Player Profile: U.S. Mid-Amateur winner Scott Harvey
1/15/2015 | by Conner Penfold of AmateurGolf.com
see also: The Masters Tournament, Augusta National Golf Club
The Greensboro, N.C. native will get to fulfill multiple life-long dreams with an April trip to Augusta National
Winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur has its benefits,
with one in particular likely being the most
wonderful of them all.
When Scott Harvey defeated Brad Nurski 6-and- 5 at Saucon Valley's Old Course in September's 36-hole final, he had essentially punched his ticket to the 2015 Masters Tournament. But the 36-year-old, and his trusty caddy, were hard at work to block out the potentially harmful thought.
"The night before the final, I kept getting text messages and kept having all these thoughts about how if I win tomorrow, it's the Masters," Harvey said. "I turned my phone off that night and tried to block it out of my mind.
"If I can keep all that stuff blocked out of my mind, I'll be okay," Harvey told Rocky, his caddy.
Harvey said he worked so hard to not think about The Masters that when Nurski missed his putt attempting to extend the match on the 31st hole, Harvey and his caddy were too busy looking at the next hole's pin sheet to realize what had just happened.
"I remember getting to my car afterward and I had 407 text messages," he said.
"He's a good friend of mine and I want to share that experience with him," Harvey said of his caddy.
Aside from the Masters invite, winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur comes with a few other benefits that Harvey is excited about. He earned a two-year exemption to the U.S. Amateur, as well as a 10- year exemption to the Mid-Amateur. The USGA will also award him by sending him to the South American Amateur in Lima, Peru Jan. 22-25 where he'll represent the United States in a 72-hole stroke play event.
And he's now closer to his dream of making a Walker Cup team as the USGA selected him as one of 16 players to participate in a Walker Cup practice session, which took place Dec. 17-20 at Frederica Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia.
"Just to be a national champion is an honor," Harvey said. "It's icing on the cake."
Harvey says he cannot wait to watch Tiger Woods hit balls on the range, but more importantly, he's eagerly anticipating playing a practice round with Ben Crenshaw.
"My dad used to play a lot with him," Harvey said. "They would travel the country together.
"My dad always spoke fondly of him and in his email back to me, [Crenshaw] spoke so fondly of my dad so to get a chance to spend some time with a guy my dad spent a lot of time with … it'll be fun."
Harvey will be one of six amateurs in the field in 2015, including U.S. Amateur champion Gunn Yang and runner-up Corey Conners, U.S. Amateur Public Links winner Byron Meth, Asia- Pacific Amateur champion Antonio Murdaca, and British Amateur winner Bradley Neil.
When Scott Harvey defeated Brad Nurski 6-and- 5 at Saucon Valley's Old Course in September's 36-hole final, he had essentially punched his ticket to the 2015 Masters Tournament. But the 36-year-old, and his trusty caddy, were hard at work to block out the potentially harmful thought.
"The night before the final, I kept getting text messages and kept having all these thoughts about how if I win tomorrow, it's the Masters," Harvey said. "I turned my phone off that night and tried to block it out of my mind.
"If I can keep all that stuff blocked out of my mind, I'll be okay," Harvey told Rocky, his caddy.
Harvey said he worked so hard to not think about The Masters that when Nurski missed his putt attempting to extend the match on the 31st hole, Harvey and his caddy were too busy looking at the next hole's pin sheet to realize what had just happened.
"I remember getting to my car afterward and I had 407 text messages," he said.
|
"He's a good friend of mine and I want to share that experience with him," Harvey said of his caddy.
Aside from the Masters invite, winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur comes with a few other benefits that Harvey is excited about. He earned a two-year exemption to the U.S. Amateur, as well as a 10- year exemption to the Mid-Amateur. The USGA will also award him by sending him to the South American Amateur in Lima, Peru Jan. 22-25 where he'll represent the United States in a 72-hole stroke play event.
And he's now closer to his dream of making a Walker Cup team as the USGA selected him as one of 16 players to participate in a Walker Cup practice session, which took place Dec. 17-20 at Frederica Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia.
"Just to be a national champion is an honor," Harvey said. "It's icing on the cake."
Harvey says he cannot wait to watch Tiger Woods hit balls on the range, but more importantly, he's eagerly anticipating playing a practice round with Ben Crenshaw.
"My dad used to play a lot with him," Harvey said. "They would travel the country together.
"My dad always spoke fondly of him and in his email back to me, [Crenshaw] spoke so fondly of my dad so to get a chance to spend some time with a guy my dad spent a lot of time with … it'll be fun."
Harvey will be one of six amateurs in the field in 2015, including U.S. Amateur champion Gunn Yang and runner-up Corey Conners, U.S. Amateur Public Links winner Byron Meth, Asia- Pacific Amateur champion Antonio Murdaca, and British Amateur winner Bradley Neil.
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