Inside a junior reporter’s dream day at the U.S. Open

OAKMONT, Pa. — Hello, friends, and happy Tuesday from the U.S. Open!

I’m not going to lie, things got off to a rocky start here in Pennsylvania. I seem to have lost my glasses somewhere in the Oakmont rough, which is a bummer because I’m on the road for two weeks and need them in order to get behind the wheel. Fast forward to this morning and the hotel iron completely burned the pants I was planning to wear to the course. But then I hopped on the 7 a.m. shuttle and things started looking up (a barista station in the media center helps). I had a quick breakfast in the media center, which conveniently overlooks the range, then headed out to walk the front nine with my coworker and pal, James Colgan.

I was also slightly starstruck by the church pew bunkers and had to stop to take a quick photo.

Then it was time to meet up with Silas, the Sentry First Tee junior course reporter, to show him the ropes for the day. Silas is a 10-year-old from the area who is a self-proclaimed “sports nerd” and just had the perfect day at Oakmont.

The range

After our introductions and getting mic’d up, Silas and I headed to the range so he could watch players warm up and ask them a few questions along the way. It was his first time inside the ropes at a golf tournament and he was in complete awe. A security guard by the range lifted up the rope so he could walk underneath, and getting to bring people inside the ropes is always a highlight of the job for me, because it reminds me just how cool this job is. This is my fourth U.S. Open, so sometimes I forget just how unusual it is to have a gig where you get to walk right up to the best players in the world and watch them hit balls.

Silas came prepared for the day, too. He had over 40 questions typed out and taped into his notebook and looked like a seasoned veteran out there as he asked Michael Kim, James Nicholas, Aaron Rai and JT Poston’s caddie Aaron Flener two questions each. He decided to ask one light-hearted, fun question and one more serious. I remember feeling like my heart was going to explode and speaking with a shaky voice the first few times I interviewed a pro, but if Silas was nervous, he hid it incredibly well. After each interview, he’d shake the player’s hand and thank them for their time.

The walk and talk

Next up we headed over to the first tee so Silas could do a walk-and-talk interview with Gary Woodland. Woodland was playing alongside Keegan Bradley and Brian Harman, and that trio could not have been more kind. Silas walked the hole with Woodland, asked him a bunch of questions including the highlights of his career, his favorite foods and what he thinks of the course.

Soon, the two were chatting about their shared love of basketball and the NFL. The group invited Silas up on the green to hit a few putts and he got to see first hand just how fast the greens are rolling here at Oakmont. I was already a fan of Woodland, but seeing how engaged he was with Silas made me an even bigger one.

The press conference

Silas had four goals for his day at Oakmont. First was to have a great breakfast. Next was to get Rory’s autograph. Third was to go inside the ropes, and fourth was to meet Bryson DeChambeau. By the end of our day together, it was time to check his fourth and final goal off the list. We headed over to DeChambeau’s 2 p.m. press conference, sat in the front row and waited for Silas to be called on. He got the last question of the presser and here’s how the interaction went:

Silas: You have successfully reinvented the game of golf in so many different ways, both on and off the course. How do you want to be remembered?

DeChambeau: What a great question, first off. Great job. Second off, I hope that I can inspire kids like yourself who will become a gentleman one day, kids like yourself to play golf, understand how great this amazing game is for developing relationships, and hopefully inspire to play professionally and come out here and compete for a U.S. Open. That’s my goal. That’s what I hope a lot of us are here to do, but I know it’s what I want to do. So hopefully I can do that for you and all your peers.

After the press conference ended, DeChambeau walked right up to Silas, shook his hand and told him what a great job he did. Silas was beaming, and I was once again reminded just how lucky I am to be out here doing this job.

The article

Silas is going to write an article for the August issue of GOLF Magazine, so keep an eye out for that. At the end of the day, we headed back to the media center to put together an outline for the story he’ll write on his experience as a Sentry First Tee junior course reporter. We talked about accomplishing each item on his bucket list for the day, all of the players he met and how he felt. Silas reported that he felt grateful, inspired and excited, which pretty much sums up my emotions at major championships.

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