U.S. Amateur Golf : Merion Club’s Tradition Sets This Tournament Apart

Jeff Sunday, a 33-year-old attorney, admits he does not have much chance of winning this week’s U.S. Amateur golf championship.

But he and a host of other weekend golfers will tee off today in the six-day quest for a title won by such players as Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

Sunday, of Carlisle, Pa., expressed the feelings of many of the 312 in the field before a practice round Monday.

“For me, winning is unrealistic,” he said. “It’s just a thrill to be here. I’m going to have a great time. The tradition pumps me up.”

Tradition abounds at the Merion Golf Club. In 1930, Merion was the scene of one of the United States Golf Assn.’s most memorable moments--Jones completing the Grand Slam.

In those days, the Grand Slam consisted of the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, British Open and British Amateur. Jones was the only golfer to accomplish the feat.

The amateur championships have been replaced in the Grand Slam by the Masters and PGA tournaments.

This will be the fifth Amateur at Merion, the first since 1966. The club also has been the site of four U.S. Opens, the 1954 Curtis Cup and the 1960 World Amateur Team Championship.

“That’s why a lot of guys are here, because it’s Merion,” said David Eger of Ponte Verde, Fla., a U.S. Walker Cup team member and one of the more prominent members of the field.

Phil Mickelson of Arizona State and San Diego, also a U.S. Walker Cup player, said: “This is a great course, has a lot of history. It gets you excited to come out and play.”

The two days of medal qualifying will be at two courses, with 156 players at the par-70 Merion layout and 156 at the nearby par-71 Waynesborough Country Club course.

The players will switch courses Wednesday.