Monday was a day for dreams to either come true or be dashed as hundreds of golfers descended on 10 final qualifying sites during “Golf’s Longest Day.”
The goal: Los Angeles Country Club, site of the 123rd U.S. Open.
The 10 qualifiers required golfers to navigate 36-hole marathons, with each offering fewer than a handful of advancing spots. Many of the golfers in these final qualifiers had already first toughed it out through an 18-hole local qualifying site.
This last phase Monday included past major champions, a slew of LIV golfers and dozens of amateurs, all hoping to punch their tickets to the third men’s major of the year, June 15-18, near Hollywood.
First, some quick hits:
- Nick Hardy had the round of the day with a 61 on his second 18 at Springfield Country Club in Springfield, Ohio. Preston Summerhays and Samuel Stevens each shot a 62 at their qualifiers.
- Five of the 10 locations needed a playoff to settle things.
- Thirteen amateurs made it through. Five of those ams won or tied for the top spot in their respective qualifiers.
An insane day for men's college golf.
11 collegiate golfers qualified for the U.S. Open.
• Michael Thorbjornsen – Stanford
• Karl Vilips – Stanford
• Isaac Simmons – Liberty
• Michael Brennan – Wake Forest
• Gordon Sargent – Vanderbilt
• Brendan Valdes – Auburn
• Nick…— Jared Doerfler (@DoerflerJared) June 6, 2023
Here’s a closer look at those who got through as well as some notable names who fell short.
Lambton Golf & Country Club
This qualifier in Toronto, Ontario, at a golf course about six miles away form this week’s RBC Canadian Open on the PGA Tour, had three spots available among the 27 golfers.
Who advanced:
- Ryan Gerard shot 63-66 to go 11 under on the day
- Vincent Norrman was second at 8 under
- Ryan Armour was third at 7 under
Two golfers tied for fourth at 6 under but fell short:
- Harry Hall
- Jimmy Walker
Others who missed out:
- PGA Championship darling Michael Block, 5 under
- Ludvig Aberg, the Haskins Award winner and consensus college player of the year, 4 under
- Harry Higgs, 3 under
- Callum Tarren, 3 under
- Richy Werenski, 2 under
- Michael Gligic, 1 under
- Martin Trainer, DNF
Pine Tree Golf Club
There were 51 golfers vying for three spots in Boynton Beach, Florida.
Who advanced:
- Austen Truslow came out on top at this qualifier with a 5-under day (66-69)
- Amateur Brendan Valdes of Orlando was 3 under
- LIV’s Carlos Ortiz finished 2 under and nabbed the third and final spot after surviving a 3-for-1 playoff
Among those who did not advance:
- Luis Gagne (lost in playoff)
- Wesley Bryan (lost in playoff)
- Cristian DiMarco, son of PGA Tour Champions golfer Chris DiMarco, 7 over
- Cameron Kuchar, son of PGA Tour veteran Matt Kuchar, 12 over
- Matt Wolff, who withdrew before teeing it up
Hawks Ridge Golf Club
Ball Ground, Georgia, hosted 43 players, with just three earning a spot in the U.S. Open.
Who advanced:
- Gordon Sargent, the 2022 individual NCAA champion, shot 64-67 to finish 13 under, two ahead of the field
- Kyle Mueller and JJ Grey tied at 11 under for the other two advancing spots
Notables who did not advance out of Hawks Ridge Golf Club:
- Andy Ogletree, 8 under
- Ted Potter, Jr., 5 under
- David Ford (a), 4 under
Several golfers withdrew from this qualifier, including:
- Bill Haas
- Patton Kizzire
Hillcrest Country Club
This would be as close as most of the golfers in this qualifier would get to LACC, as 89 players were jostling for five spots.
First, here’s a look at who will move on to the 123rd U.S. Open:
- Mexico’s Omar Morales, who plays at UCLA, finished first at 12 under, winning by two shots
- Barclay Brown, one of four golfers from Stanford’s golf team to advance, shot 10 under
- LIV golfer David Puig birdied his final hole to get to 10 under
That left a 3-for-2 playoff between:
- PGA Tour veteran Charley Hoffman, 9 under
- Arizona State sophomore Preston Summerhays, 9 under
- Josh Anderson, 9 under
But then darkness set in and they couldn’t continue, which meant the playoff was moved to Tuesday morning.
Not even Golf's Longest Day could contain #USOpen final qualifying this year!
A 3-for-2 playoff at Hillcrest Country Club will take place beginning at 7:30 a.m. PT on Tuesday in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/nmmcJKcmkr
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 6, 2023
Among those who did not advance:
- Josh Anderson, lost in the 3-for-2 playoff
- Brendan Steele, 7 under
- Sangmoon Bae, 7 under
- Matt Jones, 4 under
Canoe Brook Country Club
Summit, New Jersey, hosted 67 golfers but just four would move on from here.
