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2003 USA Walker Cup Team Profiles
August 11, 2003
Eight of 10 Players Selected To 2003 USA Walker Cup Team
GB&I Team Profiles
Haas has emerged as one of the nation's best collegiate players. A senior at Wake Forest University, Haas has already amassed an enviable resume: he qualified for the 2003 U.S. Open; was a semifinalist in the 2002 U.S. Amateur, and medalist in its stroke play round; was named team MVP as a member the victorious 2002 Palmer Cup squad; and is a two-time first-team All-American. He also shot a second round of 60 on his way to a tie for fifth place at the recent Porter Cup Amateur.
Playing in his first Walker Cup Match, he is making history. Along with father, Jay Haas, a long-time PGA Tour player, he is part of the only father-son duo to have competed in a Walker Cup Match (albeit in different years). The elder Haas was a member of the victorious 1975 American squad. Additionally, Jay's brother and Bill's coach at Wake Forest, Jerry Haas, was a member of the victorious 1985 American team.
The Atlantic Coast Conference's Rookie of the Year in 2001, Haas was named the 2003 ACC Player of the Year, making him the first Wake Forest golfer to earn that honor. Haas won three individual titles in 2002-03 and was one of five finalists for the 2003 Ben Hogan Award, presented to the nation's top collegiate golfer. He finished tied for 26th along with two of his college teammates at the 2003 NCAA Championships, leading the team to a fourth-place finish.
Hendrix has enjoyed a brilliant summer of amateur golf. He was a member of the 2003 Clemson University squad that captured the 2003 NCAA Golf Championship, along with the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and NCAA Regional title. Now he is playing in his first Walker Cup Match.
Hendrix has had four top-five finishes in recent major amateur golf events, including a victory at the Sunnehanna, a runner-up finish at the Porter Cup, a fourth-place finish at the Monroe Invitational and a fifth-place finish at the Rice Planters Amateur.
A senior at Clemson, Hendrix emerged as a model of consistency in his sophomore year. As a junior, Hendrix was one of the most reliable players on the nation's best team, finishing the season with a stroke average of 71.74, including 12 rounds in the 60s.
A long hitter, Hendrix had five top-10s in 2002-03 collegiate events, including four fourth-place finishes and a 35th-place finish at the 2003 NCAA Championship.
Kuehne, an equity salesman for Legg Mason in Dallas, is playing in his second Walker Cup Match. He also was a member of the 1995 team that lost at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales.
Kuehne shot a second round of 67 that boosted him to be the low amateur at the 2003 U.S. Open. He is also well known for being runner-up to Tiger Woods at the 1994 U.S. Amateur, a match he lost 2 down after being as many as seven holes ahead.
He graduated from Oklahoma State University and was a member of the 1995 NCAA team that defeated a Stanford University squad led by Woods.
Kuehne, whose given name is Ernest, has played in two U.S. Opens, making the cut in both 1996 and 2003. In 2003, he finished the U.S. Open in 57th place. His 4-under-par 67 was bettered by only 11 other players during the week.
Kuehne hails from a prominent family of golfers - his sister, Kelli, is an LPGA touring pro who won the 1994 U.S. Girls' Junior Amateur and 1995 and '96 Women's Amateurs, and his brother, Hank, won the 1998 U.S. Amateur and currently plays on the PGA Tour. Trip was Hank's caddie when he won his Amateur title.
Mackenzie is a first-team All-American from the University of Washington and winner of the 2002 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship. He is playing in his first Walker Cup Match. He finished 13th in trying to defend his title at the in 2003.
Now a senior, Mackenzie finished in fifth-place at the 2003 NCAA Championships. Considered the best golfer in the school's history, Mackenzie, finished the 2002-03 season with a 71.63 stroke average, the second best in the program's history, just a half stroke behind his record mark of 71.1 he set as a sophomore.
He had 10 top-10 finishes in 14 tournaments in 2003, shooting par or better in more than half the rounds he played (25 of 43). He has 15 top-10 career finishes. His best round for 2003 was a 12-under-par 60, which he posted in March at the University of Oregon's Duck Invitational at the Eugene (Ore.) Country Club. He is just the second collegiate golfer to post a 12-under score and the third to shoot 60 in an event.
A second-team All-American in 2002 and an honorable mention in 2001, Mackenzie was a member of the 2002 USA Palmer Cup team member. He captured the 1999 Washington State Junior Championship.
Moore earned a spot on the 2003 USA Walker Cup team after winning the 2002 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, reaching the quarterfinals of the 2002 U.S. Amateur and qualifying for the 2002 U.S. Open.
Moore made history at the 2002 Amateur Public Links with a 10 and 9 victory margin in the final; it was the second-largest margin of victory in the 78-year history of the championship. In trying to defend his APL title, Moore lost in an early round match in 2003 to eventual-winner Brandt Snedeker.
Moore has a 15-3 USGA match play record, bolstered as well by reaching the final at the 2000 U.S. Junior Amateur. Moore qualified for the 2003 Masters Tournament by winning the 2002 APL and made the cut at the Masters, shooting a 13-over-par 301 to finish in 45th place.
