Beau Hossler begins his junior year at Texas this month looking to add to individual and team honors at the storied program. In 12 starts last season in Austin, Hossler played as the Longhorns’ No. 1 player eight times and led the team in scoring average, at 70.58 strokes per round.
The Mission Viejo native also led Texas to the NCAA Championships quarterfinal last season, where it lost to USC, and, as an individual, Hossler won the Johnny Hayt Collegiate Invitational, an event he calls his top individual highlight from his sophomore season.
Earlier this summer, Hossler returned to the U.S. Open for the first time since his Cinderella run at the Olympic Club in San Francisco in 2012 when he temporarily held the second-round lead and finished tied for 29th. This year, at Chambers Bay, he again played the weekend and finished 58th as several Mission Viejo Country Club members could be seen in “Let’s Go Hossler” burnt orange shirts and cheering him on.
Hossler has now qualified for three U.S. Opens as an amateur, putting him in heady company with Jack Nicklaus, Bobby Jones, Ben Crenshaw and Bobby Clampett.
“Anytime you’re in the company of Jack Nicklaus, that’s always nice,” Hossler said. “I think I’ve proven to myself that I can qualify for the event, but it’s time that I start making a move and get toward the lead.”
With multiple U.S. Open appearances and a strong Texas golf team presence, Hossler is aware of the comparisons to former Longhorn Jordan Spieth. But the man who clinched this year’s Palmer Cup for the U.S. team doesn’t “really listen to that,” he said of comparisons. “I’m on my own path right now. I’ve got to play my own game.”
With a swing some compare to World Golf Hall of Famer Colin Montgomerie, Hossler is looking forward to some of amateur golf’s biggest events, beginning early this month in Illinois with a title defense at the Western Amateur and a couple weeks later, also in Illinois, at the U.S. Amateur. Another big aspiration is again being on the U.S. Walker Cup team in September.
“Oh yeah, it’s a huge goal,” Hossler said. “You can kind of measure your season as a success if you’ve made the Palmer Cup and you’ve made the Walker Cup team. Those are two of the premiere tournaments in the country and globally. … I’m not going to take anything for granted and I’ve got a long way to go. Hopefully I can stay consistent and start getting some wins.”
One event Hossler skipped this summer was last month’s SCGA Amateur, which he won the past two years. Instead, Hossler competed in the Pan-American Games, where he finished sixth individually and teamed with Texas teammate Lee McCoy, Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach and Kristen Gillman to win a silver medal in the mixed team competition.
“There’s no offense at all to the SCGA but it was kind of a no-brainer. When you get a really huge honor like that to represent your country you have to take advantage, especially in amateur golf,” Hossler said. “There’s only going to be a few more opportunities like that to represent your country and I want to take advantage.”
Hossler grew up idolizing fellow Southern Californian Phil Mickelson for his aggressive nature and engaging style with fans. Now 20, Hossler said he’d pick Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus and Spieth as his dream foursome for a casual round of golf.
On the occasions when he’s back from Texas and in California, Hossler enjoys dining on familiar cuisine, especially off the menu at Peppino’s in Mission Viejo. The young standout also occasionally returns to Santa Margarita High School where he used to don blue and tee it up for the golf team, but the 2013 graduate is clearly on another playing field at the moment.
Former Mater Dei standout and this year’s U.S. Open low amateur, Brian Campbell, turned professional last month, which fueled more chatter from the media and bloggers about other top amateurs and where they stand with their careers. As far as Hossler is concerned, he plans to be a Longhorn for two more years.
“That’s been the plan all along, from the beginning,” Hossler said of graduating from Texas. “I’m not planning on changing from it. This is the path I’m on.”
