Cranberry's Matt Vogt honored to be 1st off the tee before feeling Oakmont's sting

Golf can be a cruel game.

Just ask Cranberry native Matt Vogt, who had the honor of hitting the first shot of the 125th U.S. Open on Thursday at Oakmont Country Club.

He teed off at 6:45 a.m. and admitted he was a little nervous when he yanked his drive 337 yards down No. 9 fairway into the left rough. He was able to save par, but that was about the only highlight of his day.

“It is natural to be nervous,” Vogt said. “The only thing you really cannot do on No. 1 is hit it way right. I was, obviously, not trying to hit it that far left. There were tons of nerves there.

“But no matter how this week goes — and I said at the beginning of the week — I said to myself, no matter how it goes, I had zero expectations.”

Vogt said this is going to be a building block for future golf and, honestly, future life experiences.

The former Oakmont Country Club caddie, however, did not play as well as he wanted. He finished his round with a double-bogey 6 ended up with a 12-over-par 82.

“That’s a hard golf course,” Vogt said. “It is brutal. It was pretty tough to adjust. But I’ve got no excuses at all.”

The dentist from near Indianapolis saw his round start to go south on No. 5, when his drive went left into the thick rough, and his second shot landed in a waste area short of the green for a one-shot penalty.

On Nos. 7 and 9, his drives landed in bunker, which cost him shots.

“I’m trying to treat it that way, despite playing poorly,” he said. “I made some really bad mental errors early on. You cannot make physical and mental errors. You can get away sometimes with one or the other. You can’t get away with both, and you just get back behind the eight-ball out here, and, honestly, your head starts spinning.”

He was overwhelmed by all the attention he received from the media and fans. Despite his poor play, Vogt said he heard words of encouragement, rooting for him to hang in there.

And the memory of playing in the U.S Open will rank up there with hitting the winning shot for Seneca Valley in a PIAA basketball playoff game in 2009: a tip-in at the buzzer to beat Eric McDowell.

He will be inducted in the school’s hall of fame this fall.

“Hitting that game-winner is an awesome memory,” Vogt said. “I cannot wait to see all those basketball guys and coaches. They made such a profound impact.

“That season was awesome. That moment tops a lot of things in my sporting career.”

Vogt said his day started at 3:45 a.m. Then he got to the course to start for his earliest tee time ever.

He was introduced by former Oakmont head professional Bob Ford.

“I hope that I represented Oakmont with pride,” Vogt said. “I don’t want this to all be about me this week. ... You know all this has been incredible.

“I again, I hope to bring joy to the area. It means a ton to hit that first tee ball. Playing poorly really stings. But I know I’ll look back on it, and that will really help save things.”

Vogt said he planned to get something to eat, take a nap and then head to the practice range.

“I’m going to practice a lot this afternoon,” Vogt said. “I am going to work on everything.

“I did not break 80 in the U.S. Amateur, and I did not break 80 today. We’re going to try our hardest to break 80 tomorrow.”