morning. Perhaps not coincidentally, Newman only trailed briefly after Andy took over the bag.
“I knew he could calm me down a little bit just by talking,” Jack said of Andy. “I just wanted somebody to talk about random stuff -- not even golf -- so that was perfect. … Having him on the bag was awesome.”
Jack’s father, Bob, avoided the overnight trip since he was already in Colorado, but he just added to the family affair.
“This is as fun as it gets,” Bob Newman said. “It’s a little surreal.”
The Iowa contingent was part of a crowd of several hundred following the final match.
Jack Newman, the No. 192-ranked amateur in the world and the 20th seed in the 64-man match play bracket, hadn’t won anything bigger than a college tournament before Saturday, but his steady play against the big-hitting Chin paid off.
“This is pretty awesome,” said the Michigan State junior, who survived 21- and 24-hole matches to get to the final. “I can’t even explain it in words. (Playing in the Masters) is a dream since I was a little kid. Now it’s finally achieved. I don’t think it’s settled in yet.”
The match was relatively even through 27 holes, with neither player holding more than a 2-hole lead. But starting in the middle of the second round, Chin started hitting some loose iron shots, and the match got away from him. He failed to hit a green in regulation on his final 10 holes, though he was just off the surface in some cases.
After being just 1 down after 26 holes, the Cal-Irvine junior lost three straight holes and four of the last seven, though he did hit a 404-yard drive on No. 12. After playing his first 26 holes in 4 under par, he dropped six shots to par over his final seven holes.
“Jack was just awesome out there, and I’m a true believer that it was just not my day,” said Chin, who said six rounds in three days, plus a touch of sickness, took its toll. Prior to Saturday, Chin hadn’t trailed in a match since Wednesday.
Newman closed out the match when Chin hit his tee shot in the water on the par-5 15th and ended up with a double bogey.
Chin failed in his bid to become just the second left-handed winner of the U.S. Publinks, joining Ralph Howe III (1988).
“I know I can play with the best amateurs in the world,” Chin said. “Rickie Fowler (the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world) is a good friend of mine and he says I can play with the top players, and I believe that.”
While Chin’s game was shaky at the end Saturday, Newman was steady throughout. He played 33 holes in 5 under par, though that includes a long conceded birdie on the green where the match ended.
“I have a lot of confidence coming out of this week,“ Newman said. “I can compete with the best. I want to be up there at the top level.“
Coincidentally, the U.S. Publinks ended on the same day 2007 champion Colt Knost held a lead in a Nationwide Tour event that could lead to him clinching his PGA Tour card for 2009.
