Throughout its 73 years of existence, Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., has played host to some of golf’s most prestigious championships and has seen a cavalcade of the game’s greatest players stroll through its famed sloping fairways.

This week, BG’s men’s golf team will have a unique opportunity to carve out their own niche in Southern Hills history, with sophomore Drew Preston competing in the 109th United States Amateur Championship.

The U.S. Amateur is the most coveted amateur title in all the world. Its list of champions reads like a roll call of golfing royalty: Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have all at one time laid claim to the trophy.

This year’s championship got underway yesterday morning with the 312 players who made it to Southern Hills taking part in the first of two stroke play rounds. Once the second round is completed this afternoon, the top 64 players will advance to compete in the match play portion of the championship. Starting tomorrow, and continuing through Saturday, those 64 players will be whittled down – via single elimination – until two competitors remain to battle it out for the championship through 36 holes of match play Sunday afternoon.

Preston is currently sitting at plus-4 after shooting an opening round 74 yesterday. He will play today’s round at nearby Cedar Ridge Country Club, before returning to Southern Hills for the remainder of the championship, should he advance to match play.

However, before Preston could punch his ticket for Tulsa, he first had to survive a local 36-hole stroke play qualifying tournament, in which only the top two finishers would advance. Luckily for Preston, the tournament was at Muskegon Country Club in Muskegon, Mich., which is a course that he has played on numerous occasions during visits to his family’s cottage on the property.

However, as Preston awoke on the morning of Aug. 2, any thoughts that he may have had of a home-course advantage were quickly swept away by the relentless 40 mph winds and driving rain that delayed tee times by over an hour.

‘I have played a lot of rounds on that course, and I don’t think I ever saw the weather conditions as difficult as they were that day,’ Preston said. ‘It was brutal.’

By the time Preston teed off, conditions had not subsided and he struggled to a first-round score of 77.

‘Through the first 18 holes, I did not hit very many fairways which did not give me a lot of opportunities to put the ball where I needed to on the green,’ Preston said. ‘I also did not putt well at all when I did reach the greens.’

After a quick break, and with the wind still howling, Preston stepped on the first tee for his second round knowing that he needed to make something happen.

‘I figured I definitely had to shoot something under par [in the second round] to have a chance,’ he said.

After a stagnant front nine in which he shot even-par 35, Preston came alive on the back side, picking off birdies at 10, 13, and 17. By the time he reached the 18th tee, he was tied for second at two-over-par. A birdie at the par-5 18th would give him second alone, while a par would mean he would most likely have to fight it out in a playoff with the others at plus-2.

After splitting the fairway, Preston lofted a beautiful second shot that landed about 10 feet from the flag. His eagle putt lipped out, but Preston tapped in for birdie, giving him a round of 68, and solo second place at plus-1. Taking into account the awful conditions and the pressure-packed intensity, Preston ranks that second round as one of the finest that he has ever played.

‘I would definitely consider it one of my best rounds ever,’ said Preston. ‘The wind was still blowing very hard, but I was able to control my ball off the tee, which gave me some nice birdie chances.’

Upon completion of his round, Preston waited to see if anybody in the remaining groups could match his plus-1 total and force a playoff. When no one did, it became official – Preston was on his way to Tulsa.

For someone who plays golf at the collegiate level, there can be few higher honors than receiving the chance to tee it up with the best amateur players in the world. It is an honor that Preston intends to savor every minute of as he goes about his business this week.

‘It’s such an awesome feeling,’ Preston said. ‘I feel so fortunate to be able to compete in a championship that [Jack] Nicklaus and Tiger [Woods] have won. I’m just trying to make the most of this, because you never know when it will happen again.’ ‘