The post Inside Tyler Strafaci’s late-night, post-hospital Walker Cup practice session appeared first on Golf.

The post Inside Tyler Strafaci’s late-night, post-hospital Walker Cup practice session appeared first on Golf.

JUNO BEACH, Fla. — In waning daylight, Tyler Strafaci stood on the practice green at Seminole Golf Club armed only with his putter and a small collection of practice balls. One ball after another tumbled along the baked-out turf as the maintenance crew finished their final touch-ups for the night. In golf-speak, he was grinding.

This isn’t a particularly rare scene for high-level golf, but considering where Strafaci had been just hours earlier, it was remarkable.

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Strafaci is just one of several Walker Cup players who have been stricken with a mysterious stomach virus this week. Just before his scheduled 3:03 p.m. tee time Saturday afternoon, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion was scratched from the lineup. Moments later, he was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a local hospital.

Details on the matter were sparse. “Tyler Strafaci did leave the grounds of Seminole Golf Club and is receiving fluids at a local hospital,” the USGA said in a statement. “[But] there is no additional information available at this time.”

The 22-year-old later revealed to Golf Channel that he’d been admitted for dehydration, and received three IVs. He was discharged from the emergency room later in the afternoon and returned to the course, where he rejoined his teammates to watch the Americans claim a 7-5 lead over GB&I.

When the excitement of the day wound down, Strafaci headed to the practice green unperturbed by the day’s (chaotic) events, and unmoved from his original goal.

“I want to win as bad as everyone else on that team,” Strafaci told GOLF.com. “This event is as meaningful as any other golf tournament in the world.”

As Strafaci continued his routine, Walker Cup stalwart Steward Hagestad approached him. The two chatted for a moment and then the elder statesman gave Strafaci a hug. Hagestad almost surely shared some words of encouragement for what figures to be a 36-hole day for Strafaci tomorrow.

Hagestad played in just one match on Saturday, a foursomes loss to Angus Flanagan and Jake Bolton. But even though the last two men on the putting green didn’t contribute any points on the board on day one, the younger Strafaci still provided some veteran wisdom.

“That’s the great thing about this event,” he said. “It’s about everyone as a team. We have a two-point lead going into tomorrow — that’s all that matters.”

With the sun fully vanished behind the Western dunes, Strafaci and Hagestad walked back toward the pink stucco clubhouse. It seemed like a rough day for the Walker Cup rookie, but Strafaci had a different perspective.  

“It wasn’t a bad day,” he said. “We’re leading. That’s all that’s important.”

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The post 5 things to know after a hard-fought first day at the Walker Cup appeared first on Golf.

The post 5 things to know after a hard-fought first day at the Walker Cup appeared first on Golf.

JUNO BEACH, Fla. — Day one of the Walker Cup is in the books. Team USA leads 7-5 after the first two sessions, setting up what is sure to be an intense final day of matches at Seminole Golf Club tomorrow.

Here are from things to know from Saturday at Seminole.

1. GB&I came to play

Looking at the World Amateur Golf Ranking, the matchup between the U.S. and GB&I (Great Britain and Ireland) is heavily lopsided. The Americans have nine of the top 20 players in the world, while their opposition claims just one. But despite this seeming mismatch, the boys from across the pond came to play.

Through two sessions, GB&I finds themselves behind the Americans by just two points, far from the blowout many predicted coming into the week. Now, the pressure shifts to the Americans to assert themselves tomorrow on their home soil.

2. Strafaci is bouncing back

Just before his afternoon match with Ben Jones, Tyler Strafaci was scratched from the lineup and replaced by William Mouw. Strafaci has been dealing with a stomach bug that has plagued both teams this week, and the ailment was too much to overcome on Saturday.

As more details came to light, tournament officials announced Strafaci was taken to a local hospital via ambulance as a precautionary measure. Fortunately, Strafaci was back on the grounds at Seminole by day’s end, cheering on his teammates.

“It was tough,” Strafaci said. “I wanted to go out and compete. It’s what I’ve been preparing my whole life for. It wasn’t easy at all. Physically I just couldn’t have walked 18 holes today. I was just really out of it, and three IVs in, I feel much better now, so I’m ready for tomorrow.”

3. The stars were out

Seminole was full of stars on Saturday. Yes, golf stars, but other celebs as well.

This golf scribe spotted Larry Fitzgerald (a Seminole member) in the afternoon watching John Pak and Barclay Brown, and also picked out Greg Norman following one of the morning foursome matches.

Among the other marquee names in attendance Saturday were Lee Westwood, Jessica Korda, George W. Bush, Fred Ridley, Seth Waugh and Curtis Strange. Quite the cast of characters.

4. Hammer time

Cole Hammer is somewhat of a Walker Cup veteran at this point after playing on the victorious 2019 team, and he provided a veteran presence Saturday at Seminole. Hammer won both his matches on the day, earning two critical points for the American side. Expect to see the 20-year-old in both sessions tomorrow as Team USA vies for the Cup.

5. Same format tomorrow

Saturday at the Walker Cup is a session of foursomes and a session of singles, and Sunday is more of the same. The only difference between the two days is that on day two, there are 10 singles matches in the afternoon, ensuring that all players participate in the session.

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The post U.S. Walker Cup player Tyler Strafaci a late scratch due to illness, taken to hospital via ambulance appeared first on Golf.

The post U.S. Walker Cup player Tyler Strafaci a late scratch due to illness, taken to hospital via ambulance appeared first on Golf.

