U.S. Women's Amateur champion Maria Jose Uribe became the 11th amateur golfer since 1998 to post a top-15 finish at the U.S. Women's Open when she finished T-10 at Interlachen CC and just the second amateur ever to finish 72 holes with a sub-par score (two-under 290). Not surprisingly, then, the 18-year-old sophomore-to-be at UCLA is looking forward to her start at next month's Ricoh Women's British Open.

The USGA, on the other hand, isn't quite as thrilled.

By playing over at Sunningdale, where she will become the first female amateur to compete in all four women's professional majors in a single year, Uribe will forgo defending her Women's Amateur title at Eugene (Ore.) CC. The Women's British is set for July 31 to Aug. 3. The Women's Amateur is Aug. 4-10. While I wasn't in Minnesota last week, my understanding is a few USGA officials voiced to the Colombia native their disappointment about Uribe's pending schedule. (TV commentator Dottie Pepper also was critical of the choice of tournaments during last week's telecast.)

It's understandable that some would be upset about the fact Uribe won't try to become the 11th repeat winner of the Cox Cup. Still, put yourself in Uribe's shoes. What will be the best for her development? Coming off the heels of such an impressive showing at Interlachen, where she arguably outperformed the No. 1 player in the women's professional game, Lorena Ochoa, and the reigning U.S. Women's Open champion, Cristie Kerr, wouldn't you want to continue to test your game against the world's best?

Sure, there isn't as much romance in going over to England rather than playing in Oregon, but can you really find fault in somebody who wants to play in a major championship? If this was a male amateur choosing to play in the British Open rather than the U.S. Amateur, would there be the same uproar?

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From the gratuitous use of a graphic department:

OK, Stacy Lewis is no longer an amateur, but she got another shot at playing in the same event with her college rival, Amanda Blumenherst, this past week at the U.S. Women's Open. Despite a disappointing Sunday performance, Lewis, who was the 54-hole tournament leader at Interlachen, did post a T-3 finish in her pro debut. Blumenherst, meanwhile, made her third straight cut in the U.S. Women's Open, but finished 10 strokes back of Lewis in a tie for 38th place.

Even prior to watching Tiffany Joh claim her second U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links title this past weekend at Erin Hills GC outside Milwaukee, I had spent a fair amount of time following the 21-year-old from San Diego this spring. I wrote a profile on her for Golf World as a preview to the NCAA Women's Championship, which became happily prescient when Joh nearly won the individual title at the University of New Mexico GC. In that story, as in nearly anything you ever read or hear about Joh, you see how self-deprecating she is regarding her game. With the possible exception of 2006 U.S. Women's Amateur champion Kimberly Kim, there isn't any other current amateur golfer, male or female, who downplays her own talents as much as Joh.

The reason I bring this up is that I had some friendly discussions with a few people last week while watching Joh beat Jennifer Song, 2 and 1, to win the WAPL, about whether Joh's humility is actually a detriment to her game and her development. If Joh wasn't so distrustful of her game, could she be even more successful? You can make an argument that given all Joh's talent--they don't name you to the U.S. Curtis Cup team unless you've got some skill--she likely should have more than the two college wins she's earned in her first three years at UCLA. 

My take, though, is that Joh is much more competitive than she lets on, and that the indifference she displays at times is actually a defense mechanism. Joh shows genuine sadness and disappointment when she doesn't win--more than a few tears flowed at nationals when she lost a playoff to Arizona State's Azahara Munoz--a sign that indeed things mean more to her than you would otherwise believe. Joh's swing coach back at Stadium Golf Center in San Diego, Derek Uyeda, told me a story earlier this year about Joh that helped put any doubts that he had about her competitiveness:

"I caddied for her in the local qualifying for the U.S. Open [a couple year ago]," Uyeda said. "She had shot 69 and she lost by one ... she didn't medal. She was upset because there was a girl and she was like, 'I can't believe that girl beat me.' I said, 'Tif, you never act like you're going to tear somebody's heart out while you're competing. Maybe we need to work on the attitude more and get you a little bit more like go for the throat. Kick them when they're down, I just want to bury you.' And she's like, 'Oh, no. I feel like that. Trust me.' We've never had a conversation about that ever since. She's a huge competitor, and I think that's a big motivating factor of why she's so good. ... Deep down inside she knows she could be one of the top five players in the world."

