Congressional Roll Call
6/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
June 7, 2011
The big news in golf circles Tuesday was the announcement that Tiger Woods withdrew from the 2011 U.S. Open Championship because of knee and Achilles injuries. The buzz on the Rice University campus was the name of his replacement.
In its release announcing Woods' withdrawal Tuesday, the United States Golf Association press release announced recent Rice University graduate Michael Whitehead will fill the open slot for the championship which begins next week at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.
"I am very, very excited," Whitehead said after learning the news.
Just a day earlier, Whitehead experienced one of the lows of being a professional golfer.
He birdied three of the final four holes of regulation play at the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier in Dallas that put him into a three-player playoff to determine the final two golfers to advance from the sectional and play in the Open. Through 36 holes of golf Monday Whitehead was at four-under for the tournament with a two-round score of 136 (68-68).
But Whitehead would be the odd man out of the playoff Monday evening and settled on being the first alternate out of the qualifier.
"After 11hours on the golf course, you're exhausted but you have to go back out there and forget about that," he said. "Unfortunately, I didn't play very well in the playoff. Afterwards, the other two players (professionals Harrison Frazar and Greg Chalmers) had some nice words. You learn to deal with it and I had made peace with it."
Then today, at about the same time the Woods' announcement was made, Whitehead was receiving word from the USGA asking if he would still be interested in playing in the championship.
"It's kind of crazy," Whitehead said of being Woods' replacement.
"We are disappointed that Tiger Woods, a three-time champion, will not be able to play in the 2011 U.S. Open," USGA Executive Director Mike Davis said in a statement released Tuesday. "We completely understand that he is not fully recovered from his injuries and we wish him a speedy recovery. The excitement that he generates will be missed, but the Blue Course at Congressional Country Club will surely provide an excellent test for the 156 world-class players in the field of this national championship."
Whitehead, the 2011 Conference USA Player of the Year, can certainly count himself in that number. He will leave for the Washington, D.C., area this weekend.
Players Mentioned
