The rain has started to come down – again – and Kevin Phelan, who has just signed for a 71 in the opening round of the 113th US Open, takes shelter under an umbrella. No wet gear. No jacket. He is immune from the elements, comforted by the sort of round that many a tour player would have paid good money to acquire.
But money doesn’t matter to Phelan, a 22-year-old who first picked up a club at Waterford Castle and who since has taken his game onto a new level in the Jacksonville area, where he attended North Florida University.
He is an amateur with his focus on doing the best he can here on the famed East Course; and with the aim of making the Britain and Ireland team for the Walker Cup later this season. After that, money will matter. He will try to come through the US Tour qualifying school at the end of the year.
For now, Phelan – who has been on the road for the past few weeks, firstly playing in the NCAA championships and then the Palmer Cup last week in nearby Wilmington, Delaware – is in the sort of zone that some seasoned players fail to find when thrown in the hurly, burly world of a Major where so much is going on.
He is surrounded by his own. His parents, Josephine and John, a former professional squash player. Also here as part of the small support group is Willie Hosey, an 11-time Irish squash champion. And, on his bag, a friend. Tyler McCumber, son of former tour player Mark. A close-knit but focused group.
Phelan’s opening round 71 here at Merion was a far cry from his first appearance in a US Open, at Pebble Beach in 2010 when he shot a first round 83. “I probably learned more from that week than the rest of my golfing career combined. That was a huge development for me, so today just stay patient, keep plodding along,” he said after his round.
Certainly, he feels comfortable in these environment. Unfazed. Focused. Patient. “My only goal this week was to hit every shot as it comes and just pay no mind to everything else that goes on, so I’ll try and keep it up,” said Phelan, who believes that playing in the Palmer Cup, where he was Europe’s top points scorer, was a help.
“It was a tough week, but it was great preparation for this week in terms of having to play a high standard of golf and having to stay patient with yourself.”
The future is mapped out as best it can. The Walker Cup, hopefully. After that, Tour school. For now, the 113th US Open is the most important thing in his golfing life. The plan? “To hit it one shot at a time.”
Phelan's opening 71 was two shots better than three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington, who signed for a 73 but lamented some poor play with wedges in his hand. Rory McIlroy missed a short putt on the 11th for a bogey, which left him on level par when play was finally called to a halt due to fading light.
England's Luke Donald rolled in a birdie putt on the 13th to move to four-under-par and assume the first round lead, a shot clear of Phil Mickelson who opened with a 67, and Masters champion Adam Scott who had completed 11 holes.
It was Donald’s last act of an interrupted round. But he wasn’t complaining. “I’ve only played two-thirds of a round but certainly that’s where you want to be,” said Donald, who birdied his last three holes from the 11th to the 13th.
Tiger Woods, who suffered a twinge to his left wrist in playing a shot from rough, was two-over through 11 holes but, after watching McIlroy miss his par putt on the 11th, opted to mark his ball overnight to finish out. Woods was two-over through ten holes.
Graeme McDowell was three-over through 13 holes but bullish. “It’s the US Open, (you’re) never out out if. I’ve just got to pull out those last six holes (remaining) really, really strong and get after it.”
