Spring Hill player fails to qualify for U.S. Open

By GREG AUMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 7, 2000

Spring Hill's Glenn Gabriel missed advancing to the U.S. Open by nine strokes at Monday's sectional qualifier in West Palm Beach, but that doesn't mean he missed out on a brush with greatness.

Gabriel, who shot a pair of 74s on Monday to finish with a 4-over-par 148 at Bear Lakes Country Club, literally bumped into Jack Nicklaus, who designed the course with his wife, on the putting greens.

"He bumped into me and said, "Oh, sorry, excuse me,' and I said, "No, my pleasure," said Gabriel, who had met Nicklaus at past qualifiers in Orlando. "I figure nothing bad can happen if he bumps into me. I said, "Hey, rub off a little on me, buddy."'

Ultimately, it was putting that cost Gabriel. He closed his opening round with a three-putt on the 18th hole. He said he consistently put himself in position for birdie putts only to see them lip out.

"It's a bitter pill to swallow," said the 39-year-old, who last qualified for a sectional in 1997. "It's annoying because I was striking it as good as anybody out there. A few putts fall, a few good breaks go my way, and I'm there."

Gabriel said he felt he still had a chance in his second round, sitting at 1 over par with seven holes to play. He ran into trouble on the 13th, however, when his ball landed on a sprinkler head in 7-inch rough. He hit more of the sprinkler than he would have liked -- his club went flying into the water -- but the shot saved him from what could have been even worse.

"I thought I broke my wrist when I hit the ball, but it cleared the rough and actually wound up on the other side of the fairway," said Gabriel, who got a bogey after the club was salvaged. He had two more bogeys before he was done but said the 148 was his lowest score in his seven or eight sectional qualifiers. He plans on trying again in 2001.

"It's an emotional letdown, but I felt really good about my play," said Gabriel, who qualified for Monday's round by tying for second at a local qualifier in Palm Harbor last month. "As long as I can enjoy the game and feel good about the way things go, I absolutely would want to do it again next year."

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