Amateur Hour

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA | Every year we get one, an amateur, a club pro, a journeyman or woman who toils in the minor leagues or in some far-off land. For one day they find lightning in a bottle and vault up the leaderboard in a U.S. Open.
Remember Dave Schreyer? Probably not. In addition to being the all-time leading money winner on the Hooters Tour, Schreyer posted an early round of 2-under par at Congressional Country Club to lead before lunch in the 1997 U.S. Open – the one where 500 media members followed Tiger Woods’ every shot after his first Masters win. Schreyer was T6 by the end of Thursday and out of the running not long thereafter. He is now the head men’s golf coach at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Ala.
How about Kelli Shean? Shean, a junior at Arkansas at the time, fired an opening-round 70 at Oakmont in the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open, eventually won by Paula Creamer. That left her tied for second. She tumbled down the leaderboard on Friday and now runs her own golf academy in Little Rock.
They show up so often – Matt...