Webb Simpson expressed his gratitude, and some fellow pros sent their congratulations:

Simpson sent a picture of the 'Jungle Bird' as well:

Amateur Beau Hossler finished tied for 29th at the U.S. Open, but the best thing that happened to him last week might just have been the proposal below:

Father's Day was also a common theme on Sunday:

After 17-year-old amateur Beau Hossler's impressive performance at the U.S. Open, we asked Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers if they thought Hossler should turn pro after completing high school in 2013, or head to the University of Texas as planned.

Here's what the Top 100 said:

If you were Beau Hossler’s coach would you advise him to turn pro after high school?

YES: 3%
NO: 97%

Comments:

“Triple no after that final round. His future team mate beat him for the week in the end.” --Jon Tattersall, Terminus Club, Atlanta, Ga.

“Zero point, Zero chance. I had the same situation with Inbee Park. Wait at least one year.” –-Joseph Hallet, Vanderbilt Legends Club, Franklin, Tenn.

“Iwould like to see him in college first, but today’s athletes are so different. He has the skill, talent and mental capacity, just not old enough to rent a car!” -- Nancy Quarcelino, Nancy Quarcelino School of Golf, Spring Hill, Tenn.

“Remember the grim years experienced by Justin Rose after finishing 4th in British Open at age 17?” –J.D. Turner, The Turner Golf Group, Savannah, Ga.

“Stay in high school. Graduate from college. Always have a Plan B.” -–Charlie Sorrell, Crystal Lake Golf and Country Club, Hampton, Ga.

“Turning pro will not allow him to mature as a person.” –- Jim Suttie, Cog Hill Golf and Country Club, Lemont, Ill.

“Only if he wants to be a teaching pro at age 27. That's how long it took Ty Tryon to go from phenom to failure.” –T.J. Tomasi, Keiser University School of Golf, Port St. Lucie, Fla.

“He needs to go to college. Remember Ty Tryon and Michele Wie? Neither reached their potential because they never learned to dominate at any level.  College would help Beau tremendously.” -- Mike Adams, Hamilton Farm Golf Club, Gladstone, N.J.

“He has a scholarship to play at Texas.  Go to college, have fun, win an NCAA championship and get your degree.  The PGA tour will still be there for you after that.” --Ed Ibarguen, Duke University Golf Club, Durham, N.C.

“The college experience is far too valuable in the big picture of life. It would be a shame to miss it.” -- Kellie Stenzel, Palm Beach Par 3 Golf Course, Palm Beach, Fla.

“Yes, that's what players do in other countries around the world.” –- Scott Munroe, Nantucket Golf Club,  Siasconset, Mass.

“Even though he seems to be a very mature young man, and has huge talent, he needs to gain more experience playing for Texas after high school graduation. After all, why waste that 4.0 GPA he's earned in so far in high school?”
–-Carol Preisinger, Kiawah Island Club, Kiawah Island, S.C.

“Can you say Ty Tryon?” –Brady Riggs, Woodley Lakes Golf Course, Van Nuys, Calif.

“This mistake has been made way too often with great talent that then doesn’t validate winning success at every level.” –Brad Brewer, Shingle Creek Golf Club, Orlando, Fla.

“Go win in college and learn how to be dominant”. –- Eric Johnson, Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pa.

“Not a chance. He needs much more seasoning!” -- Dan Pasquariello, St. James Plantation, Southport, N.C.

“Here are two ways of giving the same answer: Beau's US Open performance was nothing less than brilliant and showed remarkable promise but he should continue to successfully focus on being a 'student-athlete' for at least another year.  Only at that time, consider a switch from attending the University of Texas to attempting PGA Tour School.

"While Beau's US Open performance was nothing less than brilliant and shows remarkable promise, making a living on the PGA Tour is not a done deal yet as his Polo Golf Ranking scoring average of 72.03 in 29 junior golf rounds over the last year would at best place him 148th on the PGA Tour this season.” -- Dom DiJulia, Dom DiJulia School of Golf, New Hope, Pa.

We wrote a little something yesterday about “the rarest, most meaningless shot” we’ll see all week --  Alvaro Quiros’s practice round albatross on Olympic's seventh. Well, we recommend you watch Nick Watney’s reprise from Thursday, because it’s phenomenal. His double eagle on the par-5 17th starts at the 1:10 mark in our highlight package.

It’s hard to say which is more impressive, hitting a tee shot from 270 and having it roll in like a putt or drawing a 5-iron with the ball below your feet and having it roll in like a putt. Watney went from three-over to even on that one swing.

Just how rare is a double-eagle in competition?  The U.S. Open had only seen two before yesterday, and the tournament has been played since 1895. And how about seeing an albatross in two straight majors, after Louis Oosthuizen's at Augusta? Our researchers are still pouring over the microfiche, but…never...?

Casey at the Tee
Casey Martin, playing in the U.S. Open for the first time since 1998, put together a solid opening round by any measure, shooting four-over 74. It was particularly impressive considering Martin's painful circulatory disorder in his right leg. Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle:

Martin shook off a case of nerves to play the last 12 holes in 1-under. If you intend to watch him during Friday's second round, don't make it a mission of pity. Go for the sheer beauty of his swing. This is one of the purest ball strikers you'll ever see, and when you consider where he has been the past six years, the notion is astonishing.

"I guess I settled down and played pretty well," said Martin. "But it doesn't feel like I played well. It feels like I've been through a war. It was so hard out there. Man, that course is a stress."

Even through the hellish stage of his career, back when he had to sue the PGA Tour and endure such bitter resentment from the golf establishment, the Olympic Club has been Martin's friend. He recalls the galleries being "great" when he played the 1998 U.S. Open, finishing in a tie for 23rd in his then-historic use of a cart, and the fans were off-the-charts respectful Thursday.

All of that is good to see, given what Martin had to put up with last time he found himself in the spotlight. He started day two hanging around the top 60 players, who will make the cut.

Tweet of the Day:

SAN FRANCISCO — On Monday, 14-year-old Andy Zhang made headlines for qualifying for the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club.

Thursday it was 17-year-old Beau Hossler’s turn.

Hossler, an amateur from Mission Viejo, Calif., found himself on the first page of the leaderboard after a posting a steady, even-par 70, and he was quick to credit 41-year-old Phil Mickelson for his success.

Hossler and Mickleson played a practice round on Tuesday, with Mickelson playing the role of Yoda and Beau as young Skywalker. Phil joked. Beau chuckled. Phil preached. Beau listened. Mickelson’s Cliff’s Notes for the Lake Course?

“Conservative lines and aggressive swings,” Hossler said.

And don’t get greedy on the long putts.

“Sometimes you're going to have a 40-footer, but you want to have a speed that leaves you maybe one or two feet short of the hole as opposed to two or three feet by, giving you a chance to go in,” Hossler said. “So taking your pars and taking your medicine is huge.”

The round with Lefty was more than just a rewarding tutorial for Hossler, who has already committed to play golf at the University of Texas beginning in 2013. It was a stroll with his hero.

“Phil is like his guy, and he’s been his guy since Beau was 5 or 6 years old,” Hossler's father, Beau Sr., told the Washington Post earlier this week. “He was engaging and needling the boys and couldn’t have been any better. Considering he’s one of the favorites to win this thing, for him to take the time to do that was something Beau will never forget. You could see when he walked off and Phil gave him a pat on the butt, he was like, ‘Hey, this is neat.’”

So was Hossler’s first round. Three birdies against three bogeys on this beastly track?

“I've been playing really well lately,” Hossler said. “I expected myself to go out there and get a lot out of my round. I left a few out there, but you have to accept that -- it's the U.S. Open, it's going to happen.”

Less likely to happen is Hossler upsetting the field at the Olympic Club, even if this place is known for surprise winners.

The last amateur to win the U.S. Open was Johnny Goodman in 1933.

(Andrew Redington / Getty Images)