OAKMONT, Pa. – Harrison Ott needed to bring an extra fire extinguisher.
The Vanderbilt senior drew red-hot Michael Thorbjornsen in the opening round of match play at the 121st U.S. Amateur. Thorbjornsen entered the week at Oakmont Country Club as the prohibitive favorite, still streaking from dominant victories at the Massachusetts State Amateur and Western Amateur. Ott, meanwhile, was still trying to build confidence after a prolonged slump.
While Ott appeared to be on his way to smothering the Stanford sophomore, leading 3 up through 12 holes, Thorbjornsen, as it turned out, was just slow cooking his opponent.