The road to the U.S. Open ended Tuesday
with sectional qualifying, the second and final
stage for U.S. Open hopefuls.
With
that, the field for the June 13-16 U.S. Open at
Merion Golf Club is complete.
The road is undoubtedly a long one ---
especially for amateurs. For those that took
the long route and made it through local and
sectional qualifying, they knew what was on
the
line. For others, who qualified on merits of
recent
and past performances, the road to those
events was surely as arduous.
When the full field takes the tee, 10 amateurs
will be among
them. Here's a look at the amateurs in the
field
along with how they qualified:
Steven Fox - Reigning U.S. Amateur
Champion
Michael Weaver - U.S. Amateur runner-
up
Chris Williams - 2012 Mark H.
McCormack
Winner
Cory
McElyea - T4 Newport Beach, Calif.
Sectional
Max Homa
- T4 Newport Beach, Calif. Sectional
Kevin Phelan - Medalist Bradenton, Fla.
Sectional
Michael
Kim - Co-medalist Ball Ground, Ga.
Sectional
Grayson
Murray - 3rd Ball Ground, Ga.
Sectional
Gavin Hall - Co-medalist Purchase, NY
Sectional
Cheng-
Tsung Pan - 2nd Cle Elum, Wash.
Sectional
SECTIONAL QUALIFYING COVERAGE &
RESULTS
There were 13
sectional sites - 11 in the U.S., one in
England,
and one in Japan. The international qualifiers
took place on May 27.
Played over 36 holes in one day, sectional
qualifying is a test of skill and endurance, with
only a handful of available spots at each site -
the number of qualifying spots is determined
by
the quality and quantity of the field at each
location. With qualifying taking place at 11
sites around the country, U.S.-based sectional
qualifying is known as "golf's longest day."
The U.S. Open field was finally made
complete
after Tuesday's playoffs were completed in
Florida
and Texas.
Amateur highlights from today's U.S.
Open
sectional qualifying follow.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. --- Big Canyon
Country
Club, Newport Beach Country Club
Talk about a whirlwind week for Max Homa.
The Cal senior recently wrapped up his
collegiate
career in bittersweet fashion, claiming NCAA
individual
honors but feeling the defeat of the top-
ranked Bears
losing in the semifinals.
Things looked up when he was named the
Southern
Golf Association's Player of the Month on the
strength
of his play at the Pac-12 and NCAA
Championships.
Homa got another boost Monday by claiming
one of just
five qualifying spots at the U.S. Open's west
coast
qualifier.
Homa shot rounds of 66 (Newport Beach) and
72 (Big
Canyon) to sneak under the cut at 5-under
par. Homa
is joined by fellow collegiate star Cory
McElyea of
Washington. McEleyea (former SF City
Champ,
and an amateurgolf.com member) double
bogeyed No. 9 before makin four straight
birdies F
U
LL
RESULTS »
CLE ELUM, Wash. --- Tumble Creek
Club
Washington star golfer Cheng-Tsung Pan
shot
rounds of
69-70--139 (1-under) to take one of two
qualifying
spots.
Formerly the top-ranked NCAA player in the
Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, Pan missed out on
medalist
by one shot but will b among those moving on
to
championship proper June 13-16 at Merion
Golf Cub.
Recent UNLV graduate Kevin
Penner
missed
out by five shots. F
U
LL
RESULTS »
DALLAS, Texas --- Lakewood Country
Club
A total of 68 players battled for four qualifying
spots
and local knowledge ruled in Dallas.
Three Dallas-based pros, including former
Texas star
and highly-ranked amateur Jordan Spieth, tied
for the
top spot at 8-under 134.
Talor Gooch, an
Oklahoma
State player, was
the low
amateur. He finished at 3-under 139. Other
notable
amateurs failing to qualify included: Charles
Ewing,
Alex Carpenter, Bryson Dechambeau
and
Julien Brun.
F
U
LL
RESULTS »
MEMPHIS, Tenn. --- Colonial Country
Club
Kentucky' Will Bishop was the low amateur in
a field
that didn't push any into championship proper
June 13-
16 at Merion Golf Club. The Wildcat senior
finished 2-
under and two shots out of the final qualifying
position.
Reigning Dixie Amateur champion
Daniel Berger of
Florida
State
and Alabama's Bobby Wyatt
,
the
top-ranked player in the Golfweek/amate
ur
golf.
com Player Rankings, finished four back
of
the
final
spot.
