Seven years ago at Chambers Bay in Seattle, Cole Hammer had one of the great coming out parties in golf. Not only did he qualify for the 2015 U.S. Open at age 15, the third youngest at 15 ever to do so, but he shot 77 in the first round and beat Tiger Woods by three strokes that day. With his boyish grin and precocious game, Hammer Time was born.
“I was a kid, I didn’t know what I was doing. It was like a circus. Walking out on the range with guys like Tiger, Rory and I was in complete awe. There was a few fairways I couldn’t reach. So it was just all about the experience,” he recalled. “When I was 15 I was like, you know, I could win this thing. But I think I quickly realized or now I do realize that I didn’t have a fighting chance.”
Despite lofty expectations, Hammer, 22, has achieved a decorated amateur career, including being awarded the Mark H. McCormack medal as the top amateur golfer in the world in 2019; a two-time U.S. Walker Cupper; winner of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball (with Garrett Barber); Big-12 conference individual champion in 2021; and recently contributed to Texas winning the NCAA men’s team championship. He more than lived up to the hype.
