LAKE PLACID – During the past month, Art Griffin’s emotions as an aspiring golfer went from his biggest heartbreak to the most joyful moment of his young career.

The heartbreak for the talented 21-year-old from Lake Placid occurred on July 14, when he came just one stroke away from qualifying for the 2016 United States Amateur Championships, which are being held this week at the legendary Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

The elation came last Thursday, when Griffin found out he would be heading to Oakland Hills after all when an alternate spot opened up for the most prestigious amateur golf tournament in the world.

Griffin could have nailed down a berth in this year’s U.S. Amateur Championships when he played in New York state’s qualifying tournament last month at Colgate University in a competition that included 36 holes in one day. He fired a 69 in the first round to take a one-shot lead, but couldn’t hold on as two Canadians – Hugo Bernard and Blair Hamilton – finished tied for the top spot after the final round to punch their tickets to Oakland Hills.

The situation changed Thursday when Bernard, a Quebec golfer, won the Canadian men’s championship to gain an automatic berth in the U.S. tournament, which opened the door for Griffin, who had just wrapped his four-round run the same day in the New York State Men’s Amateur Golf Championship held Aug. 9-11 at the Mohawk Valley Golf Club.

After playing solid but not exceptional golf to finish tied for 15th place in that tournament, Griffin was ready to pack up his Jeep and head to South Carolina to attend his new college, Charleston Southern University. But while he was having a hamburger at the clubhouse with his parents, Griffin received a phone call from the USGA notifying him that a spot became available for the U.S. Amateur Championships.

“I had no idea what the call was about, but as soon as I heard ‘U.S. Amateur,’ I knew exactly what it was about,” Griffin said Monday prior to playing his first round at Oakland Hills. “After waiting for a month, I kind of put it out of my mind. Not winning that qualifier was the biggest downer I’ve ever had playing golf.”

Griffin said he knew the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship was taking place last week, but he had no clue that the outcome there would wind up affecting him.

“I didn’t know that such a scenario even existed,” he said.

Griffin did load up his gear for school, but instead of heading south on Saturday as was originally planned, he detoured west to Michigan and left Friday evening with his mother Cristina Lussi to compete at Oakland Hills.

Not only did Griffin earn a berth in the tournament that Tiger Woods won three times as an amateur, he is also getting to enjoy a reunion with former teammates from Lafayette College, the school he attended for the past two years before transferring to Charleston Southern. James Fraham, who will be a junior on the Leopards’ golf team, is Griffin’s caddy this week at Oakland Hills, and the two are staying at the home of Mike Zausmer, a Lafayette graduate who lives about 15 miles away from Oakland Hills.

“James and I made a deal that if either one of us qualified for the U.S. Amateur, we would caddy for each other,” Griffin said. “As soon as I found out, I called him and said, ‘Book a flight to Michigan.’ When Mike found out I would be out there, he said ‘You’re staying with me, no question about it.'”

The opening round of the U.S. Men’s Amateur Championships took place on Monday, and despite just being thrilled to be there, Griffin got off to a pretty solid start. The tournament kicked off with 312 golfers who are representing 29 nations. All golfers play a round each on the club’s North Course and South Course (known as “The Monster”), and the field will be whittled down to 64 heading into Wednesdays’ round.

After play concluded Monday, Griffin stood in a 32-way tie for 83rd place after he turned in a 1-over par 71 on the 6,827-yard North Course. He was scheduled to start his second round at 9:45 a.m. today on the North Course, which has hosted some of the world’s biggest tournaments including six U.S. Opens and three PGA Championships.

“Really, I’m not too concerned about how I play,” Griffin said Monday morning. “This is the most amazing place I’ve ever been, and the best golfers in the world are here. Of course, I’d love to make it to the next round of 64, but that’s not the biggest thing for me. This is the most amazing experience I’ve had as a golfer, and I’m just going to soak it all in. Just getting here is a huge accomplishment.”