VSGA CO-SENIOR GOLFER OF THE YEAR
Pat
Tallent
Pat Tallent registered the
seminal victory of his
career by capturing the
U.S. Senior Amateur.
HOMETOWN: Vienna, Va.
HOME CLUB: Westwood Country Club, Vienna, Va.
2014 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
CHRIS KEANE/USGA PHOTO ARCHIVES
➤ Joined a small and elite fraternity of Virginians to win
a United States Golf Association championship when he
captured the 2014 U.S. Senior Amateur. In September,
the 61-year-old Tallent defeated Bryan Norton of Mission
Hills, Kan., 2 and 1, in the scheduled 18-hole final at Big
Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif.
➤ Became the first Virginian to post a victory in a
USGA event since Richmond’s Vinny Giles won the
2009 Senior Amateur.
➤ Tallent is exempt from qualifying for this year’s U.S.
Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur and U.S. Senior Open. He
receives a 10-year U.S. Senior Amateur exemption, plus
an exemption from local qualifying for the 2015 U.S. Open.
➤ In the spring of 2014, Tallent teamed with Decker to
win the VSGA Senior Four-Ball Championship.
➤ Later in the season, Tallent played on the Virginias
team that claimed the Captain’s Putter Matches.
QUICK TIP
Tallent says making putts under pressure
is partly a matter of self-belief. The short
game has become a bigger part of his
game, as his ball striking isn’t as consistent
these days.
“I don’t hit the ball as well as I used
to,” Tallent says. “Golf is a funny sport.
There are a lot of different ways to score.
You can certainly affect your opponent in
match play when you don’t hit the ball very
well, but make putts and hang in matches.
Whatever type of putter you decide to use,
you need to see the ball roll into the hole.
I’ve told my daughters many times, ‘You’re
only as good as you think you are.’ If you
don’t think you can putt, you probably can’t
putt. If you think you can putt, that doesn’t
guarantee you’re going to be able to, but at
least you’re not going to surprise yourself
if you make a few.”
IN HIS OWN WORDS
With his victory at the U.S. Senior Amateur,
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Tallent took ownership of a USGA title he
has long craved. He was competing in his
27th USGA championship. He finished as
the runner-up at the event to Paul Simson
in 2010 and was a quarterfinalist in 2013.
Tallent got into match play in a 15-for-13
playoff at the conclusion of stroke play
qualifying. Tallent, who was the No. 60
seed in the match-play bracket, became the
lowest seeded player to win the title since
the USGA began seeding players at the
Senior Amateur based on qualifying scores
in 1992.
Tallent got on a roll in match play. In
addition to his deciding victory, he bested
2013 medalist and three-time semifinalist
Chip Lutz of Reading, Pa., 1 up in the
opening round of match play. All told, Tallent
won six matches en route to taking the title.
In the deciding match, Tallent knocked in
a 35-footer for birdie at the par-4 17th hole
to claim the match. A full four months after
his victory, the memories are still seared into
his soul.
“I had absolutely no expectations. I couldn’t
see any scenario where I would be able to play
two qualifying rounds and win six matches. In
years past, I thought I might be able to win.
I’d been in contention plenty of times, but
I’m older now,” Tallent says. “I felt like I was
the underdog the whole way. I wasn’t nervous.
“You know, in years past, I felt like I
should be there (at the Senior Amateur).
This year, I thought I was lucky to be in the
championship. I thought, ‘I’ll try to hit the
best shots I can, see what happens and play as
well as I’m capable of playing under pressure.’
If I’d had that attitude all along, I would’ve
won a lot more golf tournaments.”
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