What's it like to be an amateur golfer at one of the sport's greatest events?

CNN

a day ago

Ask any golf fan about their sporting dream and you can almost guarantee that it's teeing off on the first hole of Augusta National at the Masters.
As he finalizes his preparations for this week's US Open, that's the dream self-described 'golf fanatic' Justin Hastings realized back in April when he made his major championship debut at just 21 years of age.
A monumental day in any golfer's career, Hastings' maiden Masters appearance was made all the more special by the fact that he did so as an amateur, just one of five invited to compete at this year's tournament.
Having claimed the spoils at the Latin America Amateur Championship earlier this year, the San Diego State student secured himself a spot to compete at the world's most famous course.
Hastings' victory at the Pilar Golf Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina in January also earned him a spot at this year's US Open at Oakmont Country Club, where he will be bidding to again emerge top of the amateur leaderboard as he did at Augusta.
The sport's biggest names all descend upon the hallowed grounds of Augusta National every April, each with the goal of etching their name into the record books and claiming the game's most coveted prize: the green jacket.
Hastings says he 'learned so much' from competing at the Masters and enters the US Open with more belief in his game than ever before.
But how does an amateur deal with the intense media spotlight, having to play alongside legends of the sport and also navigate one of the toughest courses on earth all at the same time?
'The key might sound simple,' an assured Hastings recently told CNN Sports. 'You just need to focus on your own game, control what you can control and the score will look after itself.'
Despite the confident sounding answer, the collegiate athlete also admitted that it took time for him to follow his own advice.
Arriving at Augusta at the start of Masters week, that first turn down the picturesque Magnolia Lane brought up a host of evocative childhood memories for the 21-year-old.
Playing golf since the age of eight, the obsession with the Masters runs deep for Hastings, who revealed that he was so enamored by the event from an early age that he used to fake being sick on the morning of the opening round in an attempt to get the day off school.
'The Masters was always the tournament for me. It's just on a different level,' Hastings said. 'I really felt that way even more as a kid. So, every time Masters Thursday rolled around, I happened to be sick so I could stay at home in front of the television.
'My parents finally caught on after two or three years and it then just became a thing in my household that Masters Thursday was going to be a family holiday.'
It was this love of the Masters which resulted in a bout of nerves Hastings had never previously felt on a golf course as he teed off for his opening practice round on the Tuesday.
'All that kept going through my mind was to not hit anyone,' Hastings said. 'The jitters were certainly there that first day, but I guess that just goes to show how special the entire event and the pageantry which surrounds it is.'
Those practice round nerves, however, were a key part to the amateur's strong display during the real thing. Shooting a respectable 76 in the first round, Hastings produced an impressive 72 on the Friday before ultimately just missing out on the cut by two strokes.
'Having felt those nerves earlier in the week, I knew what to expect by the time Thursday rolled around and it gave me a reference point for how to deal with and manage them,' he said.
Averaging 2.3 million viewers for the first round alone and attracting crowds of over 10,000 people in person each day, the Masters dwarfed the Caymanian's previous tournament outings by some distance in terms of fanfare.
'It was unlike anything I've ever dealt with before. It was quite surreal at stages to be honest,' Hastings said. 'At the same time though, it was great motivation. I want to be playing in front of these big crowds every week, that's part of the dream and you have to embrace it.'
One could be forgiven for thinking that amateurs competing at the Masters might be an afterthought for tournament organizers who are trying to cater to the needs of golf's household names.
But this couldn't be further from the truth, according to Hastings, who said he was made to 'feel like royalty' by everyone at Augusta.
'They've got such a deep respect for you. Maybe not in the same way they think of a big name competing for the green jacket, but they appreciate how far you've come as an amateur to be able to qualify for a professional tournament of such stature,' he said.
'I really felt like I was put up on a pedestal for the time I was at Augusta. From the dinner they put on Tuesday night for the amateur qualifiers to the access they gave us to the former champions, I can't thank them enough.'
Rubbing shoulders with greats of the game, Hastings added that his expectations were surpassed and then some: 'It was a once in a lifetime experience and one I'll never forget. I even got the chance to play nine holes with (2018 Masters winner) Patrick Reed.
'We talked a lot and his advice to me was to just play my own game. He had the same situation where he had played tour events as an amateur.
'He told me not to try to copy what I saw the professionals doing, that my game was what got me here so to stick to what I know best.'
Paired off with another former champion in Dustin Johnson and veteran Canadian Nick Taylor for the first and second rounds, Hastings got further opportunity to seek some sage wisdom.
Perhaps his favorite moment of the week at Augusta though was the chance to lodge at the Crow's Nest, one of the golf club's most revered amenities.
'It was a real 'pinch me' moment. If only the walls could talk in that place. The history and prestige around it is incredible,' Hastings said. 'I find it very cool that now I'm able to add my name to the list and be alongside some of golf's greats who have also stayed there.'
Amid this major mayhem, the rigors of everyday student life have managed to keep Hastings' feet planted firmly on the ground. Leading up to the Masters, the San Diego State student was tasked with completing his end-of-degree final exams.
'Some days, it can be mentally tough to keep going, but at this level, it's what you have to do,' said Hastings. 'Getting up at 6 a.m. to make it to the gym before class and then spending hours after study practicing until the sun goes down – you do those things because you love the grind and the sport.'
Having graduated college and with the Masters experience behind him, Hastings' attention now turns this weekend's US Open at Pennsylvania's Oakmont Country Club, for which he has also qualified.
The third of golf's four major championships, the tournament represents a chance for the amateur to apply his Masters learnings and compete on the biggest of stages once more.
'I learned so much at the Masters, but the biggest takeaway for me was that it reinforced my self-belief and that I have the quality to go there and hang with these big names,' Hastings said.
'I definitely felt the pressure of trying to make the cut on the back nine of the Friday and feel like I performed well to give myself a shot.
'So I'm heading into the US Open trying to take all that confidence and remember that my game is already solid enough to have gotten me to this point. I need to have the conviction that I'm going to succeed.'
In a similar vein to Augusta, Oakmont is famed as being one of the hardest courses, producing few low scores. But this is a challenge that the 21-year-old is relishing: 'My social media algorithm is filled with videos of people saying how tough the rough is to deal with and how the winning score will be over par.
'That just gets me excited to go out there and prove that I can hang with the best in the world on such a difficult course.'
Ahead of the US Open, Hastings actually traveled with his caddy to Oakmont to play two practice rounds and familiarize himself with the intricacies of the course.
He hopes that the added effort – along with his Augusta experiences – can propel him past the cut line on this occasion, but at the same time Hastings isn't gunning for any exact spot on the leaderboard.
'I try not to set position goals and just focus on what I can control,' he said. 'If you focus too much on other players and chasing down their scores, that's when you lose your own focus on the basics of your game.'
'I'm going there full of confidence and not ruling anything out,' Hastings added. 'I'm excited to show what I can do and to see where I end up.'