Oakmont, PA.-When Justin Hastings won the Latin American Amateur Championship in January, he unlocked several career-minded benefits including Masters, US Open and Open Championship discounts.
In the course at the Omont Country Club this week, the curiosity of some of his comrades has been affected by their unusual nationality. The Hastings is from the Cayman Islands, the British region in the Caribbean where there are about 87,800 people and 27 golf holes.
Hastings said on Saturday, “There are some who have never heard about it, so it is always a fun.” “There are some who have heard about it in films and said,” Oh, this is tax hasn is! ” And then the conversation goes on, ‘How do you reach golf,’ and I never have a good answer for them. ,
Now Cayman Islands can be known for something other than their generous tax rate. Hastings was the only 15 out of 15 amateur to cut Okkont on Friday, making him a less fond of the US Open, as a promising achievement, he moves forward in his career as a promising achievement.
Hastings is the first player of the Cayman Island to compete in the US Open, cut alone. He shot 73–73, defeated the scoring average of the grounds on both days, and the third 73 added on Saturday afternoon.
Rarely considered an athletic hub in the region, the island has produced two of the last four Latin American amateur champs (Aaron Jarvis, 2022). Hastings credited his development back to his coach, Tim Dwire.
Hastings said, “I am lucky that there is a very good support system.” “(Dwire) was 15, 16 years old for me, it has been amazing for me. He has been running the national team for some time, and he is out of me with me. So we both had a great time in the last few years where we are now.”
Hastings had a punished career in the San Diego state (he said that he did not ribdered Xander Schaffele this week to break the program record for a career scoring average this week). And the 21 -year -old rated as one of the top poatrs in the US Open Field before making a string of a bogey on 9 Saturdays on Saturday.
Although Hastings considers themselves a good green-reader, he has bent over Omont Caddy Aaron Williams to help navigate a course watching for the first time this week.
Hastings said, “A group of slope today has a difficult pin (at number 7) and I hit a nice long iron behind the pin, and this is this big bender.” “What I was read was, it was fun, we were both talking about a piece of sand (to target green) but we were talking about two different pieces of sand, and his piece of sand was about 4 feet more than me.
“And so thankfully he ended by pointing it and I had to do it like a reset and it should be, ‘Wow, like, is it out of there?’ Certainly, I hit it there and I left it an inch small in the jaw, but I mean, my ball was 10 feet less, I hit it on my line. “
He gave at least one bounce-back-back card card in each of the first three rounds, revealing an equal mentality. Hastings said that he performs the best when the light is the most bright, and a large piece for that is patience.
He said, “It is very important not to ride high and get out of there as you just get emotionally tired,” he said, “So I think when I make those bogies, you have to do a really good work to take a deep breath on the next tea and understand that you can make a bunch of bogies.”
Hastings planned to play at its discount in the open championship in Royal Portrash, then replaced Pro and started his career on PGA Tour America.
For now, they get an opportunity to travel around Omont with Williams on Sunday before he is presented with a lower amateur medal with the overall champion.
Hastings said, “I have not thought about it.” “I think if you try to think about things other than the golf course, you get out of there, it will make your butt very well. So I am trying to live as a tunnel-vision and as I can.
-Adam Zillonka, Field Level Media
