To twist a time-honored saying, Kevin Vanden Heuvel had to go a long way to do what for some reason he couldn’t achieve a short distance from home.

After the second time the then-junior at Katy Taylor failed to qualify for the U.S. Junior Amateur golf championships at Memorial Park, Vanden Heuvel and his father decided the dream was close enough to take a drastic step. So three weeks ago, Vanden Heuvel traveled nearly 1,100 miles to play in a qualifier at Three Crowns Golf Club in Casper, Wyo.

That course bears a strong resemblance to Vanden Heuvel’s home course, The Club at Falcon Point, and it was far enough out of his comfort zone to provide a stiff test.

He passed glowingly, shooting 1-over par 145 and earning a berth into the Junior Am, July 21-26 at Shoal Creek in Birmingham, Ala.

“I’d stayed here the last two years and failed,” Vanden Heuvel said. “So we (he and his dad, Pat) sat down one day and went through the list of qualifiers and saw one in Wyoming. The course was identical to Falcon Point so I figured I’d try there.”

He reaped immediate rewards, shooting even-par 72 the first round. He birdied the first two holes of the second round – hitting a career-best 430-yard drive on No. 2 – and had a triple-bogey on No. 4 before a few wayward shots at No. 9 ended up becoming a blessing.

“I drove into the water and dropped on a side hill,” Vanden Heuvel said. “My next shot went into the water, but then I hit my next drop within 10 feet. It was one of the best bogies I ever had. Then on No. 10, I used a driver and a 9-iron within 15 feet to make eagle. I was back to even.”

He missed only three fairways the entire day – none in the first round – and shot his tournament average, 1-over 73, in the second to qualify.

“I thought my driving was phenomenal but my putting killed me from shooting a lower score,” he said.

Coincidentally, Vanden Heuvel was one of two Texans to qualify at Three Crowns – the other was Kramer Hickok of Plano.

Other area golfers in the field include defending champion Cory Whitsett, from Memorial, Strake Jesuit’s Nicko Dodd and Cy-Fair’s Jordan Rumora. Dodd finished six shots behind first-place Whitsett at the 5A state championships in May in Austin.

Katy High School’s Trey Cassity and Jimmy Elliott of Cinco Ranch are alternates.

“I’ve played with every one of those guys but Cory is superior to all of us,” said Vanden Heuvel, who hopes to play golf in Division I. Arkansas is among his closest pursuers.

The field starts with 156 golfers, then is trimmed to 64 following 36 holes of stroke play Monday and Tuesday. Then the schedule gets grueling – the remaining contestants play seven rounds in four days, including 36 holes on the final day.

Whitsett defeated Anthony Paolucci of Dallas in last year’s Junior Amateur tournament in Missouri. He has played Shoal Creek once, in February.

Whitsett won the Western Junior championship in June at St. Simons Island, Ga.

“Winning the Junior has done a lot for my confidence,” Whitsett said during last week’s Junior Amateur media day. “I don’t really get that nervous in competitions any more, except on the first tee. I put more pressure on myself right after I won and I played terrible. So I promised myself I wouldn’t do that any more.”

USGA Media Relations contributed.

Photos courtesy of Pat Vanden Heuvel.
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The schedule

Following 36 holes of stroke play Monday and July 22, the U.S. Junior Amateur field will be trimmed to the lowest 64 scorers, who advance to match play. Then the schedule is:

July 23 – First round, match play

July 24 – Second and third rounds, match play
July 25 – Quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, match play
July 26 – Final round, match play (36 holes)
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The Athlete’s Connection will provide daily updates from Birmingham, Ala. on all local participants.

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