Newsmakers 2007

Ams Who Amazed

By Ryan Herrington

November 23, 2007

Few things tug on the heartstrings of golf fans quite like an amateur having success in a professional event. Suffice it to say, there was plenty of tugging going on in 2007. Whether it was pint-sized teenagers playing beyond their years or collegial collegians offering a glimpse of what the future could hold, there was no shortage of golfers who, while playing for pride, proved they could flat out play. Just ask the officials on the European and Nationwide tours who found themselves scrambling earlier this year to figure out the answer to a question that had never been posed on either circuit: Can a golfer who earns a winner's trophy in one of their events but has to leave behind the accompanying first-place check at least cash in on a tour card? Sometimes when you're making history, you're also making the rules.

Tadd Fujikawa

Age: 16 / Home: Honolulu

Feat: The 5-foot-1 high-school junior was Hawaii's latest teen sensation when his second-round 66 at January's Sony Open helped him become the youngest to make a PGA Tour cut in nearly 50 years. He finished T-20, nine strokes back of winner Paul Goydos, but his performance upstaged the entire field, including fellow wunderkind Michelle Wie.

Postscript: While Fujikawa already was the youngest to play in a U.S. Open, his celebrity—and endorsement potential—spiked after Sony and a subsequent win in Hawaii's Pearl Open. By July he capitalized, turning pro to help defray expenses for his burgeoning career, yet in five PGA and Nationwide starts, he has yet to make another cut.

Photo By: J.D. Cuban

Daniel Summerhays

Age: 23 / Home: Farmington, Utah

Feat: His first-team All-American status at Brigham Young got him into the field at July's Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational, where he carded a six-under 278 and proceeded to become the first amateur to win a Nationwide Tour event.

Postscript: Summerhays had 60 days to decide whether to return to school for his senior year or turn pro and claim full-exempt status on the Nationwide Tour through 2008. Within two weeks he chose the latter, playing in 12 events and making the cut in 10.

Photo By: Michael Cohen/Wireimage

Jamie Lovemark

Age: 19 / Home: Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

Feat: The USC freshman nearly became the first amateur to win a Nationwide Tour event himself, shooting a closing-round 65 at June's Rochester Area Charities Showdown before falling to Chris Riley in a playoff. This came two weeks after Lovemark took the NCAA individual title with back-to-back closing 64s. In July an opening-round 67 at AT&T National helped him make his second PGA Tour cut of the year and third in three career starts.

Postscript: For now, Lovemark has heeded the advice of his hometown pal, Phil Mickelson, returning to school this fall for his sophomore year rather than turn pro.

Photo By: Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Stacy Lewis

Age: 22 / Home: The Woodlands, Tex.

Feat: Almost four years removed from major surgery to get her out of the back brace she had worn since age 8 because of scoliosis, the Arkansas All-American recorded a T-5 finish at March's Kraft Nabisco Championship, then won the LPGA's rain-shortened NW Arkansas Championship in September with a 65. Since the latter event was cut to 18 holes, the LPGA didn't recognize the victory as "official," leaving JoAnne Carner's triumph at the 1969 Burdine's Invitational as the last by an amateur. Lewis did get to keep the winner's trophy, at least.

Postscript: Lewis, who also claimed the NCAA individual title in May after shooting a final-round 66 at LPGA International that included five straight back-nine birdies, has won two college events this fall for the Lady Razorbacks. After she wraps up her senior year next May, she is a lock to play for Carol Semple Thompson's U.S. Curtis Cup team competing at the Old Course at St. Andrews in June.

Photo By: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images