Tight Game, Loose Braces

Bethesda, Md.

It's been a pretty busy two weeks for 16-year-old Beau Hossler Jr.

On June 3 he got his driver's license. Three days later, he qualified for this week's U.S. Open by shooting 67-71 at a qualifier near Los Angeles. Two days after that he led his high school golf team, as a sophomore, to fourth place in the state championships in Northern California. On Friday, he took his final exams. Then on Sunday he and his mom flew to Washington, D.C., for the Open, where he was given a Lexus courtesy car to drive.

Associated Press

Beau Hossler Jr.

"How cool is that?" Hossler said Tuesday. He was referring to the Lexus.

Hossler's mother, Amy Balsz, is concerned that all this travel is interfering with his orthodontia. "I told Beau he'll be wearing his braces until he's 40 if we can't find time for an appointment to get them tightened," she said Tuesday, as she followed his practice round at Congressional Country Club.

Hossler, the third-youngest golfer to ever qualify for a U.S. Open (after Tadd Fujikawa in 2006 and Tyrell Garth in 1941, both 15), looks to be as normal a teenager as Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., has ever produced. He has pimples and moves with the slightly slouchy gait of an adolescent, perhaps reflecting his recent growth spurt. Balsz said he's grown six inches in the last six months, to just short of six-feet tall.

The difference between him and other teens, however, is how much he loves golf. His mom doesn't play ("I don't know which club does what," she said) and neither did his dad, Beau Hossler Sr., until Beau Jr. got hooked when he was seven or eight. A few visits to a driving range, using Snoopy clubs, was all it took. "Until then he loved baseball, and was a good player. All he talked about was the Dodgers," said Beau Sr., a mortgage broker with more than a little of the SoCal surfer dude aura about him. "I took up golf just so I could stay with him on the fairways."

When Beau Jr. was nine and had already won junior tournaments, his father joined Mission Viejo Country Club. "I'd be happy with just a social membership myself, but Beau is out there practicing at least three or four hours a day. It's all he thinks about, that and his school work," said Beau Sr.

Junior maintains a 4.3 grade point average at a private Santa Margarita high school.

The club is only a four-minute drive from where Hossler lives with his mom and stepfather and has a tradition of producing great golfers, among them Mark O'Meara and current PGA Tour player Cameron Tringale. For instruction, Hossler Sr. hooked his son up with famed teacher Jim Flick, an hour south in Carlsbad.

More U.S. Open Coverage

Tracking the Open: Day One

Newort and Wei Handicap the Tournament

Andres Gonzales, Fu Manchu Golfer

McIlroy, LeBron and Learning From Losing

A Book Not About Tiger (Technically)

"We used to sneak Beau into our scramble groups when he was nine or ten. He'd chip in from just about anywhere and win us a lot of money," said member Mike Albert, part of the 30-plus-person entourage from California here to support Hossler.

At 14, Hossler sank a 15-foot putt in a playoff to qualify for the U.S. Amateur (again, one of the youngest ever to do so). "That was a hoot. He was only 5-foot-2 and weighed maybe 120 pounds. Everyone thought he must be a caddy," said Bill Schellenberg, Hossler's godfather and frequent caddy in big events, including that week and this. "He couldn't drive the ball farther than 240 yards, but he hit the ball dead straight and has an awesome short game."

On the two, 7,000 yard-plus Oklahoma courses used at the 2009 Amateur, Hossler missed the cut but shot credible, mid-pack scores of 77-77.

"The key to Beau's game is his attitude." said Mission Viejo head pro Matt Viguerie. "He's got a passion for golf, he never gets upset and rises to the occasion. He's reserved, but also very competitive."

Hossler, thanks to his growth spurt (which probably isn't done), is hitting the ball at least 40 yards farther now than he did in 2009. The odds of his making the cut this week are not great, but that's not the point.

"I feel I belong here. These other guys, even the famous pros, are just normal dudes, too," Hossler told me. "But mostly it's about the experience, about seeing what I can learn and take away from this week to help me get better."

Improving, he said, is golf's main appeal to him. "I just really like improving. A lot of times, even if the scoring isn't there but you know you're getting closer, there's a lot of satisfaction in that. It motivates you to want to move forward even more."

Hossler Sr. said he's amazed by the success and discipline his son brings to the game. "He's not a prodigy. He's earned everything he's got. He just really loves working at golf, 24/7," he said.

The family plans to limit Hossler's appearances in big-time men's amateur events to just two or three a year. (As the country's 15th ranked amateur, he receives countless invitations.) "We want him to compete mostly against other kids while he's still a kid himself," Hossler Sr. said.

rancho santa margarita, high school golf, tyrell garth, growth spurt, congressional country club, bethesda md, orthodontia, courtesy car, fujikawa, surfer dude, golf team, six inches, pimples, mission viejo, fairways, driving range, gait, rancho santa margarita calif, snoopy, six feet

Online.wsj.com