Golf’s U.S. Amateur Begins Today

David Eger hopes to keep his mind off work long enough to concentrate this week on his performance in the U.S. Amateur Championship.

Eger, 40, works as the U.S. Golf Association’s senior director of rules and competition. Beginning Today, though, he’ll simply be one of 312 golfers trying to earn one of the 64 spots in the match-play portion of the event.

“I’m trying to wear only a player’s hat,” Eger said. “And I’m not doing that very well. In fact, I’m not wearing either hat very well.”

Getting ready hasn’t been all that easy. On Sunday, Eger had to beg off from a practice round with two-time champion Jay Sigel because of USGA duties.

The field all had a shot at practice Monday before two days of qualifying start Tuesday at Muirfield Village Golf Club and its sister course, The Country Club at Muirfield Village. The low 64 then go on to match play.

While getting himself ready hasn’t been easy, Eger says preparing for the tournament has been rather simple. Officials have had little to do, he says.

“That’s very rare that nothing has to be tweaked,” he said. “The only thing the USGA wanted to do was not have the greens play to the firmness that those in charge of the Memorial Tournament would like to have them play.”

Mitch Voges, the 1991 U.S. Amateur winner, and Eger both played in the Memorial in June. Voges was last after two rounds (87-71-158), while Eger had rounds of 77-74 for 151 and missed the 36-hole cut by six strokes.

Voges, of Simi Valley, is ranked fifth in the country.

Based on his track record, Eger could still be a contender.

He was a member of the 1989 and 1991 Walker Cup teams, won the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 1988 and reached the 1990 semifinals of the U.S. Amateur. He missed qualifying for match play last year by one shot.

Others in the field include top-ranked amateur David Duval of Ponte Vedra, Fla.; No. 2 Justin Leonard; No. 3 Allen Doyle; and Gary Wolstenholme of Bristol, England, the defending British Amateur champion.

Duval has won the Porter Club tournament and tied for 12th in a PGA tour event in Atlanta.

Leonard, of Dallas, won the Southern and Western amateurs and tied for fourth in the NCAA.