Sudden impact: BYU golfer is a man in demand after his win at Public Links

Three days after earning the dream of a lifetime — an invitation to the Masters for winning the U.S. Public Links golf tournament — Clay Ogden was a man in demand.

He was playing TalonsCove Golf Course by Utah Lake as part of a Utah Open media day. Ogden wasn't even going to play in the tournament the following week because of a conflict with the Pacific Coast Amateur. Yet he still took time out from his suddenly busy schedule to drive for more than an hour from his home to play another round of golf and put up with a few more interviews.

In between shots, playing in a group that included three writers, the 20-year-old fielded several calls on his cell phone.

A student for the BYU TV station wondered if she could take a few minutes for an interview that afternoon. A local newspaper columnist wanted a few minutes to talk about Ogden's match against Michelle Wie.

Midway through the round, three representatives from BYU's Daily Universe suddenly appeared looking for "Clay Ogden." They knew he wasn't one of the older gentlemen in the foursome, but they may have been a bit surprised he was the skinny kid, all of 132 pounds, who looked like he might still be in high school.

For several holes they followed the foursome, the one with the camera snapping pictures of Ogden at inopportune times, like during his backswing. Sometimes they stood on the green, within feet of Ogden as he tried to make a putt.

Ogden took the distractions in stride, never once complaining or asking for a little space. He just kept hitting his straight-down-the-middle 300-yard drives and sinking birdie after birdie. When the round was over, Ogden had fashioned a tidy little 64, one of the best rounds ever played on the young course. Oh, and by the way, did we mention it was the first time he had ever laid eyes on the course?

For Ogden, life has been a bit of a whirlwind ever since he shocked the golf world in mid-July by beating Wie and then moving on to win one of the top amateur events in the country. Here he was, a kid from a small town in Utah, who couldn't even play regular on his college golf team the past two years, beating some of the best amateurs in the world.

Ogden went down to Phoenix for several days with his family later that week and got a couple of golf lessons from Jim Dieter, who worked with him earlier in the spring. He came back to Utah for a few days and then it was off to Oregon for the Pacific Coast Amateur. All he did there was lead the tournament for three days before finishing third.