Nearly 600 players competed for the final 44 spots to make the U.S. Open at Pinehurst June 13-16
For the second year in a row, the longest day in golf didn’t spill over to another 24 hours.
The 10 36-hole U.S. Open sectional qualifiers on Monday finished before midnight, with 587 players vying for the final 44 spots for Pinehurst, N.C., June 13-16. Three qualifiers, in Dallas, England and Japan, were held on May 20.
As usual, there was no shortage of drama.
The medalists ranged from 45-year-old Matt Kuchar at the Bear’s Club in Jupiter to Illinois sophomore Jackson Buchanan at the Golf Club of Georgia and Virginia sophomore Ben James at Canoe Brook in Summit, N.J.
And with sectionals loaded with PGA Tour winners and major champions such as Adam Scott, Jason Dufner, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Charl Schwartzel, Jimmy Walker and Zach Johnson, medalists or co-medalists included the likes of Mark Hubbard, Frankie Cappan III, Zac Blair, Tim Widing, Isaiah Salinda and Justin Lower, who have yet to win on the PGA Tour.
Another medalist, Joey Vrzich at the Pronghorn Resort in Bend, Ore., is playing on PGA Tour Americas.
Counting the previous three sectionals, a total of 948 players competed for the last 68 spots in the 156-player field for Pinehurst.
Who made it to the U.S. Open? Who will be watching on TV?
Here’s the complete rundown:
Cherry Hill Club, Ontario, Canada
66 players for seven spots
Qualifiers: Mark Hubbard 127, Adam Svensson 130, Rico Hoey 131, Davis Thompson 132, Greyson Sigg 133, Aaron Rai 133, Ashton McCulloch (a) 134.
Alternates: Keith Mitchell, Matt Wallace.
Notable misses: Ben Griffin, Bud Cauley, Sam Ryder, Doug Ghim, Stewart Cink, Maverick McNealy, Charley Hoffman, Davis Riley.
Highlights: Hubbard had 16 birdies and one bogey and played the last seven holes of the course at 9-under in the two rounds combined. … Thompson, a St. Simons Island, Ga., resident, shot 63 in the first round and birdied six of his last 11 holes. … Alex Gaugert, the caddie for Erik von Rooyen, shot 67 in the first round but faltered with a 72 to tie for 22nd. … Cauley, a Jacksonville native, holed out for a 2 on the par-4 first hole to start his second round but bogeyed two of the next four holes. … Griffin was the runner-up to Robert MacIntyre on Sunday in the RBC Canadian Open.
Bear’s Club, Jupiter
73 players for five spots
Qualifiers: Matt Kuchar 137, Daniel Berger 138, Dean Burmester 138, Luke Clanton (a) 139, Willie Mack III 141.
Alternates: Brendan Valdes (a), Thomas Ponder (a).
Notable misses: Anirban Lahiri, Nick Gabrelcik, Joaquin Niemann, Kevin Aylwin, Graeme McDowell, Nolan Harper, Fred Biondi, Lance Yates, Luke Donald, Chase Baldwin, Charl Schwartzel, Peter Uihlein.
Highlights: The 45-year-old Kuchar was 1-under after a bogey on the first hole of his afternoon round, then played the last 17 holes at 6-under with no more bogeys. … Mack got the final spot in a three-for-one playoff with Valdes and Ponder. Valdes three-putted the second playoff hole. … Gabrelcik finished his senior season at the University of North Florida with a Korn Ferry Tour card, thanks to a fifth-place finish on the PGA Tour University rankings. … Aylwin and Yates are former UNF players. … Harper plays at Beachside High School. … Burmester, Lahiri, Niemann, McDowell, Schwartzel and Uihlein are LIV Golf League members. … The two alternates both play in the SEC. Valdes helped Auburn win the national championship and Ponder plays at Alabama.
Golf Club of Georgia (Lakeside Course), Alpharetta
68 players for three spots
Qualifiers: Jackson Buchanan (a), 131, Chris Petefish 131, Frederik Kjettrup (a) 132.
Alternates: Connor Howe (a), Carson Bacha (a).
