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Adam Schenk on the range at Oakmont on Saturday evening.
Darren Riehl/GOLF
OAKMONT, Pa. — At just after 8 p.m. Saturday, only two players were left on the range on Oakmont Country Club. On the far left side of the hitting bays, near the short-game practice area, was Viktor Hovland, who after an even-par 70 that had within three of Sam Burns’ 54-hole lead, was desperately trying to dial in his driver swing with his coach, Grant Waite.
The range’s other occupant, about a dozen bays down from Hovland, was 33-year-old Adam Schenk, who this week is playing in his fourth U.S. Open.
Schenk, who had carded a third-round 76, wasn’t hitting balls — he was throwing them: one high, arcing lob at a time toward a flagstick set in a green about 75 yards away. When Schenk’s turn was done, his caddie, Brett Swedberg, stepped in and tossed a few balls of his own at the target. And so it went, with some of the better efforts drawing oohs and aahs from a couple dozen fans in the grandstand.
What was going on here?
Just a creative money game (think golf meets cornhole), to blow off a some steam after the grind of 54 holes on the toughest golf course you could ever want to play.
Schenk said he and Swedberg typically play the ball-toss game once a week at tournaments, or once every other week, and sometimes will get other players and caddies to join. An ace — i.e., a toss that finds the bottom of the hole — is worth $100; hitting the flag is good for $50; and hitting a ball on the green with a lawn-bowling-style roll earns you $20. “Start with five balls and if you get three out of five, you get a $20 bonus,” Schenk told me on the range. “You can make up the rules as you go.”
Every range has its own character. Schenk said the lower range on the practice facility at the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands provides a particular challenge when rolling balls to the target. “The ball’s always changing direction with the divots,” he said. “It’s amazing how many balls can be out there, and you’re rolling them and you’re missing them all.”
The most Schenk has collected off his looper in a single game?
About $400 or $500, he said. And the result of his Saturday-evening showdown at the U.S. Open? Schenk deferred to his caddie for the final accounting.
“Square,” Swedberg said.
As of this writing, Schenk was five over through 16 holes in his fourth round, and 15 over for the week, tied for 52nd.
