May 20, 2008

Washington, D.C. ─ - Georgetown senior men's golfer Tim Hager (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock North) has what he calls the chance of a lifetime coming up on June 2.

That he will get to take this chance of a lifetime at the Hoyas' home golf course - The Members Club at Four Streams in Beallsville, Md. - makes him feel a bit more comfortable.

Hager, along with approximately 40 other golfers, will play in the sectional round of qualifying for the United States Open on Monday, June 2. The 2008 U.S. Open will be held at the Torrey Pines Golf Club in San Diego, Calif. from June 12-15.

Georgetown's senior captain advanced to the sectional round after firing a one-under par 71 at Four Streams on May 13. He tied for fourth place overall and was one of nine players in the field of 150 golfers to advance to the sectional round.

"I wasn't really nervous," Hager said over the phone from his campus apartment. "There were so many people playing for just a few spots, so you have to play well. From having played there before, I have a comfort level with the course. I thought if I just played well, I might have a chance to get a low score and get in."

It was the first time Hager, a captain who has been among Georgetown's leaders in stroke average the last two years, had ever attempted to qualify for the U.S. Open.

"I had never really tried before because there are a lot of rounds involved in terms of the local and sectional rounds," Hager explained. "But since both rounds were here at Four Streams and I was going to be around, I figured it was worth a shot."

Hager will be spending seven weeks this summer working as a counselor at the Georgetown Prep golf camp - where he will be among a group overseeing kids ranging from 8-to-14-years-old - and caddying at Four Streams on the weekends. During the afternoons, he has enrolled in a Principles of Investment class to help him lighten his academic load during his final year of college.

He will take every chance he can to prepare himself for the next challenge. "I'm sure I will be a little more nervous," he admitted. "Some well-known pros will probably be there, so the stakes are going to be pretty high. But it's going to be at Four Streams and that gives me a little bit of comfort too."

After going through the first round of qualifying just to see what it would be like, the stakes grow larger in the sectional round. "I think it becomes a lot more serious at this stage," Hager said. "When you go through the first stage, you're still so far away from the Open. After you get through that, it's 36 holes in one day in the sectional."

Now just one step away from the prize, Hager is excited at the prospect of getting the chance to play in the U.S. Open.

"I'm happy to be playing at our home course, and in a way, it's good to play 36 holes in one day like we do during our season," Hager said. "It's not a chance you get a lot of times and if you can capitalize, it would be the experience of a lifetime. I'm hoping that I'll get some chances."