OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – If Hunter Stewart goes deep into this week’s U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields – and he’s quite capable – it won’t take him long to tell you why he advanced as far as he did. After two days of medal-play qualifying during which he made very few putts, he faced a 12-footer for par on the 10th hole of Olympia Fields’ dewy South Course first thing Wednesday morning.
The consequences were black and white: Make it, and move on in the playoff, which involved 18 players vying for 10 spots. And if he missed?