Who advanced:
- Amateur Michael Thorbjornsen, who last week was with his Stanford teammates at the NCAA Championship in Arizona, shot 66-68 to finish 8 under
- Berry Henson was solo second at 7 under
- Amateur Christian Cavaliere was solo third at 6 under
- Andrew Svoboda tied for fourth at 5 under and then survived a 2-for-1 playoff
Among those who missed out:
- Christopher Crawford, who lost in the playoff
- Cameron Tringale, 3 under
- Harrison Endycott, even
- Kelly Kraft, 1 over
- Jim Herman, 5 over
- Stewart Hagestad, 6 over
- Caleb Surrat, WD
Woodmont C.C. (North Course)
Sixty golfers were scheduled to compete for four spots in Rockville, Maryland. Amateurs grabbed three of the four spots in this qualifier.
Who advanced:
- Karl Vilips (a), who just last week was in Scottsdale for the NCAAs, finished 4 under after 36 holes Monday
- Isaac Simmons (a), who also shot 4 under
- Michael Brennan (a), 3 under
- Sebastian Munoz, 3 under
Brennan pulled off perhaps the shot of the day Monday:
🤯🤯🤯@WakeMGolf's Michael Brennan just pulled off this incredible up-and-down to secure his spot at LACC! pic.twitter.com/pYXZ7z9QVe
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 6, 2023
Who did not advance:
- Ben Kohles, 3 under (lost in 4-for-2 playoff)
- George Duangmanee, 3 under (lost in 4-for-2 playoff)
- Marc Leishman, even
- Joseph Bramlett, even
Lakes Golf & Country Club/Brookside Golf & C.C.
The largest final qualifier was actually held at two golf courses in Columbus, Ohio, with 103 golfers battling for 11 spots. Of all the final qualifiers, this one had the largest collection of recognizable names.
Who advanced:
- Olin Browne, Jr., led the way at 11 under (66-67).
Olin Browne shot 73 in US Open qualifying in 2005 and was about to WD when he thought he couldn't quit and then tell his kids not to quit. Pegged it and shot 59, played in penultimate group at US Open a week later. Today, Olin Browne Jr. goes 66-67 in Ohio to lead 11 qualifiers.
— Doug Ferguson (@dougferguson405) June 5, 2023
- Davis Thompson was solo second at 10 under
Six golfers tied for third at 9 under and advanced:
- Eric Cole
- Nicolas Echavarria
- Corey Pereira
- Luke List
- Patrick Rodgers
- Stewart Cink
There was a 4-for-3 playoff to settle things and the advancing golfers from the playoff were:
- Kevin Streelman
- Nick Dunlap (a)
- David Nyfjall (a)
Lucas Glover was the odd man out in the playoff. Others who failed to advance: Erik van Rooyen, Cameron Champ, Aaron Baddeley, Kevin Chappell, Peter Uihlein, Jason Kokrak and Zach Bauchou, who had Memorial Tournament champ Viktor Hovland on the bag.
There were nine golfers to WD from this qualifier:
- Sam Ryder
- Matthew NeSmith
- Kyle Stanley
- Cole Hammer
- Geoff Ogilvy
- David Lipsky
- Ben An
Springfield C.C.
Ohio also has a final qualifier in Springfield, where another 75 golfers dueled for five spots.
Who advanced:
- Samuel Stevens won the qualifier at 13 under. His 62 in the second 18 was one of the best rounds of the day anywhere on this Golf’s Longest Day.
- Taylor Pendrith was solo second at 10 under
- Nick Hardy was solo third at at 8 under
Three golfers tied for fourth at 7 under but only two could advance:
- Dylan Wu was one of those three and he was the first to grab one of those coveted spots
- Late in the day, with the skies getting dark quickly and two golfers battling for the final spot, Alex Schaake made a short birdie to end it
Who did not advance:
- Amateur Maxwell Moldovan, who lost in the 3-for-2 playoff
- Vincent Whaley
- Kramer Hickok
- Troy Merritt
- James Piot
- Robert Streb
- J.J. Spaun
- Mark Hubbard
- Scott Piercy
- Ryan Brehm
- Max McGreevy
- Zac Blair
Old Chatham Golf Club
In Durham, North Carolina, there were 76 golfers and five available spots.
Who advanced:
- Yuto Katsuragawa of Japan, 12 under
- Patrick Cover, 12 under
- Paul Barjon, 11 under
- McClure Meissner, 11 under
- Frankie Capan, 11 under
Quite a few notable names fell short:
- Doc Redman, 9 under
- Harold Varner III, 8 under
- Chase Seiffert, 8 under
- Bo Van Pelt, 3 under
- Chesson Hadley, 3 under
Tacoma Country & Golf Club
There were 54 players battling for two spots in Lakewood, Washington.
Who advanced:
- Alexander Yang, an amateur from China who is a sophomore at Stanford, shot 3 under to tie for first. Yang was not a regular in the Cardinal’s starting five this past season but he’s on to LACC
- Jesse Schutte, 34, of Eugene, Oregon, earned the other spot after going 3 under. He was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in 2007 at Oklahoma who later played briefly at Oregon State before turning pro
