July 29, 2006
By RON BALICKI, Golfweek Senior Writer
From Golfweek.com
LEWISTON, N.Y. - At 19, Seung-Su Han may be young in years, but he is definitely showing signs of being able to play like a veteran, especially in terms of getting the most out of your game when all things are not going right.
That's exactly what he did from start to finish this week at the 48th Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club.
And that's why shortly after he sank his final par putt on the 18th green July 29 for his third consecutive 2-under-par 68 to go with his opening 66, the sophomore at UNLV was donning the traditional green blazer as the latest Porter Cup champion.
With his 10-under 270 total, Han posted a two-stroke victory over Canada's Andrew Parr, a recent graduate at Texas A&M, and Skip Berkmeyer, Jr., a 32-year-old from St. Louis, Mo.
"This is very special," said Han, who earlier this summer tied for second at the Sunnehanna Amateur. "I've worked hard to get to this. It seems I've had a lot of second-place finishes in tournaments so to finally break through, and in a big tournament like this against some of the best players around, is very pleasing."
Berkmeyer, whose competitive golf is pretty much limited to the Missouri area, shared the lead with Han at 8 under going into the final round. After making the turn in 3-under 32, he held a three-stroke lead. But three bogeys on the back side led to a even-par 70. Still, it gave him his best finish in a national-caliber tournament.
"On one hand I'm disappointed because I had a chance to win," said Berkmeyer, who is co-owner, with his father, in an awards/trophy company in St. Louis. "On the other hand, I had a great week and I tied for second in a major amateur tournament. I've never been in this position (co-leader going into the final round) against this kind of field, so I'm pleased with the way I handled myself.
"I truly don't feel I lost the tournament, but rather Seung-Su won it," he said. "I may have left a little crack, but he pushed the door open. He played very well and is a deserving champion."
Parr made a late surge toward the title, making three birdies on the back nine, including a crowd-pleasing 40-footer on the final hole for a 67.
Finishing at 7-under 273 were Colt Knost, a senior at SMU who had the day's best round with a 4-under 66, and Gary Woodland, a senior at Kansas, who closed with a 67.
Next at 3-under 277 were Jon McLean, a sophomore at TCU, and a pair of mid-amateurs from West Des Moines, Iowa: Mike McCoy, a semifinalist at last year's U.S. Mid-Amateur, and Gene Elliott, the 1998 Porter Cup champion.
For Han, it was a week that saw him make birdies from just off the green and two from greenside bunkers. It was a week where, at times, he had some wild shots, but always managed to stay in control of the situation.
"I didn't hit the ball all that great this week, but I was able to get up and down, stay calm, and find a way to get it done," said Han, the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year. "There were times when I got lucky, but there were also times when I hit some pretty good shots and I make a lot of putts. Right now it feels like everything, all the work I've done, has paid off."
Han said with a share of the lead going into the final round the key was being able, "to stay confident, stay calm and give myself a chance to make some birdies. Fortunately I made some putts when I needed to."
The bottom line is that Han did what he had to do under the pressure and circumstances when he had to do it.
That shows a sign of maturity and in this case, it also put his name on a championship trophy along with those like David Duval, John Harris, Allen Doyle, Deane Beman, Ben Crenshaw, Vinny Giles, Jay Sigel, Scott Simpson, John Cook, Scott Verplank, Robert Gamez and Phil Mickelson.
