The Golf Watch

Lovemark and others struggling to break par at NCAA Championship

Many avid golf fans are surprised not to see Jamie Lovemark's name on the front page of the leaderboard at the NCAA Championship.  In fact, Lovemark isn't even on the top half.  The defending NCAA champ is 16-over after day three, and trails Kevin Chappell of UCLA by 22 strokes.  Lovemark, a sophomore at USC, made the cut at the Buick Invitational earlier this year, and was 1-over after three rounds.  A lot has to be said about the difficulty of the course, which has been playing 6-7-over-par for the week. 

Lovemark invited to play at Buick Invitational

Reigning NCAA Individual Champion Jamie Lovemark has received a sponsors exemption to play at the Buick Invitational in two weeks.  The USC sophomore won a Monday qualifer to get into the tournament last year, where he made the cut and finished T-39.  Lovemark was invited later in the year to the AT&T National, and finished T-45.  When asked last year whether or not he would leave USC early to turn professional, Lovemark said that he plans to stay all four years.   

Hoggard: Lovemark has no plans to leave school early

Reigning NCAA Champion Jamie Lovemark is in the field this week at the AT&T National at the age of 19.  Lovemark is entering his sophomore year at USC and has already made a strong impact in the golfing world.  In addition to his win at the NCAA Championships, he led the United States team to victory at the Palmer Cup, he has made four cuts on the PGA Tour, and he has finished second to former Ryder Cup player Chris Riley on the Nationwide Tour.  Lovemark is entering his sophomore year, and Rex Hoggard reports on golfweek.com, that "he has no plans to leave school early."  Lovemark is currently 4-over-par overall. 

NCAA champ Lovemark shows poise, shoots 67

Jamie Lovemark, a 19-year-old who has just finished his freshman year at USC, fired a 3-under-par 67 during the first round of the AT&T National.  Lovemark won the NCAA individual title this year and is playing in his fourth professional tournament.  Although the 19-year-old is the youngest player in the field, he looked as poised and confident as a veteran on tour.  The young amateur played alongside Michael Putnam (-1), who finished second at the NCAA Championships in 2005, and Andrew Buckle (E), a young Aussie who is trying to make an early impression on the PGA Tour, after graduating last year from the Nationwide Tour.