-- Golfweek
By Nick Masuda, Golfweek
SAN FRANCISCO -- In golf, there is nothing glamorous about a triple-double.
Andy Zhang -- the 14-year-old who has captivated the golf world with his historic berth into the U.S. Open -- might want to save those triple-doubles for his favorite athlete, LeBron James.
"On the first tee, I was like, 'Just please don't hit a 100-yard slice,' and I was shaking really hard," Zhang said after his round Thursday at Olympic Club.
The nerves wouldn't disappear until the sixth tee -- when he was already 8 over.
"I told him, 'You've got nothing to lose anymore. We're 8 over,’” said caddie Christopher Gold.
It seemed to work, as Zhang played the next 10 holes at even par and carded a 9-over 79. He broke 80 with a birdie from off the green at the par-4 18th, which set off a thunderous applause.
"Great round, Andy!” the fans cheered. “Great round!"
Not exactly what you thought you'd hear for a guy who currently sits in 149th place.
"(Today's round) will definitely help a lot," said Zhang. "It's something that I can never learn playing junior tournaments. The junior tournaments, I start bad with maybe a triple or double, and then I can work my way in like probably finish around 1 over or even."
The opening triple featured a drive into a bad lie in the left rough, a second shot that disappeared into bushes after hooding it, a fourth shot that came up short of the green, a pitch that he had to hit under a low-hanging tree limb and then two putts from just off the green.
As with most teenagers, it was easy to read Zhang's body language. He was a bit rattled.
ABOUT THE U.S. Open
The U.S. Open is the biggest of the 14 national
championships conducted by the USGA.
Open
to amateurs and professionals.
The USGA intends to make the U.S. Open
the
most rigorous, yet fair, examination of golf
skills, testing all forms of shot-making. The
USGA prepares the course after careful
consideration of 14 different factors.
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