Watkins all fired up

Bryce Alderton

Stan Watkins learned two things from his first trip to U.S. Open

sectional qualifying three years ago.

“Trust yourself and not play tentatively,” said Watkins, a Newport

Beach resident who will vie for one of four spots, from a field of 68

golfers, into this month’s U.S. Open at the Pinehurst Resort in

Pinehurst, N.C., when sectional qualifying takes place Monday at El

Caballero Country Club in Tarzana.

Watkins, 30, an instructor at the Golf Lab, an indoor teaching

facility in Costa Mesa, played El Caballero for the first time in a

practice round Wednesday and said accuracy is necessary to success.

“You have to put yourself on the proper side of fairways and work

the ball a bit both ways,” Watkins said. “And the other thing, you

have to keep the ball below the hole because the greens are fast.

“My short game is good right now. I feel comfortable with the

putter and the iron play is a lot better. The thing I have to work on

is playing off the tee. The rough is long as heck up here [at El

Caballero].”

It was Watkins’ putter that capped a memorable day two weeks ago

at Newport Beach Country Club during local qualifying.

Watkins shot a 2-under-par 69 -- only three players posted lower

scores -- with three birdies and one bogey at Newport.

David Hobby and Peter Tomasulo also carded 69s, meaning they and

Watkins needed a playoff to determine the final two automatic berths

into sectional qualifying.

Officials drove the trio to the tee on the par-5 18th. Watkins

pulled his tee shot into a bunker and punched out. His third shot

sailed long onto the green, leaving a 60-foot, right-to-left breaking

putt.

Next thing Watkins heard was the rattle at the bottom of the cup

after sinking his fourth birdie of the day.

Watkins said Wednesday that the local qualifying round was the

first tournament he played in this year.

He spends most of this time teaching these days, but couldn’t pass

up the chance to reach for his dream at a course five minutes from

his home.

“I got into the gym a month-and-a-half ago for the local

qualifier,” said Watkins, who started playing golf competitively

during college at Claremont McKenna.

He turned professional in 1998 and has won twice on the Golden

State tour and three times on the Pepsi tour. Watkins joined the Golf

Lab about a year ago.

Qualifying for the PGA Tour “is still on the back of my mind,”

Watkins said, though he spends considerable time fixing other

people’s swings.

The 69 at Newport, though, sparked a desire to see just how far he

can go.

“This fired me up and motivated me to go practice and work at it,”

said Watkins, who often hones his game at Costa Mesa Golf & Country

Club.

Sean Collins, a teaching pro at Costa Mesa, competed in the U.S.

Open sectional qualifying a few years ago at El Caballero and offered

these observations.

“If you hit it out of the fairway, you’re going to pay for it,”

Collins said. “You’ve got to hit it right at targets.”

Hit a few more targets and Watkins could mark his spot into the

field when the U.S. Open begins June 16.

“This is something I’ve dreamed about doing,” Watkins said.

If nothing else, Watkins will have a few other things to look

forward to at El Cabellero, Collins said.

“There are good food and good people.”