Field Shaping Up for U.S. Open


After holding section qualifying over 36 holes on Monday at 10 sites around the country, the field for the 115th U.S. Open is shaping up. The second major championship of the year starts June 18 at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash.

At Brookside Golf & Country Club and the Lake Golf & Country Club Columbus, Ohio, 15 players earned their ticket. The top qualifiers were Michael Putnam and PGA Tour rookie Sam Saunders. Putnam was born and raised in University Place, a residential enclave just south of Tacoma.

Spots also went to Sebastian Cappelen, Daniel Summerhays, George McNeill, Ryo Ishikawa, Brad Fritsch, Cameron Smith, Bo Van Pelt and Camilo Villegas. A 5-for-3 playoff determined the final spots, where Danny Lee, Robert Streb and D.A. Points earned berths, and Kevin Chappell and Alex Cejka were relegated to alternates.

Missing out on making it to the U.S. Open were a couple of veterans, Vijay Singh and Steve Stricker, along with David Lingmerth, winner of last week's Memorial.

At Germantown Country Club and Ridgeway Country Club in Memphis, 121 players vied for 10 spots. PGA Tour rookie Blayne Barber shared co-medalist honors with Tyler Duncan and Brad Elder at 9-under. Also advancing were Tom Hoge, Brandon Hagy, Charlie Beljan, Brian Harman and amateur Davis Riley. Notables who missed out were Harris English, David Toms, Martin Laird and David Duval.

At The Bear's Club in Jupiter, Fla., four players qualified from a field of 70 players. Sharing medalist honors at 4-under were Andrew Pope, Luke Donald and amateur Jack Maguire. Amateur Sam Horsfield also qualified.

At Old Oaks Country Club/Century Country Club in Purchase, N.Y., two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen was the medalist at 4-under, while also moving on were Jamie Lovemark, Pat Wilson and Rich Berberian. At Springfield Country Club in Ohio, Michael Davan was the medalist while long-hitting Tony Finau, amateur Nick Hardy and Stephen Jaeger also advanced.

Mark Silvers earned medalist honors at Northwood Club in Dallas at 9-under, while the other five spots went to 15-year-old amateur Cole Hammer, amateurs Matt Mabrey and Kyle Jones, Cody Gribble and veteran Jason Allred. At Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., three players - Billy Hurley III, amateur Denny McCarthy and Tim O'Neal - qualified.

At Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Ga., three players qualified. The trio includes amateurs Mike NeSmith - the medalist at a whopping 17-under - and Lee McCoy (-13) and pro Roberto Castro.

Six players qualified at Big Canyon Country Club and Newport Beach Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif. The group includes medalist Kevin Lucas, Jared Becher, amateurs Beau Hossler, Jake Knapp and Brian Campbell, and professional Alex Kim.

The day's final qualifier at Tumble Creek Club in Cle Elum, Wash., belonged to University of Washington alumni. The threesome includes Cheng-Tsung Pan, a 2015 graduate who will play as a pro, and professionals Richard Lee and Troy Kelly.

For all of the results, visit http://www.usopen.com/en_US/news/qualifying/sectional.html.