Luck Will Have It! Aussie Curtis Wins U.S. Amateur

Lucky because even Curtis Luck is a tough name for USGA President Diana Murphy to rearrange as only she can!

Not that he cares, as Luck wins golf's most prestigious amateur title and all of the perks that go with it. He becomes the third Aussie (Travis, Flanagan) and first wearer of a manbun to win the Havermeyer Trophy.

Sure, Luck dashed hopes for a trophy ceremony Grand Slam by President Murphy, but alas, the damage on the USGA leadership front has been done.

Ryan Herrington at GolfDigest.com writes about Luck's secret weapon on the bag, dad Curtis, who kept things light, allowing for a turnaround of epic proportions.

Rather than risk doing more damage with his putter, he conceded the par putt of his opponent, Brad Dalke, and walked off 1 down.

At that moment, Luck heard a voice offer some meaningful, albeit straightforward, advice.

“OK,” said Stuart Luck, Curtis’ 46-year-old father who doubled this week as his caddie, “now we need to play some good golf.”

The brief moment of levity—“He usually likes being very obvious with his statements out on the golf course,” Curtis would say later—helped the No.7 ranked amateur in the world shrug off the stumble and re-set himself.

Jeff Babineau at Golfweek.com notes in his game story that Luck will remain an amateur to enjoy the scheduling benefits that come with the title.

Luck, who will now stay amateur, can fill out his 2017 schedule with starts at the Masters (traditionally, the U.S. Am winner gets invited), U.S. Open and British Open, as well as traditional starts in PGA Tour events such as the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Memorial.

As for holding off on turning pro? As they say back home in Australia, no worries, mate.

“It was something I always was thinking might happen,” Luck said. “I’m very happy with staying amateur.”

Herrington also wrote about a fun touch by the Oakland Hills chef Dan Vallone.