JUNO BEACH, Fla. — U.S. Walker Cup player Tyler Strafaci was taken to a local hospital just prior to his scheduled 3:03 p.m. tee time on Saturday. The U.S. Amateur champion and 2021 Masters participant was taken for precautionary reasons, per a USGA spokesperson.

“Tyler Strafaci did leave the grounds of Seminole Golf Club and is receiving fluids at a local hospital,” the USGA said in a statement. “There is no additional information available at this time.”

Although it’s not confirmed what sent Strafaci to the hospital, both teams have been plagued by a stomach bug in the run up to the 48th Walker Cup.

The USGA and R&A released a statement earlier this week, saying: “Over the past 24 hours, a number of players from both the GB&I and USA Teams have been treated for gastrointestinal issues and are currently under observation by medical professionals at the teams’ hotel.”

Strafaci sat out the morning session at Seminole but was slated in the lineup for a singles match versus GB&I’s Ben Jones for the afternoon. He was replaced by William Mouw.

This is the 2020 U.S. Amateur champion’s first Walker Cup.

UPDATE: 7:23 p.m. ET

Tyler Strafaci has returned from the hospital and was spotted on site at Seminole supporting his teammates during the afternoon matches.

“We’re like a family,” Strafaci told Golf Channel. “I wanted to come out and just support everyone here because I know they’d do the same thing for me.”

Strafaci said he received three IVs at the hospital and is planning on being ready to compete tomorrow.

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The post Here’s the advice the U.S. Amateur champ would give juniors (and their parents!) appeared first on Golf.

The post Here’s the advice the U.S. Amateur champ would give juniors (and their parents!) appeared first on Golf.

If there’s anybody who could recognize the gravity of the moment in the moment, it was Tyler Strafaci.

Anybody who tuned into the Georgia Tech standout’s matches all week at the U.S. Amateur heard about the Strafaci lineage; Tyler was the grandson of Frank Strafaci, at one point among the best amateurs in the United States. It felt like a point the announcers had beaten into the ground — until Tyler himself talked about it after winning the championship 1 up on the 36th and final hole of the day.

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There was one thing, he said, that bugged his grandfather for the last decades of his life. “During the late ’30s he was the best amateur golfer in the world, no ifs, ands or buts about it, and for him not to be selected on the Walker Cup team, it kind of hit home hard with him,” Tyler said of his grandfather. “That’s why I always wanted to be the first Strafaci to make a Walker Cup.”

That’s serious dedication. With his victory, Strafaci locked in a spot on the Walker Cup team, accomplishing a family goal decades in the making. It meant something more that his father, Frank Jr., was caddying for him all week. And Tyler said the win will help him feel closer to his grandfather, who died years before his Walker Cup-bound grandson was ever born.

In short, this is a trophy Strafaci has been chasing as fervently as anyone in the field this week at Bandon Dunes. So he was the perfect subject for a particularly pointed question in his post-round press conference: How he’d advise someone trying to be the next to take his no-treasured trophy — and how he’d advise parents trying to support a child to a U.S. Am title.

His eyes went wide at the request. “Yeah, that’s a loaded question there,” he said. But he seemed certain at the answer, which had nothing to do with technique and everything to do with identity. “So for a kid, I would say just — you have to know what kind of person you are to get the most out of your game,” he said. He cited the contrasting styles of he and his former teammate, 2019 U.S. Amateur Champ Andy Ogletree, who he called a completely different golfer.

“We have different routines. We have different everything. But we both have found a way to develop and work. He plays a lot, and that’s kind of his niche, and that’s how he gets better and he gears his game around that, and I practice a lot and I gear my game plan towards getting ready for tournaments through [practice] and I get calm through it. He gets it through playing and having games and stuff like that.”

While Ogletree finds comfort in on-course reps, Strafaci is plenty comfortable drawing on his practice experience. That much was clear when he fired three consecutive approach shots into the gorse (one on No. 16 and two on No. 17) only to turn things around with a glistening 4-iron into the par-5 finisher.

“I’d say find yourself, and whatever self you are, just gear everything that you do towards that. If you really want it, you’ve got to go get it. There’s no half-assing it here; you’ve got to come up with that plan, go get it and give it everything you’ve got and live with the results.”

If that doesn’t make you want to get out of your chair and down to the nearest driving range, I don’t know what to tell you. Unless, of course, you’re the parent of a junior golfer, in which case I’d recommend reading on:

“And parents, I would say don’t tell your kids what to do,” Strafaci continued. “Just guide them along, be supportive and know that they’re trying their hardest.

“And if sometimes they don’t play good, then let them not play good. Be there to be a shoulder to try on or whatever and just be their friend out there, not demanding a lot out of them.”

He didn’t cite his own father in his answer — but he didn’t have to. The moment they shared on the 18th green showed that Strafaci feels he’s grown up with exactly that support from the man he calls his best friend. But he did share one other story about his father’s advice.

“I remember I broke my hand in an AJGA tournament, the fourth hole of the day, and I was whining and complaining to my dad, and he’s like, ‘Don’t bitch, finish the round.’ He said he withdrew from a tournament one day and it was on him for the rest of his life. Just stuff like that. My dad is just the best.”

It’s not just his dad, though. Tyler’s mom has been there every step of the way, making sure he finished what he started.

“They’ve held me accountable. That’s the main thing. If I wasn’t doing anything, they’d let me have it. Not in a bad way, just my parents are very old-fashioned, and Coach knows this, my mom is a — I’m scared of my mom.”

On Sunday, Strafaci finished what he started. As for following his advice to the championship? Easier said than done — but it’s worth a try.

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