MILL CREEK — Earlier in the summer, Kyle Cornett missed out on a chance to play in the United States Open, perhaps the most prestigious golf tournament in the world.
But as a timely consolation prize, Cornett will tee off Monday in the United States Amateur, which is undoubtedly the top amateur golf event in the world.
The 20-year-old Cornett, a 2013 graduate of Jackson High School and a member of the Seattle University golf team, had rounds of 70 and 72 in a July 13 qualifier at Royal Oaks Country Club in Vancouver, Washington. His 2-under-par total of 142 placed him second and gave him one of three available spots from that qualifier into this year’s U.S. Amateur, Aug. 17-23 at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill.
The tournament, which opens with 36 holes of stroke play over two days, has a field of 312 golfers from 20 countries. The field will be cut to 64 after the second day, with those players moving on to five days of match play.
Over the years, the U.S. Amateur has been a stepping stone to the PGA Tour. Notable winners in the past few decades include John Cook, Mark O’Meara, Hal Sutton, Billy Mayfair, Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard, Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar and Puyallup product Ryan Moore.
Given the U.S. Amateur’s distinguished history, not to mention the stakes — among other rewards, the winner receives automatic entry into next year’s Masters, U.S. Open and British Open — Cornett expects to be nervous prior to his first tee shot.
“It is the biggest (amateur) tournament, so it’s not like every other tournament,” explained Cornett, who advanced through local qualifying but came up short in sectional qualifying for this year’s U.S. Open. “But you kind of have to treat it like it’s just another tournament and I’ve played lots of tournament golf. Yes, there are lots of good players, but so am I.
“If I just stay focused on my game and try not to be too in awe of (everyone else), I can play with them. … I’m always nervous on the first tee shot of a tournament, but then I get into the rhythm of the round and I’m just playing golf.”
Though he is reluctant to think too far ahead, it is impossible not to imagine the thrill of winning.
“It’d be amazing,” Cornett admitted with a smile. “But you have to take it one step at a time. You have to get through stroke play and then start winning matches. … But it’d be unbelievable.”
Cornett began playing golf at Mill Creek Country Club when he was 13 and ever since “I’ve been obsessed with golf,” he said. He would head to the golf course “every day after school, and usually stay until dark.”
He shot 100 in his initial tournament round, but within two years he broke par for the first time with a 2-under 70 at Mill Creek CC. He went on to play four years on Jackson’s varsity golf team, and in his junior season he was the Class 4A state champion. A year later he was the Snohomish County Amateur champion.
In recent years Cornett has been coached by Ryan Benzel, whom he met years ago when the latter was the head pro at Mill Creek CC. Benzel has his own experience with big tournaments, having made four appearances in the PGA Championship, one of golf’s four majors.
“This is really a huge step for him,” said Benzel, today the director of instruction at Redmond’s Sahalee Country Club. “Kyle’s been very successful at the high school level and he’s had some success collegiately with some good finishes in big events. So the next progression for him is competing at some of the bigger amateur events, whether regionally or on the national stage, and the U.S. Amateur is the ultimate. It’s the top of the pyramid for amateur golf, especially in the U.S, and to have the opportunity to compete in that national championship is what every amateur wants to do.”
Benzel has encouraged Cornett to learn in advance what he can about Olympia Fields CC, and then to arrive at the site a few days early to get even more familiar with the layout, a process that will include two practice rounds.
Once the tournament begins, Benzel said, “it’s going to take his best mental (approach) and the best managed tournament rounds of golf he’s ever played in his life. For him to play well and crack into that (match-play) grouping, that’s what it takes. … But I still want him to feel like this is any other tournament. Because if you don’t let the magnitude of the moment get to you, you have a better opportunity to succeed.”
Cornett will play two more years at Seattle U and then expects to turn pro, which “has been my goal and my dream since I fell in love with golf,” he said. He knows he needs to become more accurate with his driver, but beyond that “I have to improve every aspect,” he said. “Putt the ball better, chip better, hit the ball better.”
To succeed in pro golf, he went on, “a lot of it is mental. Just knowing how to score and being able to score even when you’re not playing well. But as long as I keep improving, I’ll be on my way.”
And in the meantime, he will head to the U.S. Amateur with confidence. In any tournament, and particularly this one, “it’s all about believing in yourself,” he said. “You just have to believe that you can do it.
“I loved what Jordan Spieth said at the U.S. Open when everybody was complaining about the greens. He said, ‘Somebody has to hold the trophy at the end of the week.’ It’s that kind of attitude where somebody’s got to win this, so why not me?”
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