Surprisingly, Joh didn't qualify for this week's U.S. Women's Open--and even more surprisingly, the WAPL champion doesn't earn an automatic exemption into the Women's Open. So instead, Joh is back in Los Angeles, starting summer school. By taking classes the next few months (her only golf tournament will be the U.S. Women's Amateur), it allows her to only have to take one class during the final semester of her senior year, when she'll be trying to avenge the playoff loss to Munoz and help the Bruins claim the team title.

I think this tells you all you need to know about how competitive Joh really is.

The verdict is in from Colorado Springs. The NCAA Division I men's golf committee has wrapped up its annual meeting and approved straight match play as the format to be used by the eight teams that advance to the bracketed portion of the NCAA Men's Championship in 2009.

So, here's how the championship will work: 30 teams advance to nationals from regionals. They all play three rounds of stroke play. After 54 holes, the individual medalist is crowned and top eight teams using the traditional play-5, count-4 aggregate scoring advance to play for the team title.

Based on their stroke-play scores, the schools will be seeded into a bracket, the same way the NCAA basketball tournament is contested: No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5.

From there schools will compete one-on-one in the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds using all five players in their lineup. Each of the five golfers on School A draws a golfer on School B and plays him in a straight match-play competition. (The way a school's players finished in the 54 holes of stroke play will determine the order of its line-up; the low scorer playing in the No. 1 spot, the next in the No. 2, and so on. Players that are tied will then revert back to the coach's original line-up used in the first round of the championship.)

The winner of an individual match earns one point for his school. If the match is all square after 18 holes, each school earns 1/2 point. The school that wins three or more out of the five points at stake moves on to the next round until we crown a national champion. If there is a 2 1/2- 2 1/2 tie, the tiebreaker will be similar to the one used in previous championships: all five players for each school will play an extra hole. Rather than counting only the low four scores, however, all five players scores will count.

A couple other tidbits: the committee discussed "the .500 rule" and decided to keep it in place for the 2008-09 season. Additionally, it decided against establishing any specific definition for what constitutes a tournament or requiring schools to lock into a set tournament schedule.

Additionally, players will be allowed to use rangefinders during the NCAA Championship under USGA guidelines. The USGA's pace of play checkpoint system also will be implemented for regionals and nationals.

ERIN, WIS.--I've been harping on it for a few weeks now, but if you need any more proof that the center of the women's college golf universe is residing in the City of Angels, just look at what's transpired this week at the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship. Of the 64 players that advanced to match play here at Erin Hills GC, six are either current or future UCLA players, while two were current or future Southern California. In today's semifinals we had USC incoming freshman Jennifer Song beat UCLA incoming freshman Stephanie Kono, 2 up, while UCLA All-American Tiffany Joh beat UCLA verbal commitment Tiffany Lua, 4 and 3. Somewhere in sunny Southern California, Carrie Forysth and Andrea Gaston are smiling.

Thus, we've got another UCLA/USC showdown in the Saturday's 36-hole final. On paper, you have to give the edge to the Bruins' Joh, who won this tournament in 2006 and is coming off a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship last month. (Song's biggest claim to fame is being the low amateur at the 2006 U.S. Women's Open.) She also made six birdies in her first seven holes during the semifinal match with Lua.

As I described in a feature story I wrote on Joh before the NCAA Championship, the 21-year-old from San Diego is the queen of self-deprecation. Did you expect anything less than when she described her coming showdown with soon-to-be USC rival? Eluding to the Bruins' six-stroke loss to SC at last month's NCAA Championship: "Even if I don't play my best golf tomorrow and don't win, I mean I am pretty much used to losing to Trojans these day."

OK ⿿ time to take a look at the top women’s teams entering the 2008-09 season. 
(Sorry for the delay in posting this; darn U.S. Open playoff).

My VERY, VERY, VERY early top 10 for the 2008-09 season:

WOMEN
1. UCLA (NCAA finish: 2nd)
The Bruins played tough all the way to the final holes at nationals, only to lose by six strokes to their crosstown rivals. With no seniors departing, senior-to-be Tiffany Joh coming into her own and blue-chip recruits Stephanie Kono and Brianna Do making the roster eight players deep (gulp!) UCLA is going to be tough to beat. 

2. Arizona State (5th)
Lack of a fifth player to take some of the pressure off NCAA medalist Azahara Munoz, newly crowned British Ladies Amateur champ Anna Nordqvist, Jennifer Osborn and Juliana Murcia has been the team’s bugaboo for two years but that changes this coming season with the arrivals of Giulia Molinaro of Italy in September and Carlota Ciganda of Spain (the 2007 British Ladies Amateur champ) in January.

