Mini-tour vet shaken by warning for slow play
Advertiser News Services
David Roesch felt rushed in his first round at a U.S. Open and wasn't too happy about it.
The 30-year-old mini-tour veteran had a 2-under 68 that came close to being a 69 or worse because of the USGA's pace of play policy.
"We were on the fourth, a par 4, I was in between clubs and a guy comes up to me and says 'You've got a bad time. The next one's a shot,' " Roesch said, referring to a USGA official who informed the threesome individually they were behind the accepted pace of play. "I don't know what's going on. I'm a no-name and here comes this guy and tells me I have a bad time and we get to the next tee and we stand there. You tell me what's going on. I was mad. I don't know if I'll get in trouble for this."
He won't.
USGA rules official Mary Bea Porter-King, of Kaua'i, was with the group. She said they fell behind the pace and were told but it wasn't just Roesch.
"The group was behind and they were warned. There was no harm, no foul," she said. "His group, the one I was officiating, was out of position several times and it wasn't because of David's play. It was a mixture of things."
AMATEUR HOUR
First career ace comes at a good time
On the first shot he hit after a weather delay of more than two hours, 19-year-old amateur Spencer Levin scored a hole in one on the 179-yard 17th hole.
Levin used an eight-iron.
"That was my first ace, so that was a good time for it," said Levin, who finished with a 69.
Levin, playing in his first U.S. Open, helped lead UCLA to the Pac-10 title in 2002-03 before transferring to New Mexico.