What did you do this summer?

Students are usually asked that question by their teachers and, if they're golfers, their answer is, "Playing in tournaments on the Mainland." In the case of Damien Jamila, an instructor and golf coach at Saint Louis School, it'll be the other way around. He'll be doing the playing.

Jamila gained one of six local spots for the U.S. Open sectional qualifiers next month with the hopes of making it to Torrey Pines in San Diego for the 108th U.S. Open, which ends on Father's Day. So what a Father's Day gift that would be for Jamila's 79-year-old dad, Andrew, the person most instrumental in nurturing his son's remarkable junior golf career. And for Damien Jamila, a father of two.

Raising a family with his wife, Christina, was the biggest reason Jamila, now 37, did not pursue golf as a career after being one of the most promising young players coming out of Hawai'i.

In 1982 he won the boys' 11-12 title in the Junior World Championships in San Diego at Torrey Pines, beating out a hometown prodigy named Phil Mickelson, who finished fourth. Later that year, Jamila also won his age division in the Optimist Junior Golf Championship in Florida. In 1986, he finished runner-up in the Westfield Junior PGA Championship in Ohio, again upstaging Mickelson, who ended third.

At Saint Louis, Jamila won the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship twice and was an honorable mention All-American for the University of Hawai'i before getting his degree. While the No. 1 player on the UH golf team, Jamila won the Hawai'i State Amateur Stroke Play Championship three straight years (1990 to 1992), still being the only player to accomplish that feat. He also became the first amateur in 29 years to win the Hawai'i Pearl Open in 1992, and the only amateur champion until Tadd Fujikawa last year. Jamila twice represented Hawai'i in the National Amateur Public Links Championship and played in the 1990 U.S. Amateur.

He turned pro briefly in 2000 but competed in only three local tournaments. He never tried for the PGA Tour qualifying school. By then, raising a family was his first priority.

Until this year, Jamila had never even tried to qualify for the U.S. Open. Why now?

"It's at Torrey Pines. There's so much history there for me," said Jamila, who was watching the U.S. Open on television and learned that this year's event would be held at Torrey Pines, a course he played often, the first time when he was 10.

Jamila wouldn't have even tried to qualify for this year's U.S. Open if he felt his game hadn't been up up it. He took the second qualifying spot at the Turtle Bay Fazio Course following a four-way playoff after shooting a 73, three strokes back of medalist Pierre-Henri Soero, a former UH golfer.

As the Saints' golf coach, Jamila would hit balls on the driving range with his players. "I was thinking, wow, I was hitting the ball really well. I wanted to make sure it wasn't a fluke, so I put my entry fee three weeks before the Mid-Pac Open to see what happens. See if I can make the cut," Jamila said. He did, in only his second competitive tournament since the 2002 Mid-Pacific Open.

Achieving that goal — and with Torrey Pines foremost in mind — made the decision to try to qualify for the U.S. Open a no-brainer for Jamila. He hopes to advance out of the sectional qualifying at the Lake Merced Golf Club in the Bay Area on June 2. It's a course Jamila played during his UH days and a friend's father is the head golf professional there. "He (Chris Wright) is trying to help me get in some practice rounds there," Jamila said.

Long-time golf followers were pleasantly surprised in seeing Jamila's name reappear. Even Jamila was shocked that he got a local qualifying spot by outplaying a number of Aloha Section PGA pros.

More so, Jamila said, "because high school kids are beating me now. I know what that feeling is like because I used to do that."

Jamila said he leaning toward playing more competitive golf now that his kids, Cole (9) and Camryn (7), are getting older.

"I've got to work on a lot of things. I'm behind, technically, as far as golf equipment goes. My irons (a Japanese Dunlop line) are really old. They don't go far," said Jamila, whose woods at least aren't persimmon.

Another friend of his, Ryan Crivello, is trying to get Jamila up to speed in the latest golf technology. He didn't even know what a SkyCam was until Crivello brought the range-finder out at Mid-Pac. "What is this thing? Can you have it in a tournament?" Jamila asked incredulously. "So I went out and bought a SkyCam. Now I'm addicted. I can't play golf without it."

New equipment comes next. "I still don't know what kind of irons I want to get," said Jamila, who's now using Ping drivers, although they're older models.

Another big adjustment, Jamila said, is spending his time more efficiently, especially when it comes to getting in some practice. "My son has baseball, my daughter has hula, so when I go to practice, my time management has to be more stringent. I cannot go through my practice progression. I can't give it my full time like when I was in college. I have to make sure my practice time is used well."

Anyway, golf is "getting fun again," Jamila said, whose name could appear more often from now on in local golf stories.

PGA TOUR

MERCEDES AND SONY ARE LOOKING GOOD

With his victory in the Players Championship, Sergio Garcia joined Ernie Els as another former Mercedes champion returning after years of absence from Kapalua's Plantation Course. Garcia, who won the 2002 Mercedes, ended a two-year victory drought on the PGA Tour, while Els, the 2003 champion, ended four-year, 0-for-47 PGA winless streak, by capturing the Honda Classic in February.

No one was more pleased in having the two return than Gary Planos, Mercedes-Benz Championship tournament chairman. "We've strengthened our field across the board in the last five weeks," said Planos, citing victories by Masters winner Trevor Immelman, Boo Weekley, Adam Scott, Anthony Kim and Sergio Garcia during that stretch. "Ernie said he was looking forward to coming back," added Planos, who was at the Players Championship.

Sony Open in Hawai'i officials are also elated. Garcia and Els figure to stick around for another week to play in the full-field PGA Tour event at the Waialae Country Club. Both did after their last Mercedes appearances.