3. Duke (3rd)
No longer the defending NCAA champion, the Blue Devils are also no longer the prohibited favorite to again win the title. But whenever you have Amanda Blumenherst and Jennie Lee in your line-up, you’re still very dangerous. Meanwhile, incoming freshman Mina Harigae should have little trouble acclimating to the college game.

4. Southern California (Win)
Depth helped the Trojans earn the NCAA title last month in New Mexico, but continues to be a strong suit for the program, although the loss of senior All-Americans Dewi Claire Schreefel and Paola Moreno will be tough to overcome. Belen Mozo looks very comfortable in the college game and Jennifer Song will be a solid addition to the roster.

5. Purdue (4th)
The Boilermakers came into the post-season last year under the radar despite several successful seasons and seemingly do the same this coming fall. Look more closely though, and you see a talented squad with Maria Hernandez and Christel Boeljon set for their senior seasons and Maude-Aimee LeBlanc coming off an impressive freshman campaign.

6. Pepperdine (DNP)
The disappointment of failing to advance to nationals last year is tempered by the potential for the 2008-09 squad. Taylore Karle proved to be among the nation’s best freshmen a year ago, and she’ll have reinforcements with a fab five of blue-chip recruits coming to Malibu in Ayaka Kaneko, Lisa McCloskey, Jessica Wallace, Kiara Hayashida and Kaitlin Drolson.

7. Oklahoma State (T-19)
Inconsistency was the only fault you could find with the Cowgirls, who when they played well could go toe-to-toe with anyone. Pernilla Lindberg looks game to make a third straight first-team All-American season as she plays her senior year. And despite arriving mid-season, Jaclyn Sweeney took little time to prove herself and become one of OSU’s go-to players.

8. Denver (T-6)
The Pioneers were a quaint little story two seasons ago that proved they weren’t ready to jump-back from the spotlight. Stephanie Sherlock can go low in any given round and Katie Kempter is among college golf’s most underrated players.

9. Alabama (T-12)
The resurgence of the men’s program in Tuscaloosa has at times overshadowed what’s gone on with the school’s women’s team, which has moved into the upper echelon in recent years. Sarah Sturm’s graduation hurts but Kathleen Ekey and Laura Goodwin return for their senior seasons and recruit Brooke Pancake could be arriving just in time to help keep the Crimson Tide rising.

10. Auburn (T-12)
The Tigers never really got things clicking a year ago, but found bright spots in the solid play of Cydney Clanton and the continued development of Candace Schepperle. The two will be leaned on heavily this fall, as will rising sophomore Sarah Thead.

In this last week's issue of Golf World, I took a very early look at what might be in store for the 2008-09 college season. I run the risk of leaving a lot of egg on my face by trying something like this so long before the fall, but a little bit of runny yoke on my nose hasn't stopped me before so why should it stop me now.

To add to what I wrote in the magazine, I wanted to take a closer look at various programs entering the season. Lets look at the men’s side and get a idea of who some of the top squads will be next fall. (Monday, I’ll do the same for the women). As always, if you've got a better idea on who to watch, send in your comment.

My VERY, VERY, VERY early top 10 for the 2008-09 season:

Men
1. Southern California (NCAA finish: 3rd)
It's going to take a little time for the Trojans to get over the disappointment of not only losing the NCAA title to UCLA but dropped into third place (albeit by one stroke) over the final nine holes at Purdue's Kampen Course. The bitter memory, however, could become a huge motivational tool come next season as all five starters (Jamie Lovemark, Rory Hie, Tom Glissmeyer, Matthew Giles and Tim Sluiter) return to a squad. Each earned some form of GCAA All-American honor last year, offer a glimpse of their collective talent.

2. Georgia (T-8)
The Bulldogs may have overachieved this past season after losing two first-team All-Americans, and like USC return all five starters from nationals. Harris English and Russell Henley had impressive freshman campaigns, and Adam Mitchell remains one of the most underrated players in the college game. Hudson Swafford, who hits the ball as far as anyone in the college game, had his name on the leader board for a while at nationals, and Brian Harman embarks on his senior year knowing he has a little something to prove before he departs from Athens.

3. Oklahoma State (4th)
Another team that doesn't lose any player from its starting five at nationals--bringing back recent U.S. Open participants Rickie Fowler and Kevin Tway among others. What makes the Cowboys particularly intriguing, however, is the trio of incoming freshmen set to arrive in Stillwater. Peter Uihlein is a two-time AJGA player of the year and Morgan Hoffman joins him as a first-team All-American in high school. Sean Einhaus might be the sleeper having played on the German national team the past few years.

4. UCLA (Win)
The NCAA champions will have to replace medalist Kevin Chappell--no small feat--but, like OSU, have a talented threesome of top juniors (Gregor Main, Mauricio Azcue and Alex Shi Yup Kim) coming to  Westwood in the fall. As I wrote in the magazine, the interesting wildcard will be Philip Francis, the former U.S. Junior champion who didn't live up to the hype that accompanied him to school this past year as a freshman. Questions of just how comfortable he was in L.A. have led to continued speculation that he might transfer somewhere closer to his Scottsdale, Ariz., home after admittedly having a tough time making the transition from being home-schooled to a sprawling college campus. If he were to feel more comfortable during his sophomore year, his production could help the Bruins not miss a beat in their title defense.

5. Stanford (2nd)
With All-American Joseph Bramlett sidelined all spring with an injured wrist, the Cardinal nearly pulled off the first repeat by an NCAA winner in more than two decades. If Bramlett can come back healthy, the Cardinal again be a title contender thanks to talented young players Sihwan Kim, Jordan Cox and Steve Ziegler. Look for incoming freshman David Chung to have a immediate impact too, helping to offset Rob Grube's graduation.

6. Clemson (5th)
For all the talent the Tigers have, they haven't won a team title since April 2006. Yet playing in the final group at NCAA Championship suggests the team is ready finally to live up to its potential. Kyle Stanley is a rock in the No. 1 position. If David May, Sam Saunders and Philip Mollica can step up, Clemson should return to the top 10.

7. Florida State (DNP)
For all the strides the Seminoles made a year ago--winning their first ACC title--failing to advance to nationals was pretty big blow. The mental baggage won't affect blue-chip recruit Wesley Graham, who will be leaned on to replace departing All-American Jonas Blixt, but how the rest of the team handles it will be interesting.

8. Florida (11th)
Entering his senior year, I think Billy Horschel appreciates the fact a big season will not only help him increase his value when he turns pro but elevate his college career to a new level. The addition of Lion Kim will help shore up a line-up that has lacked some consistency if not depth.   

9. Alabama (T-8)
For all the strides the Crimson Tide program has made in the last few years--winning its first SEC title since 1979, grabbing the No. 1 ranking--this coming season will prove whether the program has arrived as a consistent national power. Four seniors who helped the team win six times last year are departing, led by first-team All-American Michael Thompson. Replacing them are some talented junior players in Bud Cauley and Lee Knox, but that's an awful lot of experience to lose in one fell swoop.

10. Georgia Tech (DNP)
The Yellow Jackets never seemed to get things clicking last year--their best finish was a third-place showing--which manifested itself in the team ending its perfect streak of advancing from regionals to nationals. Working in their favor, however, is that Cameron Tringale and Chesson Hadley are back and arguably as good a 1-2 punch as any in college golf.

LA JOLLA, CALIF.--Besides, of course, the pride of having made the cut at a major championship, playing on the weekend at the U.S. Open has a variety of tangible benefits for Derek Fathauer, Michael Thompson and Rickie Fowler. One in particular will be very helpful to the first two, who have just finished up their college careers at Louisville and Alabama and will be turning pro during the summer: Under PGA Tour rules, anyone who plays 72 holes in a major, whether they're a professional or amateur, is exempt through the pre-qualification and first stage of tour qualifying school, whether they're a professional or amateur when they use the exemption.

No doubt when there college buddies are sweating just advancing into the second stage of Q school, Fathauer and Thompson can look back on their second-round 73s at Torrey Pines' South and realize just how big they stepped up.

LA JOLLA, CALIF.--History suggests at least one of the now 11 amateurs in the field at the U.S. Open (first alternate Gary Wolstenholme is in after Sean O’Hair withdrew this afternoon) will play all four rounds at Torrey Pines GC. In 2006 and 2007 no amateur made the cut, and never in the championship's 113 years has there been more than a two-year stretch where the USGA has failed to see an amateur play the entire tournament.

So if an amateur is going to play all 72 holes this week, who might it be? Lets start by eliminating those who are the least likely. Wolstenholme has had a storied amateur career but the 47-year-old Englishman just doesn’t hit it far enough to have much success on the 7,643-yard layout. Ditto to fellow mid-amateur Jeff Wilson, who at 36 was the low amateur at the 2000 U.S. Open. Now 44, the extra candles on the birthday cake aren’t helping the California native.

Jimmy Henderson is an interesting story--the 31-year-old AstroTurf salesman got his amateur status back just days before playing in local qualifying last month. But if there’s a textbook example of a guy who is just happy to be here, it’s the Lebanon, Ohio, native.

Duke senior-to-be Michael Quagliano and recent Louisville graduate Derek Fathauer are solid players but the magnitude of competing in their first major championship would seem to be too much to overcome. Stanford’s Jordan Cox is a raw talent who you will see down the road on the PGA Tour, but he’s a year or two away from making the cut at a major. Washington’s Nick Taylor tied for second at the NCAA Championship two weeks ago and is the Canadian Amateur champion, but he too seems to need more seasoning.

That leaves four collegians to consider: Michael Thompson, Kevin Tway, Rickie Fowler and Kyle Stanley. Thompson, a recent Alabama graduate, has a major under his belt, having played at the Masters in April. Having experienced the hoopla surrounding such an event already, he won’t be in awe by all the stuff surrounding the tournament. The problem however is that Thompson hasn’t been very sharp of late (T-65 at the Central Regional; T-29 at the NCAA Championship). Suffice it to say, the U.S. Open isn’t the venue to be trying to get your game back.

Conversely, Tway finished up his freshman season at Oklahoma State strongly (won Central Regional) and has his PGA Tour veteran dad, Bob, on his bag. The combination should let the 19-year-old make a run at playing on the weekend but likely come up just short.

As for Tway’s college roommate, Fowler, and Stanley, they seem to have everything in order to be the ones contending for low amateur honors. Fowler’s roller coaster week to just get into the event (lost playoff for one of the last spots into the Open, only to get in as an alternate) ended with him defending his title at the Sunnehanna Amateur last weekend. He might be a little tired, but he’s talented enough to overcome it.

Stanley, a junior-to-be at Clemson, impressed many by having a miserable final round at the NCAA Championship (started two off the lead, then shot an 82) only to bounce back at sectional qualifying and earn his spot here at Torrey Pines. A member of the victorious 2007 U.S. Walker Cup team, he hits the ball a mile, is straight enough to avoid the killer kikuyu and, ultimately, will give us a two-player race for the title of low amateur.

LA JOLLA, CALIF.--So, how did you get ready for a final exam when you were in college?

Let me go out on a limb and guess your preparation didn't involved playing a nine-hole practice round at the site of the U.S. Open alongside Tiger Woods? Didn't think so.

Well, then you aren't Stanford sophomore Jordan Cox, who is still a few minutes away from taking a three-hour communications exam online. Earlier Tuesday, the 20-year-old from Redwood City, Calif., joined Woods and Bubba Watson for a quick morning tour of Torrey Pines GC.

"It was definitely an experience for me," said Cox, who had met Woods when he joined the Cardinal team for dinner one evening last season. "Just seeing all these guys play on TV and on the PGA Tour and in major championships and to finally be able to play in one and be a part of this environment is something really special."

Asked if he's ready for his test, Cox quickly saw the dual meaning of the question:

"Out here [on the course}? Yes. Tonight [online], we'll see."

Is there another way for high schoolers to gain exposure to college coaches besides competing in junior tournaments? The folks behind the College Golf Combines believe so as they prepare to host a pair of two-day events to help connect interested student-athletes with coaches at the Division I, II, III and NAIA levels.

The first is July 28-29 at Tradition National GC in Hardeeville, S.C.; the second is Aug. 4-5  at East Valley GC in Beaumont, Calif. (see www.collegegolfcombines.com for more info).

More than a typical tournament, the combines also will offer players the chance to showcase specific skills. Players will be asked to hit shots under various conditions and be evaluated on their performance. The skills assessment will include putting, chipping, pitching, greenside and fairway bunker shots, driving distance and accuracy. During the first day of the combine, recruits will hit multiple tee shots on some par 4s and par 3s and scores will be kept on some holes. The second day each player will play 18 holes for official tournament score and awards will be given.

According to tournament director Stephanie Gelleni, a former Pepperdine golfer More than 175 recruits are expected to attend—the cost is just under $400. Registration is open to all recruits from the class of 2009 to the class of 2013 along with any 2008 recruits that have yet to sign a letter of intent.

Organizers see this as an opportunity in particular for high schoolers not among the elite in the American Junior Golf Association and International Junior Golf Tour ranks. (The IJGT and Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy are associated with the event, with Under Armour serving as a title sponsor.) Participants will receive apparel from Under Armour.

If all goes well, plans are to expand to a half dozen locations next summer.