News from the US Walker Cup side

If you’re a Bandon Dunes addict, as I am, you cannot get enough of the southern Oregon coastal enclave with the three (soon to be four) vibrant courses. This week, Trip Kuehne validated his championship performances in USGA team events in Ireland (Walker Cup)and Texas (State Team Championship) with a scalding march to the trophy at the men’s Mid-Amateur Championship. In his unbalanced, 9 & 7 victory over co-medalist Dan Whitaker of Washington state, Kuehne made five birdies and zero bogies over the 29 holes needed to resolve the match. Eerily similar to his long-ago championship loss in the US Amateur to Tiger Woods, Kuehne led by a basket of holes (six this year versus seven way back when) near the middle of the match. This time, he held steady and marched to the trophy.

Jonathan Moore, the other oft-debated selection for this year’s US Walker Cup side, is playing professionally in St. Andrews this week, at the Dunhill Links Championship. At this juncture (6:13 USA Eastern Time, somewhere around 1:13 over there) he is -6 for the week, three shots behind the merciless and feared dutchman, Hennie Otto. How ironic it might be if career-shaping wins for both bits of media fodder took place the same week of a glorious October.