2014 U.S. Open: Meet the amateurs, follow live scores
6/8/2014 | by Benjamin Larsen of AmateurGolf.com
see also: View results for U.S. Open Golf Championship, Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
Follow live scoring updates from Pinehurst No. 2 as the first round of the U.S. Open gets underway
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When the 2014 U.S. Open kicks off from Pinehurst, the golf world will be following one -- or more -- of the many, many storylines buzzing about No. 2. Among those storylines, as it is every year at our national championship, is the interest in the amateurs in the field. Mixed among the major championship winners, World Golf Hall of Famers and otherwise likely contenders is a group of 11 amateurs this year.
All but two of the amateurs in the U.S. Open field earned their position by way of the grueling qualifying process, which wrapped up Monday at 10 sites across the nation. The other two, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Oliver Goss, punched their tickets last summer with their terrific runs to the finals at the U.S. Amateur.
As the golf world prepares for its second major championship of 2014, here's a look at the 11 amateurs in the U.S. Open field:
Shot 1-over 142 and then defeated Casey
Wittenberg on the sixth extra hole to earn
first-
alternate status at the Purchase, N.Y.,
sectional
qualifier; won the 2014 NCAA Men's Division
I
individual title as a senior at Stanford;
competed
in three U.S. Amateurs and the 2012 U.S.
Open
at The Olympic Club; in 2009, was the
youngest-ever Metropolitan Golf Association
Player of the Year.
A golfer at the University of Oregon, McIver
finished as the First alternate in sectional
qualifier in Creswell, Ore. McIver reached last
year's U.S. Amateur and was a Top 10
finisher
at
the NCAA Regional last month.
Qualified as first alternate from Springfield
(Ohio)
C.C. sectional when Thomas Bjorn withdrew;
shot 137 in qualifier; medalist at local
qualifier
at
Maketewah C.C. in Cincinnati by carding
course-
record 66; won 2013 North & South
Amateur
at
Pinehurst; also won 2013 Ohio Amateur;
qualified
for 2013 U.S. Amateur; just finished junior
year
at Coastal Carolina, where he owns one
victory.
Whitsett, an outgoing senior at University of
Alabama, shot 12-under to take
medalist honors at the Houston, Texas
sectional qualifier. One of the game's top
amateurs, Whitsett won last year's
Northeast
Amateur and was a member of the
2013 U.S. Walker Cup team. Whitsett was a
driving force in Alabama's two-straight
national championships.
A freshman at Stanford, McNealy shot 7-
under
at Lake Merced Golf Club and the
Olympic Club's Ocean Course to take one of
five berths from the Daly City sectional.
McNealy most recently made headlines in a
match-play battle with Talor Gooch of
Oklahoma State in last week's NCAA
semifinals.
One of the collegiate game's most
underrated
players, the Irvine, Calif. native and
University of Illinois golfer will have a
chance
to showcase his game on the biggest
of stages. He shot 6-under to take the last
qualifying berth at the Daly City, Calif.
qualifier on Monday.
A junior standout from Cincinnati, Grimmer
shot
5-under at Springfield Country Club
to punch his ticket. Grimmer has quite the
history at Pinehurst. Playing the resort's
No. 1 course, he shot a 59 at last summer's
North & South Junior. While the U.S.
Open will surely be played under quite
different
conditions, Grimmer -- just a high
school junior -- will undoubtedly be a
storyline.
University of Alabama standout freshman
Robby Shelton led all amateur qualifiers at
the Colonial Country Club sectional. He shot
70-66 to finish tied for eighth and three
shots off the pace of medalist Hudson
Swafford in a qualifier that featured many
professional stars.
Love, a standout at University of Alabama-
Birmingham shot 6-under and tied for the
final qualifying position at the Colonial
Country
Club sectional in Memphis. Love was
a major factor in the recent NCAA
Championship, helping UAB reach the final
round
with stellar play in the regionals.
Stewart, of Vanderbilt, was the fourth and
final amateur to sneak past the field and
into the U.S. Open at the Memphis
sectional.
Stewart tied Love and Cappelen for
the final berth. A former Players Amateur
champion, Stewart is a standout golfer for
the Commodores.
Oliver Goss, from Australia, finished as the
runner-up at the 2013 U.S. Amateur. The
University of Tennessee golfer was the low
amateur at the Masters in April.
Fitzpatrick, who announced that he'll turn
professional following the U.S. Open, is
exempt into the field by way of winning the
2013 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club
in Brookline, Mass.
When the 2014 U.S. Open kicks off from Pinehurst, the golf world will be following one -- or more -- of the many, many storylines buzzing about No. 2. Among those storylines, as it is every year at our national championship, is the interest in the amateurs in the field. Mixed among the major championship winners, World Golf Hall of Famers and otherwise likely contenders is a group of 11 amateurs this year.
All but two of the amateurs in the U.S. Open field earned their position by way of the grueling qualifying process, which wrapped up Monday at 10 sites across the nation. The other two, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Oliver Goss, punched their tickets last summer with their terrific runs to the finals at the U.S. Amateur.
As the golf world prepares for its second major championship of 2014, here's a look at the 11 amateurs in the U.S. Open field:
MEET THE AMATEURS IN THE U.S. OPEN FIELD »
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Results: U.S. Open Golf Championship
| Place | Player | Location | Pts | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T48 | , England | 600 | 71-73-78-69-291 |
About the U.S. Open Golf Championship
The U.S. Open is the biggest of the 15 national championships conducted by the USGA. Open to amateurs and professionals. Amateurs gain entry via USGA win or runner-up finishes while having the opportunity to qualify alongside non-exempt professionals...
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