Folks are always saying it's amazing what kids are doing with golf clubs these days.
I'm a believer, a convert.
I had to look no further than the Utah Open being staged today through Sunday at Oakridge Country Club. That's where I ran into three teens at a pro-am, kids who barely drive cars but can drive a golf ball deep into the horizon. It was sick.
Meet Patrick Fishburn, Devon Purser and Arman Ben-Jacob. These guys can play. Their landing zones during a pro-am round earlier this week were the last sprinklers in the turf before the green.
This trio will be on display this weekend after earning spots in the Open, staged by the Utah Section of the PGA.
On the No. 6 uphill 490-yard par-5, Fishburn's drive rocketed 390 yards and the choice for approach was a sand or lob wedge. Purser consistently hit it 25 yards behind Fishburn, usually right down the middle. Ben-Jacob was right in his pocket 300 to 310 yards.
Call it flexibility, label it timing or skill, but these guys were scary long. When they hit the ball, you could hear it compress. They drove it so long, par-4s turned into half lob wedge or chipping contests.
They nonchalantly strolled to hit their second shots. Pros stood nearby, shaking their heads.
On some par-4s, these guys waited for the foursome ahead of them to clear the green. And then it was bombs away. Move over John Daly. Incoming ... incoming.
It was a display worth witnessing. I wonder what they can do when they're 20 and a little more mature.
"When we took over this event six years ago, we wanted to put our local Utah talent on display," said Utah Section executive director Scott Whitaker. "This is an open and we want top players from around the country and region to play, but we also want our local talent to have an opportunity. And in conjunction with the Junior Utah Golf Association, we've made spots open to our juniors."
This year, says Whitaker, don't be surprised if one of these guys makes the cut.
Fishburn is 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds and is the starting point guard for Fremont High's basketball team. He packs a six-degree, extra-stiff driver that he can consistently hit 370 yards.
"I can get it 380 if I really pump one," said Fishburn, who turned 17 on July 21.
Purser, at 6-2 and 205 pounds, owns a 7.5 degree Ping G10 that he hits high and long to 300-310 yards. Purser is 16 years old until Oct. 7. His mom says he and Fishburn are like two peas in a pod — they're funny, they know how to relax and have fun. Both are being pursued (watched by college recruiters at tournaments).
The NCAA prohibits direct contact to these underclassmen, but when they play you can see recruiters follow them wearing their school colors, and those coaches include top programs from the Pac-10 and Big 12. Both say they're interested in playing at BYU.
"Pat and I have fiddled around a lot with the degree loft on our drivers, trying to get it right," said Purser.
Believe me, it's right.
Ben-Jacob, 6-0 and 200, is quiet as a church mouse, maybe even a little shy. He's smart enough to have skipped the sixth grade and only turned 15 on June 3.
He is a killer putter and consistently drives the ball 300 yards. On this day he played a brand new driver, a Callaway FT9 he'd just got that day. He cracked the face in several places on his old one.
If anything, watching these guys drive the ball was humbling. They had power, raw, unbridled explosiveness.
It was fun to witness. Kind of made you feel like they were splitting atoms or something.
e-mail: dharmon@desnews.com
Junior golf profiles
Patrick Fishburn
1st Preview at the Ledges
1st Southern Utah Jr.
T5 Junior World Qualifier
Quarterfinals of Utah State Jr. Match Play
2nd Optimist International Qualifier
1st U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier
1st Utah Jr. Open/Big I Qualifier
4th Salt Lake City Jr.
1st Utah Jr. Stroke Play Championship (Utah Open Qualifier)
Member of Utah's Hogan Cup Team
1st in Johnny Miller Player Performance Points (1,620 pts) Stroke average: 70
Devon Purser
Utah Junior Match Play Champion
3 Top 5 finishes in the Johnny Miller Division tournaments
3 Top 10 Finishes in the Johnny Miller Division tournaments
Won the Junior Golf Connection's Utah Open Qualifier
Member of Utah's Hogan Cup Team
2nd in Johnny Miller Player Performance Points (1,390 pts) Stroke average: 71
Arman Ben-Jacob
Runner-up in Utah Jr. Stroke Play Championship (Utah Open Qualifier)
3 other top ten finishes in Johnny Miller Division tournaments
11th in Johnny Miller Player Performance Points (560) Stroke average: 76.5