Final results with relation to par from the Porter Cup, played July 29 at the par-70, 6,621-yard Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston, N.Y.:
1. Seung-Su Han 66-68-68-68--270 -10
2. Andrew Parr 68-69-68-67--272 -8
2. Richard Berkmeyer Jr. 66-70-66-70--272 -8
4. Colt Knost 69-67-71-66--273 -7
4. Gary Woodland 69-64-71-69--273 -7
6. Jon McLean 73-67-69-68--277 -3
6. Mike McCoy 70-70-65-72--277 -3
6. Gene Elliott 70-68-71-68--277 -3
9. James Vargas 69-72-70-67--278 -2
9. Andrew Tampion 71-70-70-67--278 -2
9. Julien Guerrier 72-69-70-67--278 -2
9. Trip Kuehne 70-68-72-68--278 -2
13. Clay Ogden 70-69-73-67--279 -1
13. Brendan Gielow 72-66-68-73--279 -1
15. Arnond Vongvanij 69-72-71-68--280 E
15. Rick Kulacz 73-67-71-69--280 E
15. David May 69-71-70-70--280 E
18. Darin Newhouse 73-69-68-71--281 +1
18. Bob Niger 72-72-67-70--281 +1
18. Matt Thomas 69-72-71-69--281 +1
18. Webb Simpson 68-72-73-68--281 +1
18. Dawie van der walt 74-71-67-69--281 +1
18. Jamie Lovemark 74-66-70-71--281 +1
18. Trent Leon 71-71-67-72--281 +1
18. Steve Dartnall 68-73-68-72--281 +1
26. Jonathan Moore 71-72-69-70--282 +2
26. Rory Hie 70-71-68-73--282 +2
26. Josh Geary 74-68-64-76--282 +2
26. Daniel Im 70-73-68-71--282 +2
30. Erik Flores 77-68-69-69--283 +3
30. Tyler Leon 74-68-70-71--283 +3
30. Dustin Johnson 74-67-69-73--283 +3
30. Ashley Hall 73-70-67-73--283 +3
34. Will Dodson 70-71-68-75--284 +4
34. Justin Regier 67-70-71-76--284 +4
34. Joseph Bramlett 70-70-73-71--284 +4
34. Jim Roy 71-71-71-71--284 +4
34. Tim Stewart 72-71-72-69--284 +4
34. Shawn Hall 72-71-73-68--284 +4
40. Billy Horschel 67-76-69-73--285 +5
40. David Patronik 73-71-71-70--285 +5
40. Julien Grillon 77-70-70-68--285 +5
40. Richard Scott 70-70-73-72--285 +5
40. Brian Carroll 72-74-67-72--285 +5
45. Mark Purser 71-73-70-72--286 +6
45. Jamie Miller 75-71-72-68--286 +6
45. Dan Walters 71-70-75-70--286 +6
45. Jarred Texter 74-68-73-71--286 +6
49. Tripp Davis 74-71-72-70--287 +7
49. Wonjoon Lee 73-72-70-72--287 +7
49. Tristan Lambert 71-73-73-70--287 +7
49. Matt Harmon 70-73-72-72--287 +7
49. Tommy Wiegand 75-70-73-69--287 +7
54. Stephen Goodridge 72-75-72-69--288 +8
55. Terrence Miskell 73-77-70-69--289 +9
55. Nick Morreale 73-74-72-70--289 +9
55. Jason Kokrak 73-72-69-75--289 +9
58. Jon Curran 72-74-69-75--290 +10
58. Phillip Mollica 73-72-72-73--290 +10
58. Cole Isban 74-71-76-69--290 +10
61. Jake Grodzinsky 72-74-70-75--291 +11
61. Michael Barbosa 73-71-74-73--291 +11
63. Jake Ellison 72-74-77-69--292 +12
63. Alan Hill 77-72-74-69--292 +12
63. Jamie Arnold 73-71-75-73--292 +12
66. Jim Lehman 74-74-72-73--293 +13
66. Henry Liaw 72-76-72-73--293 +13
66. Buddy Marucci 75-73-73-72--293 +13
66. Chris Wilson 74-74-72-73--293 +13
70. Donnie Troy 71-76-77-70--294 +14
71. Peter Sauerbrei 80-71-70-74--295 +15
71. Andrew Dodt 76-73-69-77--295 +15
73. Christopher Covelli 79-74-74-77--304 +24
74. Michael Morrison 78-79-76-75--308 +28
75. Miguel Cabrera-Bello 85-76-76-73--310 +30
