NEWNAN, Georgia (May 8, 2012) -- Brad Arrington of Augusta, Ga. and Jonathan Hodge of Jasper, Tenn. each fired an 8-under-par 64 to share medalist honors at the first U.S. Open local qualifier, held at SummerGrove Golf Club in Newnan, Ga., on Tuesday, May 8.
Also qualifying were five players who shot 5-under-par 67, including Georgian Jonathan Fricke of Covington, Nicolas Wade of San Antonio, Texas, Alex Coe of La Quina, Calif., McCuen Elmore of Cheraw, S.C., and James Hahn of San Bruno, Calif. Of those to finish in one of the ten qualifying spots, Elmore is the lone amateur.
Five players finished at 4-under-par 68, so a playoff was needed to determine the final three qualifying positions and the two alternates. After the first playoff hole (#10), Eric Axley of Knoxville, Tenn. and Tim Weinhart of Alpharetta, Ga. clinched two qualifying spots with birdies. The remaining players then went to the second playoff hole (#18), and Michael Lavery of Mission Viejo, Calif. made par to secure the final qualifying position. Ryan Dagerman, an amateur from Dallas, Texas, finished as the first alternate. Jose Toledo of Guatemala was not present at the start of the playoff, so he received the second alternate spot.
SummerGrove Golf Club played to 6,954 yards and a par 72.
The second of the two local qualifiers will be held at Marietta Country Club on Monday, May 14. Sectional qualifying will consist of 36 holes of stroke play conducted at 11 sites in the United States, including The River Club in Suwanee, Ga., on June 4.
The 112th U.S. Open Championship will be held at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif., June 11-17. Entries were open to any professional and to amateurs with USGA Handicap Indexes not exceeding 1.4. The U.S. Open is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association.
ABOUT THE U.S. Open Local Qualifying
18-hole stroke play qualifier open to male amateurs
with a handicap of 0.4 and below. Players who
advance
will get to choose their top three sectional qualifying
sites. The number of qualifying spots will depend on
the size of the field.
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