Albertson opened stroke play Monday with a 12-over 82 on the Cedar Ridge Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. He followed with a 6-over 76 on Tuesday at the Southern Hills Country Club for a total of 158 over the two rounds. He finished in the bottom half of a field that totaled more than 300.
Albertson said the biggest difference between his two rounds was that he put himself in better positions off the tee Tuesday.
"Anything would be better than (Monday)," Albertson said. "I drove (the ball) horribly (Monday). I drove it better (Tuesday), but it was still bad. I put it in the rough (Monday) and (Tuesday) I hit more fairways and gave myself more chances to succeed. But I still didn't get it done either day. It was pretty poor."
Despite failing to advance to the match-play portion of the most prestigious of the USGA's amateur tournaments, Albertson said he took plenty away from the experience and made a few friends along the way.
"It was an awesome experience," Albertson said. "Two good courses, probably two of the best courses I ever played. Great people (in Tulsa). Great competition. It was very cool."
Earlier in the summer, Albertson fell short in an attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open, but did earn a spot in the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. He reached match play at the tournament in Norman, Okla., before bowing out in his first match on the second hole of a playoff.
Albertson, who led the Eagles to a berth in the Class AAAAA state championships in May, said he found plenty of ways to improve his game and he picked up tips from other competitors.
"I played practice rounds with the NCAA national champs, Texas A&M, and they found some aspects in my game that need to be addressed and that need to be improved in order to play next year."
Albertson also said he became friends will almost everyone he played with, including members of the Texas A&M, Illinois and Indiana golf teams.
"All the guys were real nice," he said. "I guess you could say that all four guys became my friends."
As a high school student, Albertson was one of the younger players in the field. Nevertheless, he says he felt at home in the competition.
"I felt like I belonged out there," he said. "I felt like I was one of them. I learned some things that I wouldn't have if I wasn't here. I think I can build on this and it is definitely a great foundation to build on and see what I can do."
As he goes back to balancing his books with his golf game, Albertson has three more tournaments scheduled, highlighted by the Georgia Public Links and the Bobby Chapman Invitational.
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