Devlin recounts real-life lesson with Hogan

Kel Devlin is among the 64 players who advanced to match play in the 61st U.S. Senior Amateur on Sunday at Hidden Creek Golf Club. But he’s the only competitor who once received a 45-minute lesson from Ben Hogan, is named after a winner of The Open Championship and is the son of an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, Bruce Devlin, a native of Australia.

The first USGA championship Devlin played in was the 1978 U.S. Amateur at Canterbury Golf Club in Cleveland, Ohio, as a freshman at Texas A&M. “I advanced to match play there and drew eventual champion Mark O’Meara in the first round,” Devlin recalled. “I shot 5-under for 15 holes and got beat 4 and 3. I hit it inside him every hole but his putts filled the cup up like a gallon bucket with water. But that’s match play.”

READ MORE from USGA.org: Match-Play Qualifier Enjoyed Real-Life Lesson with Hogan.