By Bob Harig in Portrush, Northern Ireland
Justin Hastings walked off the 18th green at Royal Portrush on Friday afternoon, 18 July knowing that one chapter of his golf career was ending, with another about to begin.
The two days at The Open Championship did not go as he had hoped, and two closing birdies were but a small consolation after a trying day that saw making it to the weekend become unlikely early on the back nine.A second-round 74 – the same as his first round on Thursday – when a 70 was probably necessary to make it to the final two rounds, was a few strokes too many.
But as Hastings, 21, signed his scorecard, he could look to a new beginning. His amateur career ended on Friday; his pro career begins next week in Canada.
“I’m very excited,” the Cayman Islands golfer said after finishing at 148, 6 over par. “It makes kind of tough breaks like this feel a little bit better knowing there’s a whole new chapter of life starting this week. I’m excited for all the opportunities I’ve got lined up and hopefully make the most of it.”
That means heading to the Commissionaires Ottawa Open, an event on the PGA Tour Americas, a developmental circuit where Hastings has earned a place via the PGA Tour University rankings.
The road ahead
Due to his play at San Diego State, from where he graduated in the spring, Hastings will have status on the Americas tour, having finished 13th. He is scheduled to play all seven of the remaining events, all in Canada, with the top players advancing to the Fortinet Championship.
From there, the top 10 on the season-ending points list or the top three from the Canada series earn a spot next year on the Korn Ferry Tour, a level up.
Short of that, Hastings is exempted into the second stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament and by advancing to the Final Stage, he’d earn at least conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour.
He will also be exempt for the Latin America portion of the PGA Tour Americas next year.
“There’s a lot of opportunities to play good golf,” he said. “That’s just what we’re going to focus on. I’m sure that, if it’s meant to be, it will happen, hopefully sooner than later.”
Hastings plans to spend the rest of the season in Canada, with his father, Rich, caddying for him. Rich Hastings had those honours during the Latin America Amateur Championship, where in January Justin Hastings won the tournament and one of the amateur game’s best perks: spots in the Masters, US Open and Open Championship.
After missing the cut at the Masters, Hastings had a productive spring in his last events at San Diego State, then helped lead an international team to victory in the Palmer Cup before he finished 55th at the US Open to earn low amateur honours.
The Open result didn’t go the way he wanted but the opportunity was one to be cherished – including with his family and friends.
“That’s such a big part of it,” he said. “I’ve got such big crews coming on all these trips. That’s really what makes this all so fun. This week we’ve got two houses split between 12 people, and that’s just our close circle. We’ve got maybe a hundred other people from Cayman having some sort of connection to me. Seeing the flags, hearing the familiar voices, and some of the yells that crack me up – it’s cool.”
Hastings chipped in for birdie at the 17th and holed a long putt at the 18th with a great reception from the spectators.
It might not have been exactly the way he wanted his amateur career to end, but it was sweet nonetheless, with plenty of other goals to now dream about.