Now a junior at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Moore was a finalist for the Ben Hogan award as a sophomore, a selection to the USA Palmer Cup team and was named the school's Olympic Sportsman of the Year for the second straight year.
Nallen cemented his selection to his first USA Walker Cup team by winning the 2003 Northeast Amateur in an extra holes playoff. He also finished second at the 2002 Northeast Amateur and was fourth at the 2002 Porter Cup and fifth at the 2003 Dogwood Invitational.
In college honors, Nallen earned All-American honors for the third straight season at the University of Arizona in 2003, leading his team with nine top-10 finishes and an average of 71.74 strokes per round. He was a semifinalist for the Ben Hogan Award, given to the top collegiate, a 2003 USA Palmer Cup team member and an All-Pacific 10 Conference selection for the second consecutive year
Other events Nallen has won are the 2002 Jerry Pate Intercollegiate, the 2001 US Intercollegiate and the 2001 New Jersey State Amateur Championship.
Rubinson served notice as one of the country's top amateurs with his runner-up finish at the 2002 NCAA Championship and runner-up finish at the 2002 Western Amateur. He also was chosen for the 2003 USA Palmer Cup. He is playing on his first Walker Cup team for the USA.
Additionally Rubinson finished fifth at the 2003 Northeast Amateur and tenth at the 2003 Sunnehanna Amateur.
A 2003 graduate of Texas Christian University, Rubinson led his college team as a senior with a 71.34 scoring average, one win and three runner-up finishes.
A third-team All-American, Rubinson was the 2003 Conference USA Player of the Year and a semifinalist for the Ben Hogan Award, given to the nation's best collegiate golfer.
Wittenberg, a recent high school graduate, enjoyed victories at the Porter Cup and Southern Amateur in July 2003 that earned him a place on the USA Walker Cup team for the first time. He is the youngest golfer selected to either team.
In winning his title at the Porter Cup, Wittenberg set a tournament record with his 14-under-par total of 266. He was the youngest Porter Cup champion since 1978. He shot 4-under-par 66 in his final round. He shot a 64 in his final round to win the Southern Amateur.
Wittenberg has played in three U.S. Junior Amateurs and represented the United States in the 2001 Junior World Cup and the 2001 Junior Ryder Cup teams. His best result in the Junior Amateur was a quarterfinal finish in 2001.
Wittenberg also won the 2003 Terra Cotta Invitational and was a runner-up at the 2003 Azalea Amateur. The 2001 American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Player of the Year, he also won the 2002 AJGA Thunderbird Invitational and the 2002 Tennessee State Amateur.
He will attend Oklahoma State University in September.
Williams, a junior at Auburn University, was a third-team All-American selection this past season. He was the runner-up at the 2003 NCAA Men's Championships held at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. Prior to his semifinal showing at the 2003 U.S. Amateur, Williams won the Dogwood Invitational and the Greystone Invitational, both in June. At the Amateur, Williams defeated USA Walker Cup teammate and 2002 Amateur Public Links champion Ryan Moore in the first round before falling to another Walker Cupper, Casey Wittenberg, in the semis. Last year, Williams captured the Southern Amateur.
The 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur (age 25 years and older) champion is the elder statesman of the 10-player USA squad. Zahringer earned his spot on the team with his stellar play at the U.S. Amateur, where he advanced to the quarterfinals after surviving a 14-for-12 playoff to just get into the match-play draw. Zahringer gave fellow Walker Cupper Casey Wittenberg all he could handle in the quarters, falling 1 up. Zahringer, who reached the quarterfinals of the 1992 U.S. Amateur, also was the runner-up at the 2001 Mid-Amateur. He has won the Metropolitan Golf Association's Player of the Year honor nine times, and he was a quarterfinalist at the 1991 British Amateur played at Ganton Golf Club, site of this year's Walker Cup.
Lewis, a four-time USA Walker Cup team member and a three-time USGA championship runner-up, will have his first chance to serve as captain of the United States squad.
Lewis has a storied Walker Cup history, having played on four victorious Walker Cup teams (1981, '83, '85, '87). He is best remembered for winning his singles match in 1985 at Pine Valley (N.J.) Golf Club to secure the United States' victory. He has a record of 5-2 in both singles and foursomes play. He also played on the winning 1982 squad and runner-up 1986 squad at the World Amateur Team Championships for the U.S.
Although Lewis has never won a USGA championship, he has had some remarkable runs in a number of championships. He was the finalist at the 1980 U.S. Amateur and a semifinalist in that championship in 1981 and 1986. He also was a finalist at the 1981 and 1984 U.S. Mid-Amateurs.
Lewis finished as low amateur at the 1987 Masters Tournament, earning his chance to play as Amateur runner-up the summer before. His score of 64 at Pine Valley, which he shot in 1982, still stands as a competitive course record.
A former professional golfer who regained his amateur status in 1978 after playing on the PGA Tour from 1970-74, he is the president and chief executive officer of Welded Tube, Inc., a steel tubing business started and owned by his family. Lewis and his wife, Patricia, who he met in France and married after a three-month courtship, have two children, Tiffany and Tristan, a former captain for the Georgetown University men's golf team.
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