The U.S. Open sectional qualifying process is referred to as "golf's longest day" because the 36-hole march at 11 sites across the country goes from sun up to sun down. Several of the 11 sites went to playoff holes, including two in Dallas and Bradenton, Fla. that went deep into the darkness and will have to finish on Tuesday.
In Tampa, 15-year-old amateur David Snyder and John Nierporte will have to resume play on Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. ET. Both players are fighting for the third and final spot at the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club, where the amateur Kevin Phelan captured medalist honors and John Hahn locked up the second spot. While Synder may be older than last year's 14-year-old Andy Zhang, earning entry with three years of high school still left would be an incredible accomplishment.
Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club, Bradenton, Fla.
Player | Score |
Kevin Phelan | -9 |
John Hahn | -8 |
John Nierporte / David Snyder (a) | -7 |
In Dallas at Lakewood Country Club, a playoff for the fourth and final spot will also be determined Tuesday morning as Ryan Palmer and Zack Fischer will tee it up on what is their ninth (!) playoff hole at 8:30 a.m. ET. Palmer, a local Texas native, went low at Colonial two weeks ago and carried that form over to the Dallas area club on Monday. He's emerged as one of the top pros in the Metroplex area but did not play in last year's Open after a T21 finish in 2011 at Congressional.
While Palmer and Fischer battle it out for the last spot, three players are resting comfortably after splitting medalist honors to earn entry on Monday night. Matt Weibring, son of D.A., Jordan Spieth, and Edward Loar all finished at 8-under for the day. Spieth has been a superstar of the Dallas golf scene since he was in high school, making noise at the Byron Nelson as a teenager. He went on to a successful college career at Texas, and has earned his way into regular weekly appearances this year on Tour in his first season as a pro. It's unsurprising to see him rise to the top of the leaderboard, as he showed well at Colonial along with Palmer two weeks ago. Last year, Spieth finished tied for 21st and was the low amateur at Olympic. As a professional, he'll now try to better that impressive debut at Merion.
Lakewood Country Club, Dallas, Texas
Player | Score |
Matt Weibring | -8 |
Jordan Spieth | -8 |
Edward Loar | -8 |
Ryan Palmer / Zack Fischer | -7 |
Out in St. Louis, it was two players with a dramatic age difference who played their way into Merion. Jay Don Blake has been a steady and consistent player on the Champions Tour, but the 54-year-old went low on Monday at Old Warson Country Club and was the only member of the field under par. Blake may be the oldest player in the field at Merion, but he cruised through on Monday and never had to worry about grinding things out in a playoff. Mackenzie Huges, however, needed extra holes to break his tie with Travis Johns and earn the second bid. Hughes, who is 32 years younger than Blake, is a two-time Canadian amateur champ and will make his first ever appearance at the U.S. Open.
Old Warson Country Club, St. Louis, Mo.
Player | Score |
Jay Don Blake | -3 |
Mackenzie Hughes | E |