watch out. Uihlein is familiar to most acute local golfers and fans for his runner-up finish at last summer’s Porter Cup. He recently won the Georgie Cup challenge against reigning British Amateur champ Jin Jeong by 4 & 2 (he skunked JJ at the Porter Cup, let it be known.)
Uihlein won the US Amateur at Chamber’s Bay last August. CB is not your typical golf course. If you’ve played Seneca Hickory Stick in Lewiston, you’ve played a course by the same architect, the Robert Trent Jones II firm. In the championship match, Uihlein gained victory over David Chung, the lad who squeaked by him for victory at Niagara Falls Country Club last July. They are both at the top of their game.
Uihlein has all the potential for a Matt-Kuchar performance at The Masters. It was Kuchar who finished 21st in 1998 with an even-par, 288 effort. Kuchar’s third round 68 caught the attention of many and thrust him into the amateur spotlight that Bobby Jones always hoped would be present at Augusta during Masters’ week (don’t get me started on that topic!)
I’ve a seventh sense about Uihlein this year. I think so highly of him that I’m going to select him with one of my Yahoo Fantasy Golf slots…if anyone else in the 48-team league picks him, I’ll be stunned.
Even if Uihlein doesn’t make news in April in Georgia, he’s a shoo-in for the Walker Cup team next Fall. I watched him in 2009 at Merion Golf Club in Philadelphia, as he led the USA team to victory. The lad is over 6 feet tall, strong as bull (or Cabrera) and possessed of a short game and putting stroke of lore. If he stays on track, he’s a special one.
