Published: July 20, 2008 10:48 pm            

PORTER CUP: Han, Horschel lead Denn’s Ten

Steve Denn is a calculated kind of guy.

Denn, the tournament director for the Porter Cup, is a financial planner by day, amateur golf aficionado by night.

Of course, a former champion like Seung-Su Han would be included in a list of Denn’s top 10 favorites for the upcoming 50th playing of the storied Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club, right?

Indeed, when we met up with Denn — who is crazily preparing for this week’s event — he extended his picks for this year’s tournament:

• Seung-Su (Stevey) Han — The 2006 champ is back and hoping for a better showing this season, although he finished a respectable 11th last year with a 275. Han is a solid player from UNLV who is always capable of making a run.

• Billy Horschel — Those who didn’t see Horschel last year don’t realize that he was in contention until two balls went out of bounds on No. 17 of the final round. One of the most likable guys in the field, Horschel is a schmoozer and a talker, not to mention one of the best amateur golfers on the planet. He’s currently ranked second in the world by Golfweek.

• Chesson Hadley — A solid young player from Georgia Tech, he’s very consistent. As Denn said about the all-American, “he hasn’t won a big event yet, but he’s certainly got tons of game.”

• Kevin Tway — A second-time pick from Denn, the son of Bob Tway is currently ranked 33rd in the world among amateurs, and as Denn said, “is starting to come into his own. He’s the spitting image of his father, physically.”

• Matthew Griffin — One of the many Aussies in this year’s group, Griffin came in town a week early to catch some Big Apple sites — the seventh-ranked amateur player in the world deserves a vacation too, you know. He placed third at the Players Amateur and could make a run.

• Tim Stewart — OK, while we’re mentioning the Aussies, let’s talk about Stewart, who finished fourth in the Southern Amateur. He lost in the British Amateur to Drew Weaver — with whom he’ll be paired for at least the first round.

• Rohan Blizard — The sixth-ranked amateur player in the world just hopped a plane from the British Open, where he missed the cut. Blizard has scored in the top 10 in numerous events, and is a legitimate threat to capture the green jacket.

• Josh Younger — He accompanied Griffin to New York City this weekend, and is another of the solid Aussies who has stormed the international golf scene. Younger placed third in the Players Amateur and is the 22nd ranked amateur in the world.

• Nathan Smith — Denn can’t be content without throwing a mid-amateur in the mix and this year it’s Smith, a class guy who is a former U.S. mid-amateur champ. He played the final round at the Masters with Arnold Palmer, so Smith isn’t worried about the pressure of playing in the Porter Cup.

• Matt Jager — Last, but not least, Denn hadn’t even extended an invitation to Jager until a few weeks ago. He’s been one of the hottest guys on the amateur circuit, and a seventh-place finish in the Southern Amateur was just the latest in a string of solid finishes for this Aussie.

Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.

        

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