U.S. Open adds to Father’s Day memories

Christian Perozich was scheduled to conclude his Father’s Day with a trans-Atlantic flight to Spain for a business trip. So he had to make the most of his final hours in the United States before his departure.

Perozich, of West Chester, Pa., and his sons, Aiden and Luke, walked along a pathway between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Oakmont Country Club’s 12th hole, enjoying what he described as a “perfect” Father’s Day.

“I wish my dad was here, but otherwise it’s perfect,” Perozich, 42, said. He and his family were in town to visit his in-laws in Bethel Park.

“It’s been excellent,” Perozich said. “Great weather … [it’s] such an iconic place and to see the final round, it’s Father’s Day, all those things.”

Aiden (9) and Luke (7) cheered for Jordan Spieth — “ ’cause he won a lot of trophies,” Luke said — while their father pulled for world No. 1 Jason Day.

Luke Perozich said the best part was seeing the Church Pews bunker.

There was confusion around the status of the boys’ Father’s Day gift to their father. Aiden said he didn’t know if they got one, while Luke said his sister got one.

But maybe the memory of a Father’s Day at the 116th U.S. Open is gift enough.

Family of ‘Chubbies’ 

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder behind the rope that stretched along the 10th hole, the six members of the Bartell family almost formed one long American flag — and one pair of pants.

The family — twins Dan and Eric, Dan’s two sons and two nephews — spent Father’s Day out on the golf course together in matching red-and-white striped Chubbies, a brand of short shorts made for men.

Thanks to the red-and-white stripes and a starred patch on the upper right leg, the shorts are advertised as “The most patriotic shorts in the entire U S of A” on the Chubbies’ website.

“We had a big debate over the length,” said Dan, who lives in Princeton, N.J.. “But ultimately, Eric and [nephew] Matt went for the 5-inch shorts, and everyone else is in 7-inchers.”

Despite the disparate lengths, the six men — all of whom paired the starred-and-striped shorts with some variation of a red, white or blue shirt — made quite an impression when grouped together. Mindful of the double-takes they received, the family joked with one another as they watched the first groups of the day come through the 10th hole.

Helping hand 

Two men were lagging behind on the fairway as fans crossed the fourth hole Sunday morning. The final round of the 116th U.S. Open was underway and a course marshal hurried the fans behind the rope to the right of the fairway.

“Oh, are they teeing off?” one of the men said.

“It’s not a they,” the course marshal said. “It’s a he. Single.”

Well, the course marshal was somewhat correct. Justin Hicks of West Palm Beach, Fla., was the first golfer to tee off in the final round. His name was by its lonesome on the USGA’s groupings sheet.

Sixty-seven golfers made the cut. There were 33 groups of two for the final round, and then there was Hicks. That’s what happens to the player with the worst score when there’s an odd number of players who make the cut.

But Hicks was not alone.

Devin Gee, who will be replacing Bob Ford as the club pro at Oakmont in October, joined Hicks for the fourth round of the U.S. Open for what was essentially a glorified exhibition round of golf.

Gee’s tee shot on the fourth hole landed in the infamous Church Pews bunker and fans applauded when he chipped the ball onto the fairway.

“All of a sudden there was a guy in the middle of the fairway hitting another shot,” the course marshal said, befuddled. “Like what was that?”

As Hicks, Gee and their caddies walked down the fairway, a U.S. Open volunteer followed, holding a scoreboard.

Hicks’ last name was listed first. He was 2 over for the day and 15 over for the tournament. Gee’s name was listed but without any scores. Those columns were blank.

When Gee nearly holed a chip from the fringe, fans applauded as they would for any other golfer. Then Gee three-putted for a double bogey.

His score didn’t change.

Teaching mom 

When Veronica Karaman’s 85-year-old mother, Mildred, was given six months to live due to a terminal heart condition, Karaman decided to put everything aside and focus on her mother.

They were “kind of emotionally estranged my whole life,” Karaman said Friday near the 18th green at Oakmont Country Club, but she longed for an 11th hour relationship with her mother, praying, “Don’t take my mom until I know her.”

Karaman spent the second round of the U.S. Open at the course where she used to work in the golf shop and blossomed as a golfer, after a chance encounter with the course manager.

Ultimately the game of golf that brought Karaman, a scholarship athlete at Duke and later a professional golfer, and her mother together.

At 85, her mother’s golf career began. At 88, she started a house cleaning business and she had her first paid modeling shoot at 89 and she entered a “Grandma Open” golf tournament at age 90.

“At 91, she died my best friend,” Karaman said.

Karaman wrote a book, “My Shot of Joy,” which was published in March, about her journey in forging a relationship with her mother in the midst of a race against time and how golf was an essential component to bridge their previous divide.

Andy Wittry: awittry@post-gazette.com. Maya Sweedler: msweedler@post-gazette.com.