COMMENTARY
Golfer puts on a show at Jr. Masters
Anthony Burdi was 29 holes into medal play at the International Junior Masters on Wednesday and it had hardly been worth the trip from suburban Chicago. He sat 14 over par. He was coming off consecutive bogeys. His chances of qualifying for the championship flight were vanishing quicker than federal bailout money.
But then Burdi hit a solid drive on his 12th hole of Wednesday morning, the 500-yard par-5 third at East Aurora Country Club. He followed that with a 5- wood to 4 feet. And when he cashed the putt for eagle little did he know that one of the greatest reversals of fortune in Junior Masters history is just beginning to blossom for the 17-year-old high school senior.
Burdi finished his round with a 4- over 75, good enough to get him into an eight-man shootout for the 32nd and last spot in the championship flight, although he was soon to wonder if he belonged. He marveled as fellow competitors pulled out irons to attack the opening hole of the playoff, the 240-yard par-3 fourth. But after five shooters the green was still open as he stepped to the tee, hefty 3-wood in hand, which he hit to 15 feet.
He eyed the putt and told himself, “Do not leave it short. If I make it, great. If I miss it, make sure it’s a tap-in.”
And when the ball found the cup life was good, at least for the moment, until Burdi realized that his prize for surviving this one-hole cavalry charge was a match with Daniel Zuluaga of Colombia, the 36- hole medalist at 2-under-par 140.
“Honestly? Honestly? I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m beating this kid,’ ” Burdi said. “He’s a phenomenal player. He shot 69 already today. I was like, ‘All right, let’s go home.’ ”
The duel begins according to form, with Zuluaga winning the opening hole while Burdi plods to a double-bogey. Observers speculate the match won’t come close to going the distance. And they end up being dead right. For all the wrong reasons.
A birdie at the second hole draws Burdi back to even. Birdies on Nos. 3 and 5 have him a wary 2-up. By the end of the front nine he’s leading by four holes and daring to think, for the very first time, that maybe, just maybe, he can win this thing. And to think, after Tuesday’s opening round 80 he had to leapfrog 17 players just to make it to the championship flight.
The only certainty in match play is that there are no certainties. East Aurora’s Kyle Kapturowski was down four holes early and three with three to play before winning on the 20th hole. Lancaster’s Austin Nowak went from 2-down with four to play to dormie with one to play before winning on the 19th hole. A match can swing on one bad shot, one lipped-out putt, one bounce of fortune or misfortune.
Not that Burdi has any experience at this. “I’ve never done match play in my life,” he confided, adding that his father, Vito, designs his summer schedule and then tells him when to pack.
Maybe his ignorance on the vagaries of match play explains why Burdi never wavered, never gave Zuluaga a sniff of momentum. Maybe ignorance really is bliss. Because this match ended on the 14th hole, when Burdi made his fifth birdie, the capstone of a resounding 5 and 4 victory by a player who, oh about three hours earlier, was thinking he’d be headed back to Chicago by nightfall.
The pressures of match play? They’re nothing, Burdi insists, when compared to the pressures of stroke play, when a bad hole can haunt you for the rest of the tournament.
“There’s less stress on you in match play,” he said. “All you have to do is try and beat your opponent instead of beating the golf course. I did better match play than I did on the course. I surprised myself today.”
Along with everybody else.
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