Best Qualifying Story Yet; Fire Up Air Finchem Sunday!

This is now the third great story of a player from yesterday's U.S. Open Sectional qualifying and Jim Achenbach has it as did Tom Cade at USGA.org.

It seems 34-year-old Wil Collins of Albuquerque "was shadowed during every step of the 36-hole competition" by his 72-year-old teacher, Dave Walters who Achenbach says "is typical of so many PGA club professionals teaching the game in relative anonymity."

Anyway, go on and read about how Walters saw talent, detected  a kid who would have to sneak on the country club, and took him under his wing and got him course access. And a game.

Now they're headed to Merion.

Collins is the third player I know of (are there more) who is going to play this weeks debut of the PGA Tour Canada (formerly known as the Canadian Tour) in Victoria, BC. (Jesse Smith, reported on by Brendan Prunty here and MacKenzie Hughes, reported on by Kent State athletics (in his Golf Channel interview with David Marr, Hughes was so overcome by the moment and obviously so locked in that he forgot what state the US Open was in this year!).

Victoria's a long way and multiple connecting flights from Merion, but so far all three players have said in their Golf Channel interviews that they are still playing, then figuring out how to get to Philadelphia to play the biggest event of their lives.

Since this is the launch event of the PGA Tour's involvement in Canada, and the since the jet might not be busy Sunday night shipping the Commish to important meetings, how about loaning Air Finchem I or II to take these lads and their loopers from Victoria to Merion and ensure that PGA Tour Canada's best are ready to put on a good show at Merion? Just hide the Robb Reports and maybe take the hard stuff out of the refrigerator. Get them and their clubs to Philly because they're all great stories who will, uh, platform the PGA Tour Canada brand.

What say you Commissioner?