Notable misses: Scott Brown, Jackson Koivun (a), David Ford (a), Oliver Schneiderjans, Aldrich Potgieter, Maxwell Ford (a), Blades Brown, Jason Dufner, Christo Lamprecht, Ted Potter Jr., Hudson Swafford.
Highlights: Buchanan, a sophomore at Illinois, opened with a 64, then eagled the first and 18th holes in the second round for a 67 to tie Petefish, who is coming off four missed cuts in a row on the Korn Ferry Tour. Both are Georgia natives. … Petefish and Kjettrup both had bogey-free 66s in the second round. Kjettrup, a Florida State starter, played in the national championship match against Auburn. … Six of the top 10 players on the final leaderboard are amateurs. There were 36 amateurs in the field.
Woodmont Country Club, Rockville, Md.
64 players for three spots
Qualifiers: Tim Widing 133, Isaiah Salinda 133, Wells Williams (a) 134.
Alternates: Jackson Suber, Kieran Vincent.
Notable misses: Sebastian Munoz, Marc Leishman, Peter Knade, Ian Gilligan (a), Karl Vilips (a), Jimmy Walker, Kevin Chappell.
Highlights: Widing, a native of Sweden, won back-to-back on the Korn Ferry Tour at the LECOM Suncoast Classic and the Veritex Bank Championship, shooting a combined 51-under par. … Salinda is a former Stanford player and Williams is a sophomore at Vanderbilt. … Gilligan is the No. 1 player for the Florida Gators.
Canoe Brook Golf Club, Summit, N.J.
72 players for four spots
Qualifiers: Ben James (a) 131, Max Greyserman 131, Andrew Svoboda 133, Jim Herman 135.
Alternates: Michael Miller 135, Raul Pereda 135.
Notable misses: Chris Gotterup, Michael Thorbjornsen, Ryan McCormick.
Highlight: James, the 2021 Junior Players champion and a sophomore at Virginia, missed a playoff for the NCAA individual championship due to a one-stroke penalty for slow play. He had five birdies and an eagle in shooting 64 in the second round at Canoe Brook. … Pereda, a former JU player, birdied six of his first 13 holes in the second round but lost to Herman as part of a four-for-one playoff. … Thorbjornsen, who just finished his senior year at Stanford, earned a PGA Tour card for finishing first on the PGA Tour University rankings. He shot 74-75 with three triple bogeys and two doubles.
Duke University Golf Club, Durham, N.C.
84 players for seven spots
Qualifiers: Frankie Capan III 134, Brian Campbell 135, Sam Bennett 135, Chesson Hadley 136, Webb Simpson 136, Carter Jenkins 137, Harry Higgs 137.
Alternates: Spencer Oxendine, Matt McCarty.
Notable misses: Satoshi Kodaira, Miles Russell (a), Doc Redman, Harold Varner III, Russell Knox, Julian Suri, Daniel Summerhays, Bill Haas, Jared Wolfe.
Highlights: Capan, who shot 58 earlier this year in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Veritex Championship, played his last 11 holes at 4-under with no bogeys. … Higgs and Jenkins survived a seven-for-two playoff. … Simpson won the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club. … Higgs won twice in playoffs on the Korn Ferry Tour last month. … Russell received a sponsor exemption on Monday to the Rocket Mortgage Classic June 27-30, where he will make his first PGA Tour start.
Ohio State Golf Club (Scarlet Course), Columbus, Ohio
68 players for five spots
Qualifiers: Justin Lower 132, Seamus Power 132, Brendon Todd 133, Gunnar Broin (a) 133, Chris Naegel 133.
Alternates: Otto Black, Joshua Lee.
Notable misses: Luke List, Hayden Buckley, Bo Van Pelt, Jhonattan Vegas, Kevin Tway, Luke Guthrie, K.H. Lee.
Highlights: Lower, a PGA Tour member, had 10 3s and only one 5 on his first-round card, for a 64. … Power was also bogey-free in his first round, for a 64. … Broin just completed his senior year at Kansas. … Lee is a past Times-Union high school player of the year at Fleming Island and played college golf at Florida State.
