SCALING NEW HEIGHTS : Climber, 18, Goes Up Tree Looking for Ball

On the 18th hole at the U.S. Open Saturday, Kevin Moriarty received an ovation that approached the one given Jack Nicklaus.

Moriarty, 18, of San Rafael, scampered up a greenside tree in search of a ball struck by Tommy Nakajima. He was unsuccessful, but his 100-foot climb earned applause and cheers from the throng surrounding the 18th green.

“Nakajima was looking for someone to go up and look for the ball and I said, ‘Can I go up there?’ ” Moriarty said. “It was pretty cool.”

A few minutes later on the same hole, another youngster grabbed a tee shot hit into the rough by Jim Thorpe. Under the rules of golf, Thorpe was not penalized and was allowed to play the ball from the point where it was touched.

With ABC-TV’s cameras focused on him, Moriarty climbed about two-thirds of the way up the tree and shook several branches to dislodge the ball. The ball didn’t drop, and he went a little higher, again unable to shake the ball free.

“If I had found the ball and Nakajima would’ve won the tournament, it would have been the greatest,” Moriarty said.

Nicklaus, who was playing in a group with Nakajima, was impressed by the youth’s tree-climbing ability.

“Did you see that kid climb the tree?” Nicklaus asked. “He’s obviously climbed a few trees before.”

Under golf rules, if Moriarty had shaken the ball loose, Nakajima would have had two options--place the ball back in the tree and play it from there or declare the ball unplayable and move it two club lengths from the tree with a one-stroke penalty.

Because the ball was not found, it was declared lost, and Nakajima was assessed a one-stroke penalty and forced to return and hit his second shot again.

Nakajima ended up with a double-bogey on the hole and dropped four strokes behind third-round leader Tom Watson.