US Open Golf 2012: Beau Hossler Has Confidence to Be Legitimate Contender

Beau Hossler has accomplished a lot through three days of the 2012 U.S. Open, but with one great round he can be the youngest champion ever of the prestigious tournament.

Coming into Thursday, simply making the cut would have been enough for the 17-year-old to leave satisfied. After shooting a 70 in the first round and having a short lead in Day 2, those expectations have significantly changed.

The key to his success has been his outstanding confidence. Every time you would expect the youngster to fall apart, he comes back better than ever.

In Round 2, a double bogey on the fourth hole started a run of three more bogeys in the next four holes. This could cause a veteran to fall apart, let alone a teenager in the national spotlight. However, the high school junior showed once again that he is not going away.

His performance on Saturday was nothing short of extraordinary. Hossler followed every one of his bogeys with a birdie on the very next hole, finishing even on the day. Despite consistently missing fairways off the tee, he always responded with a great save to put him back in good shape for the hole.

Anyone who watched the youngster compete on the third day of the U.S. Open saw a kid playing with confidence. He made great reads and was not afraid to be a part of the competition.

Based on his performance, it is easy to believe there will be a lot of tournament wins in Hossler's future. As he grows he will get stronger and drive further, and hopefully he will get more consistency in his drives.

However, it is possible that the future is now for the California native.

At plus-three, he is only four strokes off the leaders going into the final day. He is ahead of fan favorites Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and he made the cut when Bubba Watson and Rory McIlroy could not.

It would take an incredible performance to move up to the top of the leaderboard, but it is not impossible. With the confidence and ability that Hossler has displayed to this point, anything could happen.