Fran Quinn , Getty Images |
Only one of them made it. Quinn, the 57-year-old who played
his first U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 1992 the year Tom Kite won, advanced in
an 8-for-3 playoff in Purchase, New York. This came after Quinn failed to make
it through qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open.
Owen Quinn, one shot behind his father after the first 18
holes, stumbled to a 74 and missed by six shots.
“My son was trying and I was like, ‘Hey, come on, let’s both
try to get in the Open.’ He had a great opening round. I was fortunate to sneak
in,” Quinn said. “I’m sure he’s going to have an opportunity to play in a bunch
of these.”
It was part of a long day of 36-hole final qualifying from
California and Oregon across Ohio into Canada and from New York down to
Florida. Up for grabs were 49 spots to fill the 156-man field for The Country
Club on June 16-19 in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Rickie Fowler went home to Florida to see if that could
change his fortunes. He missed out for the second straight year, one shot
behind. The Florida qualifier had to finish on Tuesday, and Fowler at least had
a chance to get an alternate spot through a playoff.
Among the qualifiers out of Florida was Sean Jacklin, the
son of former U.S. Open and British Open champion Tony Jacklin.
As usual, weather played a big role and the largest qualifier
in Ohio went through two storm delays and rushed to finish in darkness. That
was filled with mostly PGA Tour players who had just finished the Memorial, and
two players turned their fortunes.
Davis Riley was poised for a top finish at the Memorial that
might have been enough to crack the top 60 in the world ranking and make him
exempt. He shot 75 and tied for 13th. And then the promising PGA Tour rookie
had rounds of 69-63 and was among the leading qualifiers for the 13 available
spots.
Hawaii-born Chan Kim finished the Memorial with an 83. His
next round at Wedgewood was a 62, and he followed with a 69 at Kinsale to
qualify for his fourth straight U.S. Open. He played the final hole in the
dark, finishing with a birdie.
“I didn’t want to make the longest day in golf even longer,”
Kim said.
Joining them will be Texas A&M senior Sam Bennett, who
had a scare getting into his first U.S. Open. He was in good shape until the
par-3 17th at Kinsale, 200 yards over water and into the wind. The horn to stop
play sounded in the middle of his swing, and he put it in the water.
He returned to the tee after the delay, missed the green and
scrambled for double bogey, then steadied himself at the end for a 66 and was
safely inside the top 13.
Five players had to return Tuesday morning for a playoff for
the final spot.
The second site in Ohio at Springfield Country Club offered
eight spots and a degree of familiarity. Brian Stuard, who missed the cut in
his last three PGA Tour events, shared medalist honors. It was seventh time in
nine tries at Springfield that he made it to the U.S. Open.
In other qualifiers:
— Three-time PGA Tour winner Jonas Blixt led three
qualifiers at Rattlesnake Point Golf Club in Canada. Blixt returns to the U.S.
Open for only the second time and first since Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014. The
other qualifiers were Callum Tarren of England and Satoshi Kodaira of Japan.
— Oklahoma senior Chris Gotterup won the Jack Nicklaus Award
as the top NCAA player. He couldn’t be in Ohio on Sunday to receive the award
from Nicklaus because of U.S. Open qualifying. He shared medalist honors in New
York.
— Joseph Bramlett, trying to return from back surgery that
slowed his career, led four qualifiers in Maryland that included Kevin
Chappell.
— Matt Mccarty was among those who made it through 18-hole
local and 36-hole sectional qualifying to reach the U.S. Open, winning a
playoff over two-time PGA Tour winner Patton Kizzire for the last of four spots
in Georgia.
— In California, William Mouw of Pepperdine led five
qualifiers with rounds of 67-63 on the Ocean Course at Olympic Club. Among
those missing out was Maverick McNealy.
— In Oregon, Brady Calkins made his first U.S. Open as one
of three qualifiers that included former Stanford player Isaiah Salina and
amateur Ben Lorenz, who grabbed the last spot in a 2-for-1 playoff. -AP