By Lee Davis
Even if Smylie Kaufman had stopped playing competitive golf at the end of May, he would have had a memorable season.
After all, the Vestavia Hills graduate led his Louisiana State University Tigers to the NCAA’s golf Final Four, giving his school’s program its finest finish since 1967. On top of that, Kaufman posted a second-place individual finish in the Southeastern Conference Championship before tying for sixth place as the top Bengal Tiger in the NCAA Regionals.
But instead of resting on his considerable laurels, Kaufman went after one more lofty goal: qualifying for a place in the United States Open field.
Kaufman went to the Settindown Creek Golf Course in Roswell, Ga., to be among 31 golfers competing for two spots in the U.S. Open to be played June 12-15 at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.
Overcoming a slow start, Kaufman calmly put together a first round total of 67, thanks to seven birdies. He followed that with a second round 75 to finish runner-up in the event and qualify for a shot at America’s greatest golf prize.
“It’s all sunk in,” said Kaufman in answer to an obvious question when contacted last week. “The excitement of qualifying has settled down, and now I’m focused on playing my best golf.”
Kaufman has never played Pinehurst No. 2 but had already done his research days before heading north.
“It’s clearly going to be an advantage to stay in the fairways,” he said. “And the greens are hard to hit. Just like any U.S. Open course, it will be a great test of golf.”
Kaufman, who left for Pinehurst last Sunday, feels like his game is at its peak.
“I’ve been playing pretty well for a while,” he said. “I have to keep working to make sure all facets of my game remain sharp. I’ve played well. Playing in the NCAA and SEC tournaments were pretty big stages, but of course this is a whole new challenge.”
As always, this year’s Open will be a Who’s Who of golf, as almost all of the world’s top professionals will be competing. While Kaufman has followed many of their careers since his childhood, he said he couldn’t allow himself to get overly star-struck.
“Sure, it’s going to be pretty cool to be out there with guys that I’ve watched on television almost my entire life,” he said. “But I have to concentrate on my own game. It’s important not to get caught up in playing against the other guys. I have to play my best, and the rest will take care of itself.”
Kaufman admitted he might get a case of the butterflies in his stomach before his first tee-off. “There might be a little of that,” he said. “But once I get on the tee, I’ll be too busy thinking about what needs to be done to worry about anything else.”
A lack of supportive fans won’t be a problem for Kaufman as he plays in his first major championship. He comes from a golfing family. His grandfather Alan is a former golf coach at UAB, and his father Jeff was a standout golfer at Vestavia and LSU in the 1980s. Additionally, Kaufman’s brother Luckie will serve as his caddy at Pinehurst.
“My family and friends are all scrambling for tickets and ways to get up there (to Pinehurst),” he said. “They’ve always been supportive of me, but this is an even bigger deal than in the past.”
Kaufman earned his degree in marketing from LSU last month, so for the moment at least golf can have his full focus.
“I was always thinking I would remain an amateur,” he said. “But since I qualified for the Open it might change some things.”
That decision can come later. For now, Smylie Kaufman has the opportunity of a lifetime.
