Tiffany Joh said she may choose journalism as a profession if things don't work out on the golf course.
While the fourth estate would be lucky to have her, Joh is probably better suited for the local comedy club
than a newsroom.
Joh went on a wild ride last week en route to an improbable 6-and-5 victory in the U.S. Women's Amateur Public
Links Championship. Along the way, the Rancho Bernardo High grad picked up a legion of fans with her superb
shot-making, quick wit and good-natured sense of humor -- an irresistible combination in this sometimes
stuffed-shirt sport.
When talking to Joh, you can't help but smile. The 19-year-old says exactly what's on her mind, and the words
she chooses to explain her story usually come with a comedic twist.
In the latter moments of her 36-hole final match against Kimberly Kim at Walking Stick in Pueblo, Colo., on
Sunday, the magnitude of what she was about to accomplish started to take hold.
How did she react?
"On one hole I was totally in the corner of the tee box crouched in a fetal position sucking my thumb," the
walking sound bite said between bites of chow mein while waiting for a flight home Monday morning. "I was so
nervous, and when I get nervous, I just get more loud, more happy, hyper and obnoxious. I was really feeling
the heat down the stretch.
"I seriously did not know what to do with myself. I wanted to just run in the canyon, cover myself up with
sand and just hide. I kind of had a freak-out moment."
Talk about a breath of fresh air.
Joh, who will be a sophomore at UCLA in the fall, came into the USGA event with little expectations.
She had recently come off an unsuccessful attempt at qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open and was hardly
enthused with her play in the NCAA Championships. She finished in a tie for 68th place as the Bruins, ranked
second in the country at the time, finished a disappointing 11th.
While Joh shot impressive rounds of 70 and 68 to easily qualify for match play earlier in the week, the focus
at that point was on Torrey Pines High product Hannah Jun, her UCLA teammate who earned co-medalist honors at
7-under-par 137.
Even when she won her second match to get into the round of 16, Joh only mildly celebrated -- she had never
before advanced past the second round in any match-play event -- and figured everything beyond that was
gravy.
"Every match after that was just a big bonus," said Joh, who fired a career-low 63 at the 2005 ANZ Ladies
Masters and eventually tied for third. "Even if I had lost the third match, I still would have walked away a
happy camper. I didn't really have a thought process at all. Nothing was going through my head. I was just
hitting the ball, finding it and hitting it again.
"I wasn't thinking about numbers, my competitors or anything. My mind was completely blank."
It's an interesting approach to match play, which usually requires a strategy of some kind -- often one that
is reliant on what the other player is doing.
Not for Joh.
"I didn't really think anything of it," she said.
Joh was so nonchalant about the tournament, she forgot to reserve a caddy for the week. When she arrived, USGA
officials helped her wrangle up a local golfer from a nearby course. But a case of asthma forced the makeshift
caddy to give up the bag after the first round of match play. He recruited some friends from his Thursday golf
league, and by the time the event was over, Joh had been through four loopers.
"It was like WWE tag team wrestling," she said. "Seriously, they would give each other high fives and say,
'OK, you're in, I'm out.' It didn't really mess with me that much, because if you think about it, I have like
16 personalities anyway, so that's four personalities a caddy. I think I wore them out more than they wore me
out."
Joh is now the second player on her team to have a USGA title -- Jane Park won the U.S. Women's Amateur in
2004. And while her resume is quickly climbing the credibility ladder, Joh scoffs when asked if her teammates
might start looking to her as a leader.
"I don't think they'll ever look to me as a leader," she said, only half-joking. "Even when I'm a senior, I
think everyone on the team is going to be more mature than I am. (Winning) just means I don't have to take any
more (stuff) from my teammate Jane Park because now she's not the only one with a USGA championship."
Joh admits the magnitude of her accomplishment still hasn't completely sunk in. But given the way she looks at
the game -- and life, for that matter --- it may never fuss with her head too much.
That's fine with her. And us.
"Golf is a game and it should totally be fun," she said. "Things could be a lot worse. I could be in school
taking an exam."
Chip shots
The Grand Del Mar Golf Club, a high-end daily fee course formerly known as Del Mar National and Meadows Del
Mar, officially will become a private club on Saturday. The asking price for the privilege of unlimited play
at the 7,179-yard Tom Fazio design in Carmel Valley? A cool $100,000 initiation fee, plus $800 per month.
The membership will be capped at 189 to make room for guests of developer Doug Manchester's new 261-room
resort, which is slated to open in 2007.
Between members and resort guests, Grand Del Mar is looking to keep the total number of rounds to around
28,000. The 50,000-square-foot clubhouse is scheduled to open later this year.
"Doug Manchester is creating a true luxury resort destination with enhanced services and an overall golf
experience consistent with a private club," said spokesperson Marguarite Clark.
A $550,000 project to improve the bunkers will begin next month.
They said it
"Since underwater firefighting wasn't offered at UCLA, I'm currently undeclared." -- U.S. Women's Amateur
Public Links champion Tiffany Joh, when asked what she's majoring in at UCLA.
Curtis finally gets win
POTOMAC, Md. -- After making the winning putt, Ben Curtis pumped his fists and joined his playing partners
in a bow of gratitude to the volunteers and superintendents behind the 18th green.
He had reason to give thanks. After all, it took him six mostly waterlogged days to win the Booz Allen
Classic, his first title since the 2003 British Open at Royal St. George's. The Tuesday finish was the first
on the tour since the 1980 Tucson Open.
"It was just a big relief to get it done and finally get this win," Curtis said. "I've been waiting three
years for it and it finally came. We bowed to the superintendents because they did a wonderful job getting the
course ready."
But there was hardly anyone to see Curtis complete the five-stroke victory. Fans were not allowed on the
course because the tournament didn't anticipate six days of security arrangements.
Curtis began Tuesday on the 17th hole facing a 28-foot par putt, which he missed. He failed to get up and down
for par on the 18th and wound up at 20-under 264, one short off the tournament record.
Curtis, who earned $900,000, was five shots ahead of Billy Andrade (64), Padraig Harrington (66), Nick O'Hern
(67) and Steve Stricker (68).
-- Associated Press
McDowell wins playoff
SUNNINGDALE, England -- Graeme McDowell won a seven-man playoff to claim a spot in next month's British Open.
Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam and Jesper Parnevik were among those who failed to advance at the European
qualifier.
Northern Ireland's McDowell, who finished tied for 11th at last year's British Open, will start at Hoylake on
July 20 -- along with Englishmen Simon Dyson and Robert Rock, and South Africa's Richard Sterne, who
clinched the other three spots.
-- Associated Press
No Phil, Couples shines
GAYLORD, Mich. - Who needs Phil for thrills? Certainly not Fred Couples.
Fans who might have been disappointed when Phil Mickelson pulled out of the Par-3 Shootout got plenty of drama
when Couples birdied the last hole -- worth $200,000 -- to win the two-day, skins-type event with $300,000.
It was the third win in five tries in the competition for Couples, making him the only multiple winner in the
eight years the event has been played. He hiked his earnings to $1.12 million.
"I grew up on a par-3 course: Jefferson Park in Seattle," Couples said. "This is my kind of place."
Mickelson, who withdrew after his meltdown in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, earned $960,000 in the seven
previous events at Treetops Resort. Lee Trevino is the event's top money-winner with $1.39 million. Trevino
also is the only player to collect the $1 million bonus for a hole-in-one, making an ace on No. 7 in 2001.
-- Associated Press
- Marc Figueroa covers golf for the North County Times. E-mail him at marcfig@aol.com. The Golf Gallery appears
every Wednesday.
