Up next
Al Pacino becomes a dad at 83
LOS ANGELES — It’s been 10 years since Andrew Svoboda last played in a U.S. Open, but you’d hardly know it by the way he performed in Thursday’s opening round at Los Angeles Country Club.
Svoboda, a 43-year-old Westchester native who played college golf at St. John’s and is a four-time club champion at Winged Foot, shot an even-par 70 to stand eight shots off the lead and very much inside the cut line entering the second round despite not having played in a major since 2013 at Merion.
This is Svoboda’s fourth U.S. Open, having played Merion in ’13, Bethpage Black in 2009, Torrey Pines in 2008 and Winged Foot in 2006. His best finish was a tie for 71st at Winged Foot.
Having played on the PGA Tour from 2013-15 and the Korn Ferry Tour, where he won three times, Svoboda is now a club pro at Great River in Milford, Conn., after five years as an assistant at Engineers on Long Island.
“I’m 43 now, and being a club pro is just a lot better for me, easier lifestyle,’’ Svoboda told The Post. “It’s different, but I like it. It’s been a long time since I played on the PGA Tour.’’
Svoboda called the grind as a Tour pro trying at times.
“It’s hard,’’ he said. “If you’re playing well, this is the best thing there is. But if you’re not playing well, it’s hard because it costs a lot of money to play, you’re traveling all the time and it’s tough to have a good quality of life in terms of friends, family.
“It just gets harder and harder. I’d go back and play a few events on Korn Ferry. When I was out there, I was pretty good, but now there’s so many young kids that are better and the level of play is better. It’s pretty incredible to see how good it is.’’
Read Related Also: Feel-Good Friday: Operation Hope edition
Svoboda said making it to this U.S Open was something he didn’t see coming.
“I hadn’t come close to making it into a U.S. Open in a lot of years, so this was kind of a surprise,’’ he said. “I had crazy nines at Canoe Brook [in sectional qualifying]. I shot 37-30 and 40-30, birdied 16 and 18 to get into a playoff. That’s as pressure-packed as you can get there.
“The U.S. Open is always a special week because you know it’s going to be set up so tough, and it’s going to be a grind. It’s a major, one of the best events that’s played in the history of golf. It’s cool to be a part of it. We’ll see how it goes this week.’’
Thursday was a pretty good start.
Svoboda called his best golf accomplishment his career-best runner-up finish on the PGA Tour in the 2014 Zurich Classic.
“I had a good chance to win there,’’ he said. “I had some good chances to win when I was out there [on the PGA Tour]. I just didn’t play that great on Sunday. I had three wins on the Korn Ferry, and never thought I’d win out there when I started. I was happy to make the cut. It’s definitely been quite a journey with some highlights.’’
He has a chance to add another highlight this week.
