CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Twelve-time West Virginia Amateur winner Pat Carter likes to think he can still make a run at another championship.
Three years removed from his last Amateur victory, the Huntington golfer will still be considered one of the favorites when the tournament starts Monday.
It used to be that Carter was hard to track down in the summer because he was somewhere playing, often trying to qualify for a national tournament.
Times have changed.
The 41-year-old family man, father of two and full-time insurance salesman hasn’t played competitively in seven weeks and says his game is a “total mystery” as he heads to The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs.
“I’ve hardly been playing at all,” Carter said. “We’re going into it blind.”
His last competition was a tournament in Pennsylvania in early June, finishing four rounds at 7-over par.
Carter once was a man of streaks, but no longer.
He missed the West Virginia Open in June for the first time in more than a decade because he was on a business trip out West.
His string of 13 straight West Virginia Golf Association player of the year awards was snapped last year by Amateur winner Tim Fisher.
Carter won the Amateur 11 times in a 12-year span and his overall total is second all-time only to Bill Campbell’s 15. His streak of 10 straight wins from 1995 to 2004 is a national record for state Amateurs.
Reaching Campbell’s win total has never been a goal of Carter’s. He’s thankful for what he’s already done.
In the last two Amateurs, Carter finished in fifth place at 3 over. He was nine strokes behind Fisher last year, including an uncharacteristic 3-over 75 on The Greenbrier course in the third round, and three strokes behind winner Anthony Reale in 2007.
“I’ve gotten away from being able to practice as much as I used to when I was a little younger,” Carter said. “My game’s not quite as sharp. You make mistakes, make a double (bogey) here or there, and the next thing you know you’re four or five shots back going into the last round and that’s pretty much the tournament.”
A new crop of players has made the leaderboard in recent years. Besides Fisher and Reale, they have included top five finishes for Bridgeport’s Justin Caroli, Chapmanville’s Michael Veres, Charleston’s Christian Brand, Bosten Miller and Matt Hicks, Kenova’s Jared Jones, Beckley’s Brandon Reece and Glen Dale’s Trent Schambach.
And Carter likes what he sees in two junior golfers from Hurricane — 2009 Junior Amateur champion Brian Anania and Aaron Barna, who finished first in one of the regional state Amateur qualifiers.
Just don’t count Carter out.
“I won’t be shocked at anything that happens. It could be good. It could be bad,” Carter said. “Hopefully I’ll have a chance to win it this year. If not, that will be OK.
“I’m going into it with pretty low expectations. If I win it, it will be a bonus.”
Golf
Fred Funk rolls to US Senior Open title
- Golf
-
-
McIlroy: Now I know I'm the best
Winning the U.S. Open last year didn't just earn Rory McIlroy his first major title, it made him believe he was ready to become the best player in the world.
-
Woods insists he’s close to regularly contending
Tiger Woods insists he is close to contending on a weekly basis, even if recent results suggest otherwise.
-
Dufner birdies way to lead at Byron Nelson
Standing over his ball in a swale behind the 18th green, Jason Dufner would have been content with a par and a spot in the big group tied for the lead in the Byron Nelson Championship.
-
Zach Johnson takes Players’ lead
After breaking 70 for the first time in seven weeks, Tiger Woods headed to the back of the practice range at the TPC Sawgrass to fine-tune his swing. That was much better than going to the clubhouse to clean out his locker.
-
McIlroy finding a balance in golf and life
Rory McIlroy went home to Northern Ireland after the Masters and left his clubs behind in Florida. He didn’t touch them again until he returned last week to start gearing up for a big summer that includes his title defense at the U.S. Open.
-
Nicklaus hasn’t forgotten his most magical shots
Now 72 years old, Jack Nicklaus jokes that he can’t remember what happened yesterday.
-
Bradley should be a lock for Presidents Cup
Until winning the PGA Championship, the coolest thing in golf that happened to Keegan Bradley during his amazing rookie season was getting a phone call from Fred Couples in May after he won his first PGA Tour event.
-
Gindlesberger leads Southern in opener
Billy Gindlesberger shot a one-over par 37 at Oakland Golf Club Tuesday to lead Southern to a season-opening tri-match win over Northern and Bishop Walsh in high school golf.
-
Those who know Woods’ game: He’s down, not out
The kid standing behind 15-year-old Tiger Woods on the tee at Torrey Pines was two years older and already a hotshot himself on Southern California’s rough-and-tumble amateur golf circuit the first time he saw the look.
-
Fowler part of 4-way tie as Woods falters
Rickie Fowler had eight birdies and an eagle to give himself another shot at winning. Adam Scott did well enough to stay in the lead. PGA Tour rookie Keegan Bradley got in on the action late.
- More Golf Headlines
-
