Billy Mitchell, a fellow Georgia senior amateur, has a graphic-yet-telling way of describing Rusty Strawn’s golf game: “He’s the friendliest guy who will slowly gut you to death.”
Strawn personified those words this past week to capture his first U.S. Senior Amateur title, at The Kittansett Club on the shores of Buzzards Bay in southern Massachusetts. It didn’t matter that the cheery 59-year-old from McDonough, Georgia, gave up considerable distance off the tee to many of his competitors. Behind sublime iron play, a rock-solid short game and a lack of unforced errors, Strawn not only frustrated his opposition but pushed them around with authority.
After a dramatic round-of-16 comeback to win in sudden death against 71-year-old legend Paul Simson, Strawn ambushed three consecutive opponents, capturing a barrage of holes early in each match. He dusted co-medalist Miles McConnell, 5 and 3, in the quarterfinals and then repeated similar performances against two Georgians who had won this title before. Bob Royak and Doug Hanzel had barely laced up their shoes before finding themselves in an insurmountable hole against a player whom they have gone head-to-head with many times in state competition and national play.
Strawn took down three past tournament winners, doing so with a smile, clinching a career-defining victory that will be a popular one in senior amateur circles.
“I thought I'd have the opportunity, but if I could actually pull it off … that's what I was always questioning myself,” Strawn said of winning the most coveted title in senior amateur golf. “I felt that I had the game if we had the right conditions and the right course setup, because I have that determination. But it's just amazing, really amazing.”
It will be hard for any of his competitors to harbor the slightest bit of resentment toward Strawn. To a man, any senior amateur you ask will gush about his standing as the nicest man in senior golf, pointing toward his joyful disposition and compassion – elements he maintains on the course while still fueling a competitive spirit that has made him a consistent top player in the senior game the past few years. Strawn is No. 5 among seniors in the World Amateur Golf Ranking thanks to eight national field victories since the pandemic hit.
"When I did go to sleep, I would wake up eight or 10, 12 times. I was just thinking about, ‘OK, this is for a national championship.’ I almost decided just to get up in the middle of the night just to get up. At least I'm rested. But at 5 a.m., I got up and said, ‘OK, let's go to battle here.’ ”
Rusty Strawn
None has been as big as this one. Strawn said his goal at the beginning of the week was just to make the 64-man match-play cut, but it was clear that Kittansett’s firm conditions and high value on approaching the flag from the proper angle played perfectly into his precision-based skillset. He reached the final match as an underdog against Hanzel, the No. 3 senior in the country and a winner in six of his last 18 WAGR-counting events.
Strawn is known for his ability to channel anxiety into concentration, not letting any moment become too big for him. That was tested the night before the match as he tossed and turned in bed.
“People talk about nerves; I never get nervous,” Strawn said. “But last night I couldn't sleep. When I did go to sleep, I would wake up eight or 10, 12 times. I was just thinking about, ‘OK, this is for a national championship.’ I almost decided just to get up in the middle of the night just to get up. At least I'm rested. But at 5 a.m., I got up and said, ‘OK, let's go to battle here.’ ”
He was ready for the morning finale. Strawn made five opening pars before a birdie at No. 6, capitalizing on poor play from Hanzel. By the time the two reached the seventh tee, Strawn held a commanding 5-up lead. Hanzel mounted a comeback on the back nine, but it was not nearly enough as the match ended with a 3-and-2 decision.
“I'm happy for Rusty,” Hanzel said. “He's a heck of a guy, heck of a player. He's a member of the club now. … Watching him today, you learn. You learn how to score your ball. Every day in golf you should learn something.”
There is a lot to learn from Strawn, a former Georgia Southern University golfer who is the fourth Eagle to win a USGA championship. His victory also is the second notable performance from a Georgia Southern player in a recent USGA championship. Strawn is close with the current team, which saw star player Ben Carr nearly win the U.S. Amateur last month in New Jersey.
Strawn had success in college and his amateur career earlier in life, but family always came first. He joined his father, Norman, at Strawn & Co. Insurance in 1985, and he has worked for that independent insurance agency for nearly 38 years, dating to his college days. When it came time to settle down and have a family, Strawn essentially left golf for more than a decade to focus on raising three strong, independent daughters: McKenzie, Taylor and Anna. He is heavily involved in the McDonough community, including being a deacon at the First Baptist Church.
Golf has always been important, but it’s just not in the same realm as his family and his faith. He traveled with his wife, Jennifer, this past week, and it was more of a necessity than a luxury. They are best friends, and playing in a weeklong championship such as this one would be a lonely, difficult experience without her.
“I don't like it if I'm not with her,” Strawn said. “It just makes the week longer, and the first day I'm there I'd just rather be home.”
He lives a well-rounded life with golf in the backdrop. It’s part of what reduces his anxiety on the course, and why he is so well-liked by his peers.
Even if you were to ask for Strawn’s favorite hobby, you are likely to be met with an answer of hunting instead of golf. The game is deeply meaningful, but it’s not everything. Treating people with respect is everything.
“He’s a friend to everybody,” close pal Allen Peake said. “It was not only me pulling for him, but senior golfers all over the country. … He treats everybody the same, whether it's the guys that are winning the tournaments, or whether it's the guys that are finishing well back in the field. That's really an admirable quality.
“It is such a popular win, because there is no prima donna in Rusty Strawn. Nada, not a bit of it. It's just not in his DNA. I fully expect that even though he's now a U.S. Senior Amateur champion, we will rag on him for that every single day. It's not going to change.”
Once he figured that part out, Strawn became a stalwart. It doesn’t hurt that he plays enough golf to make Sungjae Im jealous.
Peake and Strawn had many conversations leading into their senior amateur days. Strawn, as Peake describes it, “was on a mission” to recapture his competitive chops that had waned since prioritizing his family. With his daughters grown up, the time had come to see what he could do on the course against highly competitive fields.
He battled a faulty driver early as a senior but learned to manage that club to set up his approach play. Inside 100 yards, Strawn shows a “nearly tour-quality” game, Peake said, so just getting into position off the tee is half the battle. Even at Kittansett, Strawn regularly eschewed a normal driver for a mini driver that kept the ball in play. It’s not the strength of his game, but it’s no longer the liability that it was.
Once he figured that part out, Strawn became a stalwart. It doesn’t hurt that he plays enough golf to make Sungjae Im jealous. Just this year, Strawn has teed it up in 18 WAGR-counting events. In 14 of those, he has notched top-10 finishes, including victories in the Trans-Miss Senior and Florida Senior Azalea.
It all led to this week where his consistency was rewarded. Even with that résumé, Strawn wouldn’t have believed a victory such as this could come together as it did.
“I would have said it would have been divine intervention,” Strawn said. “I’m just being honest.”
Strawn and Peake now have a running joke based on a senior member-guest event they played at Old Memorial earlier this year. Gary Koch was a guest speaker at the event and made a comment about how most great champions in golf have “at least 25 percent asshole” in them. His point was that some part of you needs to be a little cocky, a little arrogant. Winning big championships requires some type of sacrifice in the “aw shucks” category. Nice guys just don’t have that edge.
“I turned to Rusty and said, ‘Man, you’re never going to make it,’ ” Peake said jokingly. “He’s not 25 percent; he’s zero percent.”
Maybe the formula needs to be recalibrated.
Rusty Strawn is a USGA champion, and a deserving one at that.
Top: Eventual champ Rusty Strawn (left) shares a smile with Doug Hanzel before their final match.
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