15-year-old Cole Hammer begins his first U.S. Open with tears

Hammer Time began with a few tears.

Cole Hammer, the 15-year-old high school sophomore who’s playing in the U.S. Open, prepared to tee off on Thursday morning and found himself overcome with the weight of the moment.

Hammer has an extraordinary task in front of him, but he started it off the right way: after his drive on No. 1 went into the left rough, recovered with a stellar approach and a two-putt par. For a kid whose hero is Jordan Spieth – that would be 21-year-old Jordan Spieth – this isn’t a bad place to be.

“This means the world to me,” Hammer told the Dallas Morning News last week. “I’ve dreamed about it my whole life. It’s going to be awesome.” Let’s not even think about the fact that his first — first! — golf memory is Tiger Woods’ most recent major win at Torrey Pines in 2008.

This year’s field contained 17 amateurs, the most since 1981. Fourteen of those qualified through various means last week.

And while Hammer was nearly in tears early, his mood eventually picked up when he pulled a Sergio Garcia: