Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette Amateur Chris Condello, reigning Ivy League champion from Columbia, tests the Church Pews bunker on No. 4 during a practice round yesterday.

If a script were submitted to Hollywood about one of the 12 amateur golfers winning the U.S. Open, the rejection notice might be the only thing that goes out faster than a downhill putt scooting off an Oakmont green.

What are the chances of an amateur emerging from this field on this course?

"Impossible," said Oakmont pro Bob Ford.

What about making the cut?

"A stretch," he said. "But Trip Kuehne can do it."

Kuehne, president of a hedge fund called Double Eagle Capital Management in Irving, Texas, plays at Oakmont so much that he could call it his second home. At 34, he long ago made the decision to remain an amateur even though his game could put him on the professional tour.

Still, he knows he has his work cut out for him against the best golfers in the world.

"I sit out on the driving range and I look like these guys look, and I hit the ball like they do, but they never make bogeys," Kuehne said. "I'm liable to make a bogey from anywhere, but these guys, they get up and down from the rough, they get up and down from the bunkers and they are the best in the world at what they do. They are even better than people realize, especially around the greens."

Fact can be stranger than fiction when it comes to golf. The 2005 movie "The Greatest Game Ever Played" was based on the exploits of Francis Ouimet, a 20-year-old former caddie from a working class family who won the Open title by defeating a couple of British heavyweights, Henry Vardon and Ted Ray, in 1913.

The reality is that not one of the nine amateurs entered in last year's Open at Winged Foot made the cut after the first two rounds.

Five amateurs throughout history have won the Open -- Ouimet, Jerome D. Travers in 1915, Charles Evans Jr. in 1916, the legendary Bobby Jones (1923, 1926, 1929 and 1930) and John Goodman. Goodman's victory came 74 years ago when hickory shafts were all the rage and wooden club heads were made of persimmon.

The most recent amateur to win on the PGA Tour was Phil Mickelson in 1991 at the Northern Telecom Open, but that seems like the dark ages, given the fact that graphite shafts and titanium drivers hadn't been mass produced yet.

The whole idea of the U.S. Open is that anyone who puts up the $150 entry fee and qualifies for one of the 156 spots has a chance at a dream.

One of the strongest players in the amateur ranks is Richie Ramsay of Aberdeen, Scotland. He won the U.S. Amateur last year and will get an indication today of how his game holds up. He's paired with Tiger Woods, the No. 1 player in the world, and defending U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy.

Ramsay, 23, has already played in a Walker Cup match, pitting the top U.S. amateurs against those of Great Britain and Ireland, and has won the 2004 Scottish Open and the 2005 Irish Amateur.

Two amateurs playing college golf in America have international backgrounds -- Rhys Davies of Bridgend, Wales, who is on the East Tennessee State golf team, and Martin Ureta, of Santiago, Chile, who is on the University of North Carolina team. Davies has played in a Walker Cup match, and Ureta played in the 2003 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont.

Two amateurs will have their fathers caddying for them -- Chris Condello and Jeff Golden. Making the cut would make it an extra special Father's Day on Sunday.

Condello is the Ivy League champion medalist from Columbia University. Golden, of Winter Park, Fla., canceled plans to coach at a tennis camp with his friends this summer when he qualified for the Open. His father, Jay, performs trick shots at shows when he isn't coaching his son.

"We've decided even if he misses the cut, we're going to stay the weekend and enjoy the whole experience. [Making the cut] would be over the top," Jeff Condello said.

Jason Kokrak, 22, won the Ohio State Amateur last year and played in the 2003 U.S. Amateur. A native of North Bay, Ontario, he resides in Warren, Ohio, about a 90-minute drive from Oakmont.

How about a 16-year-old who is a sophomore in high school?

That would be Richard Lee of Chandler, Ariz. Born in Ontario, Lee played in the 2005 U.S. Amateur at Merion and missed the cut by three shots. His father, Jeff, once played on the Korean PGA tour. Lee plans to turn pro right after the Open.

Golfing bloodlines are also evident for Alexander Prugh of Spokane, Wash. Prugh's father is the club pro at the Manito Golf and Country Club, and he qualified for a spot in the 2006 U.S. Senior Open.

Athleticism is a plus. John Kelly of St. Louis, a member of the National Honor Society who could dunk a basketball in high school, finished second in the 2006 U.S. Amateur. His father played soccer at Benedictine University.

Also in the field are Phillip Pettitt Jr., 22, of the University of Tennessee and Mark Harrell, 21, of Savannah, Ga., a sophomore at the University of Alabama. Harrell has played in two U.S. Amateurs.

A dozen players. A dozen dreams.