I was the luckiest man at the Open

Mark McCormick

US OPEN DIARY

Mark McCormick, the 49-year-old head pro at Suburban Golf Club in Union, N.J., who after failing in his previous 24 tries to qualify the U.S. Open, got in through last week’s sectional at Canoe Brook, is doing an exclusive diary for The Post this week. As told to Mark Cannizzaro.

I was 5-over par through 15 holes and I thought I was in great position to make the cut. I was thinking if I can make a birdie coming in and post a 74 or 75, I’ve got a good chance.

But I got tired and made a mess of 16 with a triple bogey, bogeyed 17 and tripled 18 to finish with an 82. I still had a great time, because I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to play today after tweaking my back getting out of a hyperbaric chamber the other day. I’m thrilled I was able to play at all today.

I was up all night icing my back and at about 3 in the morning I sat on the edge of the bed thinking I’m not going to be able to play. I was thinking this dream I’ve been living is going to turn into a nightmare. It was horrible.

U.S. OPEN HOLE BY HOLE

U.S. OPEN LEADERBOARD

That’s why, as bad as that finish was, I am so excited that I played and I was here. I so much enjoyed the day.

The only birdie I made was on No. 12. I joked with my wife [Linda] before I started, “If I make birdie today I’m getting lucky tonight, right.’’ Then, I said to her on the 18th tee, after I’d made a debacle of 16 and 17, “You know I did make a birdie today.’’

The highlights for me came when I made a nice par putt on No. 8 and the crowd went nuts. That was pretty cool. As I was walking off the green, a guy yelled “Hey, Jersey!’’

I also made a really good par on No. 5 when I got up and down from the left bunker and knocked a putt in from 20 feet and the crowd went nuts. That was what I was looking for when I came here. I wanted to experience the crowd reacting to a shot that I hit and I got that today, so I was pretty happy.

As for making the cut today, after that finish I’ll just try to take it as a learning experience and see what I can learn from it.
Nypost.com