FWB's Ochsenreiter qualifies for U.S. Junior Amateur

By ADAM PRUIETT

Northwest Florida Daily News
315-4421 | adamp@nwfdailynews.com

Brett Ochsenreiter is no stranger to golf tournaments that pack the pressure, but the U.S. Junior Amateur sectional qualifier was as ruthlessly shrewd as he's ever faced.

On the line Tuesday at Mississippi's Grand Bear Golf Course were two spots in the 62nd U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, the highest-ranked junior championship in the world that Tiger Woods won three times. There were 47 golfers vying for the pair of prized bids that would send them to the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., from July 20-25.

"It's extremely intense," Ochsenreiter said. "Everybody's fighting for two spots. You're not trying to get a top five, top 10. Everybody's trying hard to beat everybody else. There's no room for error."

Good thing the Fort Walton Beach rising senior didn't commit any, firing a 2-under 142 over 36 holes to place second and qualify for the U.S. Junior Amateur.

"It's huge but I've been playing good and hitting good lately, so I had a great deal of confidence," the 17-year-old Ochsenreiter said.

He needed every bit it on a day that saw competitors play consecutive 18-hole rounds with only a 10-minute break in between. Ochsenreiter admitted the last nine holes were the most arduous, but he got through them with the help of his caddy, Tanner Armstrong, a teammate on the Vikings.

Any nerves Ochsenreiter had were tempered by a hot start that saw him tied for the lead after 18 holes. He would finish with back-to-back 71s that were highlighted by five birdies and only three bogeys.

"I wasn't sure if that would get me in, but I knew I had a good shot," said Ochsenreiter, who placed second to Michael Johnson (4-under 140) of Birmingham, Ala.

Now Ochsenreiter is eying the U.S. Junior Amateur, where he'll be one of the top 156 juniors in the country competing. Once the tournament starts, that number will be sliced to 64 and that's when match play begins. If Ochsenreiter has a goal, it starts with making the cut.

"I definitely want to reach the match play and advance as far as I can from there," said Ochsenreiter, who has 32 victories and 26 runner-ups in a junior career that's consisted of 142 events.

There are other reasons that Ochsenreiter and the field of players will want to perform well. Namely, the Trump National Golf Club will be crawling with college coaches.

"It's definitely more of an incentive to play well, but it's not like I'm there to just impress coaches," Ochsenreiter said. "I'm there to play to the best of my ability, and if I do that good things will happen."

Good things have been happening on the golf course lately for the Ochsenreiter family in general. In June, Ochsenreiter's younger brother, 11-year-old Brock, qualified for the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship to be played in Pinehurst, N.C., in August. It's the second time that both brothers qualified for their respective national/world championship in the same year - both qualified for the U.S. Kids World Championship in 2004 when Brett was 12 and Brock 6.

As for his U.S. Junior Amateur preparations, Brett Ochsenreiter only wants to maintain the status quo with his golf game.

"You don't change much," he said. "You just make sure everything stays intact."