Red-hot Jonah Texeira cruises to U.S. Amateur semis, even if his mom can’t watch

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Michigan. – Terry Texeira is a superstitious mom who no longer will watch her son, Jonah, play golf when he is competing in match play. Unfortunately, when she has watched him in the past, the results simply haven’t gone well.
Even on Friday, when she quietly peeked out from the tall glass second-story window of the majestic Oakland Hills clubhouse for a brief moment to watch Jonah play the par-3 ninth hole down below, he made his only bogey of the day and lost the hole.

“That’s what happens,” his mom said.
But that was about the only bad news for the family. The red-hot Texeira was five up by the time he reached No. 9, and very much in command as he defeated a solid opponent in Luis Gagne (LSU), 3 and 2, to advance to Saturday’s semi-finals at the U.S. Amateur.
“Words can’t explain how I feel right now,” Texeira said afterward, speaking in the press center as his mom videotaped him from the second row. “I mean, it feels like I’m dreaming. I never thought I’d get this far. When I got here, I was an alternate, so my whole goal was just to get into match play, and then to make it this far is an absolute blessing.”
Texeira, 20, who will be a junior at USC in the fall, said regardless of what happens on Saturday when he takes on Brad Dalke (Oklahoma), this will mark his biggest accomplishment in the game.
It’s a far cry from where he was just more than two months ago when USC exited the NCAA Championship in Oregon after losing in the semi-finals to Texas. He had a swing that he couldn’t rely upon.
So he rang up Adam Porzak in San Diego, the same man who teaches former college standouts (and newly minted pros) Beau Hossler and Lee McCoy. The teacher and student made an adjustment in Texeira’s takeaway that has made a huge difference in the consistency of his ballstriking, and that confidence has spilled over into his putting, too.
On Friday, Texeira made an eagle and three birdies in his first seven holes, ambushing Gagne and jumping out to a 5-up advantage. He has made quick work of his opponents all week. One day earlier, Texeira, who has been playing with two gloves (watch out, Tommy Gainey!) closed out his matches on the 15th and 13th holes, respectively. He called his match against Gagne – who, like Texeira, got into the field as an alternate – the toughest of the four he has played thus far.

“Luis is an absolute great player,” he said. “He hits it straight. His putting and chipping is great. I was lucky enough to get off to a good start in the beginning. I made some clutch putts. I made like a 15-footer on 2, another 15-footer on 4, I made eagle on 6 and I made a 40-footer on 7 … I was like, ‘This is awesome.’ ”
He and his semi-final opponent, Dalke, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Friday, go back a few years. Texeira recalled playing with him at the AJGA Thunderbird in Arizona when Texeira was 15, with Dalke winning that week.
“He’s going to be a good match tomorrow,” he said.
Somewhere, Terry Texeira will be keeping track of the scores. You just won’t see her on the course.
“She’s always there for me,” Jonah said.
Just not in his gallery. That’s OK. So far, that plan has worked out just fine at Oakland Hills.

RESULTS
ROUND OF LAST SIXTEEN
players from USA unless stated otherwise
D Meyer bt Sam Horsfield (England) at 19th
N Carlson bt K K Limbhasut (Thailand) at 19th
S Theegala bt J Niemann (Chile) 3 and 1.
C Luck (Australia) bt C Young 6 and 4
J Texeira bt R Dunde 6 and 5
L Gagne bt J stanger 3 and 1
David Boote (Wales) bt C Morikawa 2 and 1.
B Dalke bt B Baumgarten at 19th.

QUARTER-FINALS
Carlson bt Meyer 3 and 1
Luck (Australia) bt Theegala 2 holes
Texeira bt Gagne 3 and 2.
Dalke bt Boote (Wales) 3 and 2.

Labels: Amateur Men

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Welshman David Boote beaten in Michigan quarter-finals

Red-hot Jonah Texeira cruises to U.S. Amateur semis, even if his mom can’t watch

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