UPDATE: Well, I was right on the money with Ben Martin…No win, no Walker Cup. I was half-right with my picks. The USGA got Peter Uihlein and went with Cameron Tringale instead of Van Sickle. Both won two matches at the Am, so that part was a draw. Neither one captured a big amateur event this Summer and MVS went through a massive slump that ultimately proved his undoing. On to Philadelphia.

UPDATE: Two big sighs of relief from the blue coats. The kid (Patel) and the Texan lost by a lot (For a semifinal), 3 & 2 and 5 & 4, respectively. The more Ben Martin wins, the more the USGA likes him. He had 72-78 to miss the cut by 6 at the US Open this year, but he’s into the Masters and US Open already for next year. His is a strange story, however. He didn’t play any of the big summer events beyond Sunnehanna, where he was t-16. He ranks 21st on the SPS USA list, 46th in the world.

ORIGINAL TEXT FOLLOWS:

Given my untrained eye and distracted sensory organs, here is my latest attempt at suggesting who might fill out the USA side. Before I suggest, here are the US Amateur semifinalists and their places of origin:

Charlie Holland, Texas
Ben Martin, South Carolina
Bhavik Patel, California
B.H. An, Korea

From the bottom, if B.H. An wins, Mike Van Sickel and Peter Uihlein make the team. Being a finalist won’t help the other three. If one of the other three wins the Am, he should make the team and then the fun begins. The winner of Holland, Martin and Patel would be joined by MVS or PU. MVS has the better record, PU’s dad runs Titleist/Cobra (otherwise known as Acushnet.)

The USGA is praying for An to win. As a Korean, he would be ineligible for the USA side, leaving two picks for season vets, which the other three semifinalists are not. The men in blue coats have never been known to pass over the reigning US Am champ for a Walker Cup side. Patel is 18, a sophomore at Fresno State, and not well known. Same goes for Holland at U Texas, ‘cepting he’s a Senior. Martin is also a senior, has been all-ACC twice and played in the US Open at Bethpage. He’s the USGA’s second choice.

I’m suggesting that the next few days ought to be quite interesting.

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