Jeff Mallette Makes it to U.S. Amateur

For Jeff Mallette, his golf game is all about maintaining balance — not only in his swing, but in the sport’s relationship with other aspects of his life.

Mallette, a North Canton resident, has been a dentist for 21 years in Ohio. He runs his own dental practice and is a member at Brookside and Firestone Country Clubs.

“It’s a tough balance trying to run the practice in one sense and the golf game in another,” Mallette said. “It’s enjoyable and there are a lot of guys that do that. There’s a lot of good players that have jobs and try to play, too.”

Mallette completed the first round of stroke play at the U.S. Amateur on Monday morning. He fired a 72, good for two shots over par at the Blue Mound Country Club’s par-70 golf course in Wauwatosa, WI.

“I made pars all day pretty much and a couple bogies,” Mallette said. “I just needed to settle down with the putter, but had a couple three-putts.”

Mallette noted that the greens at Blue Mound presented the greatest challenge. Many pins were tucked in difficult locations or placed near drop-offs on Blue Mound’s trademark sloping greens.

Along with David Smith of Plymouth, MN, and Joseph Harrison of Boulder City, NV, Mallette was part of the first threesome on the course at 7 a.m. He says that was an advantage because there was nobody in front of them and the pace of play kept moving. Mallette also played in the first group when he competed in the 1998 U.S. Amateur at Oak Hill.

By shooting 72, Mallette put himself in position to advance to the match-play portion of the championship with a good round today at Erin Hills, which can play as long as 7,760 yards.

“It’s a little bit different when you’re coming and playing with all these guys that are pretty much picking up the sticks every day and you’re just in awe with how far they hit it,” Mallette said. “You’d like to turn the clock back about 20 years.”