John Huh of Crescenta Valley High gears up for first Masters appearance
John Huh was showered with plenty of accolades last season.
Huh, a 2008 Crescenta Valley High graduate, won one tournament and participated in a pair of major championships before being named the PGA Rookie of the Year.
For his impressive body of work, Huh earned the right to take part in all four major championships this season.
His first test comes Thursday, when he tees off in the 77th edition of The Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.
“I feel lucky to be included in this field and I really appreciate the opportunity to tee off,” said Huh, who will tee off at 7:12 a.m. PDT and will be grouped with Michael Thompson and John Sendon. “The best players are here and I’m just going to try to go out and hopefully put together four solid rounds.
“This course is one of a kind. My practice rounds this week were good. It’s a course that plays a little longer than some of the others and you also have to have a great short game. Right now, I feel like my game is getting better each week.”
The par-72 course extends 7,435 yards.
Huh, who helped the Falcons capture Pacific League championships in 2006 and 2007 and played briefly on the Korean Tour, has participated in 11 tournaments this season. He’s made the cut in six of them, giving him a ranking off 112th on the PGA Tour money list at $263,113. He most recently finished 72nd at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio on Sunday.
“It’s kind of hard to compare this year to last year,” said Huh, who played in the British Open and PGA Championship last season. “You are always experiencing new things and trying to get better.”
He registered a two-round score of 148 and missed the cut by five strokes at the British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England. Huh turned in a better effort at the PGA championship in which he tied for 66th and took in $15,100 after making the cut at Kiawah Island Resort Ocean Course in Kiawah, S.C.
Huh, 22, will tee off at 10:08 a.m. Friday in the second round. The tournament will wrap up Sunday with a purse of $8 million. Bubba Watson won the event last season.
