Oda recalls his enjoyable U.S. Open experience

John Oda has always been fascinated by the fact that there is never an end to what you can learn in golf. Last week’s 117th U.S. Open was the latest evidence.

Oda went barging into the Open in Wisconsin on the heels of two collegiate victories in the fall, an eighth-place NCAA finish that pushed his UNLV team into the match-play round at the national championship and a victory at the U.S. Open sectional qualifier in Newport Beach, Calif.

The Moanalua graduate shot 78-76 to tie Jason Day … in the bottom 10.

“The course was a good challenge and I was a little off with my iron game,” Oda said. “When you miss greens there and put your ball in the wrong spots, it’s hard to save par.”

Scoring records were shredded at Erin Hills, with first-time champ Brooks Koepka doing most of the damage. But guys like Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose and Adam Scott finished just a few shots ahead of Oda and Day and missed the cut.

Proving again that golf is simply a strange and intriguing game. It constantly pushes the limits of your imagination and Oda has been drawn to all its infinite possibilities seemingly since he started working seriously on it with David Ishii at age 9.

“There is no limit to how good you can get with any part of your game,” says Oda, an athletic and academic All-American. “I want to get better each and every day, whether it’s make a couple more 10-footers or have more control with my wedges, hit my irons closer, gain more distance, hit more fairways.

“It’s endless how much better you can get in this game. I try to get better each day, and I’ll keep working until I can get the results I want.”

That might mean turning pro before he finishes his economics degree next year. Oda admits to “thinking a lot about that.” Tour pro Kevin Na, who practices with our two-time state high school champion in Las Vegas, already is apologizing to UNLV coaches for encouraging Oda to make the move before his senior year.

The Open did not discourage Oda, No. 33 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He was just named Mountain West Conference golfer of the year and owns the second-best career scoring average (71.38) in UNLV history, behind tour pro Ryan Moore. Oda is the Rebels’ first Ping All-American first-team selection since Moore, in 2005.

Oda had 12 top 10s in 15 tournaments his junior year. If he plays, he will take a streak of nine straight top 10s into his final season.

“It would be another year with friends and teammates,” Oda says, “and to compete for a national championship and get your degree.”

On the other hand …

“Turning pro offers a lot of opportunities to move on and start my career early,” he adds. “There is a big learning curve with professional golf. To start earlier and play full time will give me more time to prepare and deal with it all … just establish myself and get used to playing in those tournaments.”

He has been analytical in weighing the positives and negatives of each option, and asked for “a lot of input” from people he trusts. The plan for Golfweek’s 18th-ranked collegiate player is to play two major amateur invitationals next month in Washington and then the U.S. Amateur.

After that, the U.S. team for the biennial Walker Cup — a competition against Great Britain and Ireland that started in 1922 — is announced. Oda, one of 16 invited to the USGA’s “practice session” in December, would dearly love to play. Then he will make his decision.

“Whatever my heart tells me,” he says. “I’ll know what to do.”

Either way, Oda will enjoy the ride. He always has. Golf has never been a grind, even though — at 5 feet 7 and 150 pounds — one of Oda’s greatest assets is his ability to grind and be patient when he struggles.

He also thrives in a competitive environment, a trait that was obvious in a junior career that included two state amateur titles and a stunning charge to a playoff at the Hawaii Pearl Open. Oda also has qualified for the Sony Open in Hawaii twice.

None of it quite matched last week’s Open, where strangers cheered his putts and approach shots and yelled “Go Oda” as he walked up.

“I really enjoyed it on the course,” said Oda, who played behind Wisconsin native Steve Stricker and two groups back of McIlroy and Day. “I didn’t play very good, which is a little disappointing, because I want to perform and do the best I can at every tournament.

“But the things off the course were all so exciting. The crowds and grandstands and signing a couple hundred autographs, that was fun, a cool experience. It’s what I see all the superstars doing on TV so it’s a big deal.”

And, a huge challenge.