Springfield Country Club, Springfield, Ohio
64 players for four spots
Qualifiers: Zac Blair 131, Beau Hossler 132, Carson Schaake 132, Cameron Davis 133.
Alternates: Adam Scott, Maxwell Moldovan.
Notable misses: Troy Merritt, Austin Greaser, Robert Streb, Dylan Wu, Zach Johnson, Nick Hardy.
Highlights: Blair was 4-under on his first six holes in the second round, then birdied No. 18 to earn medalist. … Hossler was bogey-free in the first round. … Davis beat Scott, who bogeyed three of his last five holes, with a birdie on the third playoff hole. Scott chipped in for birdie on the first hole but Davis made a 15-foot birdie putt on top of him. Scott still has a chance to extend his streak of major championship starts to 92.
Pronghorn Resort, Bend, Ore.
44 players for two spots
Qualifiers: Joey Vrzich 139, Colin Prater (a) 141.
Alternates: Trevor Simsby, Ollie Osborne.
Notable misses: Jhared Hack, Colin Featherstone, Alex Chiarella.
Highlights: Vrzich, a former Pepperdine player who is now on PGA Tour Americas, had an adventuresome final round with six birdies, one eagle, five bogeys and six pars. … Prater, a 29-year-old high school science teacher, was 4-over for his first 10 holes in the second round, then birdied three of his last six holes to clinch the second qualifying spot.
Lake Merced Golf Club, Daly City, Calif.
84 players for four spots
Qualifiers: David Puig 132, Omar Morales (a) 133, John Chin 134, Charles Reiter 134.
Alternates: R.J. Manke, Blake Tomlinson.
Notable misses: Preston Summerhays (a), Jake Beber-Frankel (a), Taylor Montgomery, Matt Jones.
Highlights: Puig, a member of LIV Golf, did not make a bogey in rounds of 68-64.
May 20 sectionals
Hino Golf Club (King Course), Shiga, Japan
34 players for three spots
Qualifiers: Ryo Ishikawa 131, Riki Kawamoto 131, Taisei Shimizu 132.
Alternates: Ryosuke Kinoshita 132, Naoyuki Kataoka 132.
Highlights: Ishikawa made only one bogey in 36 holes. … Shimizu survived a five-for-one playoff for the final spot.
Walton Heath Golf Club, Surrey, England
100 players for 10 spots
Qualifiers: Grant Forrest 134, Richard Mansell 134, Thompson Robinson 134, Sam Bairstow 135, Robert Rock 135, Tom McKibbin 136, Edoardo Molinari 136, Jason Scrivener 136, Mattaeo Manassero 136, Casey Jarvis 137.
Alternates: Andrea Pavan, Bjorn Akesson.
Notable misses: Bernd Wiesberger, Ross Fisher, Sam Horsfield, Callum Tarren.
Highlights: Forrest played Nos. 10-16 in his second round at 7-under to earn a share of medalist. Mansell had a bogey-free 65 in his first round and Robinson had 11 birdies and one double-bogey in his 36 holes. Jarvis won a five-for-one playoff to clinch the final spot.
Dallas Athletic Club, Dallas
127 players for 11 spots
Qualifiers: Nico Echavarria 135, McClure Meissner 136, Eugenio Lopez Chacarra 136, Takumi Kanaya 138, Francesco Molinari 138, Brandon Wu 138, Michael McGowan 139, Parker Bell 139, Seonghyeon Kim 139, Sang Kung 139, Logan McAllister 139.
Alternates: Sergio Garcia, Josh Radcliff.
Notable misses: Abraham Ancer, Lanto Griffin, Andrew Novak, Cameron Champ, Andrew Riley, Kevin Na, Tyson Alexander, Joel Dahmen, Patton Kizzire, Patrick Reed.
Highlights: Garcia double-bogeyed the par-5 16th hole, then bogeyed the first hole of a seven-for-six playoff and ended as the first alternate. … Echavarria, a Ponte Vedra Beach resident, played his last 10 holes at 4-under with no bogeys, with a 2 on the par-4 11th hole. … Molinari joins his brother Edoardo, who qualified in England, in the U.S. Open field.