Jones Ready for His Big Chance

Nick Jones may be in for a struggle of a lifetime during the U.S. Open golf championship, which begins next week at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.

But he views it with a positive outlook, as an opportunity of a lifetime.

Jones, 26, may crumble while playing in the presence of such luminaries as Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson. But he refuses to think that way.

“I’ve won at every level I’ve played on,” said Jones, of Los Angeles, after finishing with a three-under-par 139 to win Monday’s U.S. Open sectional qualifier at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana. “It’s just a matter of getting acclimatized at a new level.”

Hope does spring eternal for a young man -- Jones was the 2000 state amateur champion from USC -- who is finally moving on to much greener pastures, for however long that’ll be, after toiling for the last four years on the mini-tour circuit.

The situation is just as rosy for the three others who emerged -- after finishing 36 holes at two-under 140 -- with birdies from a four-player one-hole sudden-death playoff to join Jones on their first trip to the big-time. Scott Gibson of Huntington Beach, Eric Meichtry of Murrieta and Michael Ruiz of Las Vegas round out the four spots that were available from a field of 68 to qualify from this region.

“I haven’t even played in a PGA Tour event so for my first one to be a major championship is really good,” said Gibson, 31, also a mini-tour veteran.

The pressure of playing in the U.S. Open, Meichtry said, may or may not be an issue. “It’s one of the things I’ve been working on,” said Meichtry, whose wife, Angie, is his caddie. “It’s all about perspective. You can’t treat golf like this almighty thing.”

Most notable among those not advancing was Scott Simpson, another former USC star who won the U.S. Open in 1987. Simpson, 49, came without a caddie, saying with a smile, “I don’t like hearing advice or any cheerleading.”

He left with a 36-hole total of 145 that included a hole-in-one with a six iron on the 173-yard 16th. Also failing to advance were Steve Pate (142) and a couple of big-name golfers with average games: Ben Hogan -- not the Ben Hogan -- of Phoenix and Thomas Lehman --not the Tom Lehman -- of Indio.

The most dramatic matchup involved Jones and Gibson. Jones led the field with an opening-round 67, while Gibson shot a two-over 73. However, Gibson, who took a five-year break from golf after finishing college at Tulsa, began to gather momentum while Jones seemed to be just trying to hold on during the second round.

Having started on the 10th hole, Gibson made birdies on No. 11 and No. 18. He then birdied Nos. 1, 4, 5 and another birdie with a 15-foot putt on No. 7 tied Jones at two under par.

Jones settled down after a bogey on the 212-yard par-three No. 6 and made par until No. 9, when he made a six-foot putt to finish with a birdie and a 36-hole total of 139, which kept him alone in first place and out of the playoff.

It was his fourth time trying to qualify for the U.S. Open at a sectional and the first time that he has qualified. Of his longtime run on the mini tours -- the Spanos, Gateway, Hooters, etc. -- he reasoned that success doesn’t come overnight for most.

“Not everyone can go out and beat the world up like Tiger or Sergio [Garcia],” he said.

But, he assured, it’ll be nice to finally go out among them and give it a try.