The top of the leaderboard featured
some
PGA Tour stars, including Kevin Sutherland,
Jerry Kelly,
Scott Langley and Scott Stallings. Ben Crane
missed
qualifying by two shots. FU
L
L
RESULTS »
COLUMBUS, Ohio --- Brookside Golf, The
Lakes Golf & Country Club
Only 15 spots were up for grabs in Ohio as
120
players took aim at a berth in the U.S. Open.
Charley Hoffman took medalist honors over a
field that looked more like a weekend on the
PGA Tour than a qualifying round.
Hoffman shot rounds of 65 (Lakes) and 68
(Brookside) to take top honors by one shot
over
David Hearn, Nicholas Thompson, Josh Teater
and Robert Karlsson
Other touring pros who made the cut were
David Lingmerth, Brandt Jobe, Brendan
Steele,
Ted Potter Jr, Aaron Baddeley, Luke Guthrie
and
Sang Moon Bae.
Alabama standout Justin Thomas
was
the
low
amateur, firing rounds of 6-under 67-71. FULL RESULTS »
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio --- Springfield Country
Club
Brian Stuard rolled to the top of the
leaderboard with rounds of 65-64, 11-under.
He
took medalist honors, finishing six shots
better
than Brandon Brown, the only other qualifier
from the location.
Mike Sorenson of Colorado State and Indiana's
Chase Wright were the low amateurs, finishing
13 shots off the pace. FULL RESULTS »
ST. LOUIS, Missouri --- Old Warson
Country
Club
Former Indiana Hoosier Brent Peaper missed a
spot in a two-man playoff by three shots at
midwest qualifying. Jay Don Blake of Utah
fired
rounds of 71-68 (3-under) to take medalist
honors.
Mackenzie Hughes and Travis Johns battled for
positioning with Hughes winning a playoff for
the No. 2 qualifying spot. FULL RESULTS »
BRADENTON, Fla. --- Ritz-Carlton
Members
Golf Club
The Florida sectional qualifying for the nation's
championships had an international flair
Monday
as amateur Kevin Phelan
,
of
Ireland
shot
rounds
of 65-70 to take medalist honors.
Phelan, a senior at University of North Florida,
was tied after the day's opening-round with
pro
John Hahn of Hudson, Ohio. Phelan edged him
by a shot in the afternoon round.
Hahn and fellow professional John Nieporte
also
qualified along with David Snyder, a
sophomore
at Kentucky. FULL RESULTS »
ROCKVILLE, Maryland --- Woodmont
Country Club
Matt Bettencourt survived a 3-for-1 playoff to
take the last qualifying spot. The California
native joined seven other professionals
from across the region and country at the
Woodmont sectional. FULL RESULTS »
BALL GROUND, Georgia -- Hawks
Ridge Golf Club
Michael
Kim of Del Mar, Calif., a
sophomore at Cal who just won the Jack
Nicklaus Award as the National Player of the
Year, tied for co-medalist honors (with pro
Ryan Nelson of Charleston, SC) at 11-under-
par 133. Kim posted rounds of 67-66.
Grayson
Murray of Raleigh, N.C., a
rising
sophomore at UNC Greensboro, earned the
third and final qualifying spot with a 9-under
135 (69-66). FULL RESULTS »
PURCHASE, New York -- Old
Oaks
Country Club and Century Country
Club
Pros Geoffrey Sisk (Mass.) and Jesse
Smith
(Penn.) tied for medalist at 137, but it was
two amateurs who provided the day’s
dramatics.
Gavin Hall, 18, of
Pittsford, NY birdied his final four holes to
orchestrate a sensational 4-under 67 to clinch
a spot at Merion. Hall will join the University
of
Texas men’s golf team in the fall, Just before
Hall holed his last birdie, Temple
University freshman and Atlantic 10 Rookie of
the Year Brandon
Matthews of DuPont, Pa., made a near-
impossible chip-in from the behind the
18th green to save par and finish at 139.
However, it proved to be a stroke short and
he’ll have to settle for first alternate.
"It was a great feeling, especially walking
up
18 with my caddie,” Hall said. “I was just
proud
of myself and thrilled to make some putts at
the end. To finish that way was pretty
incredible.” FULL RESULTS »
