
U.S. Amateur.
“It’s good to know that I can compete with somebody with
that much talent and ability,” Senior said.
“I remember we had a great match that went all the way to
the 18th hole,” he added.
Senior then lost to Kelly Kraft, 3 and 2, in the semifinal,
and Kraft beat Patrick Cantlay, 2 up, to win the tournament.
“The U.S. Amateur was the closest thing to a professional
event that I had ever played in at the time,” Senior said. “It had huge crowds
with a great atmosphere and media attention; something you don’t see a lot as
an amateur.”
Jim Reinhart, the general chairman for the U.S. Amateur and
Erin Hills — as well as the 2017 U.S. Open — was the match referee for the
Senior vs. Spieth quarterfinal.
“They both played great golf at Erin Hills,” Reinhart said.
Last month, Spieth rewrote the record book at the Masters.
At 21, he was the second-youngest person to win the
tournament and he did it less than four years removed from playing in the U.S.
Amateur at Erin Hills.
Spieth tied the Masters Tournament record, finishing 18
strokes under par. He also set the records for the lowest 36-hole score, lowest
54-hole score and broke Phil Mickelson’s 2001 record for most birdies in the
tournament by three (28).
Spieth was the tournament’s first champion to lead
wire-to-wire since Raymond Floyd in 1976.
“I watched the Masters and nothing really surprised me about
his performance because he was the best player I’ve ever come across,” Senior
said.
Since the U.S. Amateur at Erin Hills, Senior was on the
winning Walker Cup team in 2011 at Royal Aberdeen and turned pro shortly
afterward.
Today, he plays on the European Challenge Tour, which is
equivalent to the Web.com Tour in the U.S. He’s won five professional events in
his career.
Two things stood out to Senior about Spieth: his long drives
and putting.
Senior doesn’t stay in contact with most of the golfers he
played against or met at the U.S. Amateur, but he does read about them when
they do well.
Kraft, who turned pro after playing in the 2012 Masters, won
his first pro event March 15 — Chitimacha Louisiana Open in Broussard,
Louisiana.
Kraft plays on the Web.com Tour, formerly the Nationwide
Tour. He took second in the 2013 Mylan Classic in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
“It’s good to see those guys doing so well because it proves
to me that I can do the same in the coming years,” Senior said.
Monday was Erin Hills’ opening day and the excitement for
the U.S. Open grows with each passing day.
On Monday, Hidden Glen at Bentdale Farms in Cedarburg will
host a U.S. Open local qualifying event for this year’s U.S. Open at Chambers
Bay, near Tacoma, Washington. That course hosted the 2010 U.S. Amateur.
Jackson’s Nate Holzberger and Richfield’s Cal Meyers are on
the entry list for Monday’s qualifier.
Then after the 2016 U.S. Open in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, Erin
Hills will be next for the first U.S. Open to be held in Wisconsin.
“I think the pros will find it a very demanding course with
its strong, long par 4s and fast sloping greens,” Senior said.
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