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U.S. Open stirs fond memories for Daves Commentary By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN Every year, when the U.S. Open golf championship rolls around, George Daves admits he's overcome with a tingling sensation. Daves, 34, a former Medford High and University of Oregon golfer, has special feelings for the Open because he played in the 1991 edition at Hazeltine Golf Course, near Minneapolis, Minn. The 1999 Open starts Thursday at the Pinehurst No. 2 course in Pinehurst, N.C. and Daves says he will be watching with great interest on television. It took two qualifying sessions and four sterling rounds of play -- first at Edgewood Golf Course in Lake Tahoe, then at Riviera Golf Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. -- for Daves to get into the Open. After advancing from Edgewood with rounds of 74-72-146, he shot 3-under-par 141 on the tough Riviera course to make the Open. "That may be the best I've played, considering the difficulty of Riviera and what was at stake," says Daves. "Just making the Open was incredible." Daves chipped in on the historic finishing hole at Riviera for a birdie. The chip-in allowed him to finish second among 35 players who were competing for five spots. George's father, Bill Daves, caddied for his son in the first two rounds of the Open. Daves shot rounds of 81 and 82 and failed to make the cut. But it was still the experience of a lifetime. He was thrilled both that his dad got to be a part of the experience and that he "was there playing with the best players in the world. It was almost too good to be true." Bill Daves remembers it well. "It was the highlight of anything I've done in golf," he says. "We walked out toward the driving range the first day and George had people all around him asking for autographs. "They didn't even know who he was, but they knew he was playing in the Open, and they wanted his signature." Bill Daves says he was overcome with emotion to see his son chatting in the players' locker room and hitting balls on the range with established PGA tour players such as Larry Mize, Peter Jacobsen and Greg Norman. "I had a caddie pass and a family pass and got in the locker room," says Bill. "We had lunch every day in there. One day, I walked right into Jack Nicklaus. He said, `Hi,' and shook my hand." George Daves, who played on professional mini-tours after college and was a pro when he qualified for the Open, has since given up his pro status and is an amateur again. Though family and work commitments prevent him from playing a lot, he still likes the game and says he's "playing really well." He expects to get serious about playing amateur golf within the next two years. George Daves says playing in the Open was the culmination of many years of hard work. It was better than winning three straight Oregon Golf Association stroke-play titles (1984-86) and back-to-back Southern Oregon titles (1985-86), he says. "It was an honor just to be there with the great players," he says. "I remember flying in Monday and getting picked up at the airport by a limousine. "I went right to the course, and my plan was to go to the driving range and start getting used to things." He hit balls next to Norman, Jacobsen, Scott Simpson, Davis Love III and other big-name players. "I looked around and I couldn't believe it," says the younger Daves. "They were all real nice to me, and they treated me like one of them." He says playing conditions at Hazeltine were brutal. "The fairways were not only tight and the rough long, but the fairway grass was clipped real short, and you couldn't get a lot of grass to take under your ball," says George Daves. "It was intimidating." Yet, he'll still be plopped in front of a TV later this week. "When it's time for the U.S. Open, I usually watch it on television," he says. "It brings back some great memories." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.