Not Even a 78 Can Ruin Bruin’s Day

Jason Semelsberger prepared to hit a sand wedge to the eighth green in the U.S. Open Thursday when it finally hit him.

He was not in Newhall anymore. He was not playing for UCLA. This was not a California Junior Amateur.

Semelsberger, an 18-year-old Bruin sophomore-to-be whose first pro tournament is this one, turned to his equally amateur caddie for the club. The caddie’s face went blank.

In the heat of the moment, his uncle, Don Semelsberger, had left the club back on the seventh green.

“So he ran back and got it while I used another club,” Semelsberger said. “What was I going to do? I was going to get it, but the marshal told me I had to play.”

And play he did, all 18 holes, surrounded by few fans and facing impending darkness. Semelsberger shot an eight-over-par 78, but he said it is a round he will never forget.

“Everything is different, I mean, everything,” said Semelsberger, who entered as an amateur through a qualifying tournament.

For one thing, Semelsberger was one of the few players not wearing a cap.

After all, no sponsor can give him one, although he says he wouldn’t have worn it anyway.

“I’m superstitious like that,” he said.

Also, he was probably the only player in the clubhouse who was stunned that somebody shined his white shoes.

“For free,” he said. “That was nice.”

Even if he doesn’t make the cut today, Semelsberger will be around on Sunday. He’ll be in the stands with his father and Uncle Don.

“They gave us tickets, and we’re going to use them,” he said. “I didn’t play well today, but it was a lot of fun.”

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Terry Noe, the 19-year-old amateur from Fullerton, finished with a 75. Noe, a sophomore to be at Long Beach State, double bogeyed the fourth when he drove into the rough and then pushed his second shot into more rough.

“Of course I was nervous,” Noe said. “I can score better than this. Hopefully I’ll make the cut.”

Another way to look at it: Noe is the last player to beat Tiger Woods as an amateur when they played in the Western Amateur, and Noe is one shot behind Woods.

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Notable among spectators along the 17th fairway was former Mighty Duck Coach Ron Wilson, now coach of the Washington Capitals.

He said he had met Brad Faxon the night before and had dinner with him because Faxon is a big hockey fan.

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Maybe it was because he had gotten lost for 90 minutes driving to dinner the night before. Or maybe it was because he was forced to eat an early lunch of beef with mushroom sauce because of his tee time.

Whatever, Dennis Trixler, the Golfing Gourmet, finished with a disappointing 74.

His round was highlighted by the day’s only eagle, when he sank a 120-yard shot on the par-five ninth hole.

But fortified by only health bars, he had two bogeys and one double bogey on the back nine to finish in a funk.

As he peered into the players’ lounge afterward, he sighed.

“Darn, they’re out of food,” he said.

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Dave Schreyer, who finished three strokes off the lead with a 68, hopes to become the first player to win a U.S. Open one week after winning a tournament on the Hooters Tour.

“Anything is possible, didn’t you know that?” said Schreyer, 30, referring to his victory in the equivalent of a Class-A minor league. “I think my game is very close.”

Staff Writer Thomas Bonk contributed to this story.