7 Survive U.S. Open Local Qualifying
O’Fallon, MO - It was a cold and soaking wet day for the U.S. Open Local Qualifying at WingHaven Country Club. 132 players signed up to compete for 7 spots into the Final Qualifying stage with the hopes of making it to Shinnecock Hills for the Championship. In the field were 88 amateurs, 44 professionals, 9 international golfers, an average age of 28, around 50 golfers from the Metropolitan region, and 66 universities and colleges represented by current athletes, alumni, and signed future athletes.
The field was divided into two waves with the morning wave beginning at 7:30am and the afternoon wave starting at 12:45pm. As this is for entry into a professional championship, all amateurs will be indicated with (a) and professionals will not be marked.
The rainy conditions started early and rarely let up. There was a short stint during the morning wave’s round that the clouds broke, but the moisture was back before their day concluded. Watching the scores throughout the day, players stayed in a tight race, continually moving up and down the leaderboard. Noah Sandlin (a) of Jacksonville, TX was the first leader in the clubhouse. Sandlin, a Tyler Junior College golfer, had a bogey on his opening hole, but then went bogey-free for the remainder of the day. Sandlin finished with a score of two-under (-2) par.
Not long after, Sam Carraher (a) of Crown Point, IN added his name alongside Sandlin. Carraher, who is committed to Purdue University, had a bogey-free front nine and was four-under through five holes. A tougher back nine left Carraher to finish the day at two-under (-2) par with a piece of the top. Jacob Sherlin of Hendersonville, TN was in one the last groups of the morning wave. His first eleven holes were bogey free before things got tested, but each time he made a bogey he was able to respond with a birdie on the next hole. Sherlin became the first professional golfer in the field to match the lead in the clubhouse at two-under (-2) par.
At the end of the morning wave, five golfers sat at one-under (-1) par. First to come in was George Kneiser of Franklin, WI followed by Carr Vernon of Poplar Bluff, MO in the next group. Will Postlethwaite of England - and Norwood Hills Country Club professional - was the third to card one-under. Dylan Meyer of Evansville, IN and Brock Snyder (a) of Ames, IA played together and were the final two from the morning to come into the clubhouse with this score. It was an up and down day for this group, though Vernon and Kneiser each had one bogey free nine and Postlethwaite had an eagle on the 11th. These players would have to wait for the afternoon wave to play to determine their fate, but were staring down a potential playoff.
Then it was time for the afternoon wave, who had to battle the relentless weather conditions. The heaviness of the rain would come and go, but it just would not break. Jake Peacock of Milton, GA did not let that shake him. Peacock fired a bogey free five under par on the front nine. Despite two bogeys on the back, Peacock became the new clubhouse leader at four-under (-4) par and was sitting in a comfortable position to claim a qualifying spot as he looked at the leaderboard.
As the day drew on, scores continued to fall away from the lead, though there were another five players making the push for a chance to get in at the current cutline. First man off in the afternoon on Hole 10 was Ryan Johnson of Trophy Club, TX. Peacock became the sixth person to submit a score of one-under (-1) par. Jamie Dick of England and Chris Naegel of Wildwood, MO were the next two players to come in at one-under (-1). Late in the day with just a few groups left on the course, Wesley Hunter of Fairhope, AL snuck into the one-under tie. Then, in the final group of the day off of Hole 1, Brent Reintjes (a) of Wichita, KS became the final player to throw his name in the pot and bring the total count of players tied at one-under to 10. Each of these five golfers had a bogey free nine holes during their round.
At the conclusion of play, Jake Peacock took the medalist honors as the top qualifier at four-under (-4) par. Noah Sandlin (a), Sam Carraher (a), and Jacob Sherlin were securely in as qualifiers at two-under (-2) par. With just three qualifying spots left, the 10 players tied at one-under (-1) were forced into a sudden death playoff.
The players reported to the 18th hole teeing area for the playoff. They were split into two groups of five to play the hole. On this hole, Dylan Meyer made birdie to claim one of the qualifying spots. Ryan Johnson and George Kneiser both made bogey and were subsequently knocked out of the playoff. Players made their way to the 10th hole’s teeing area for the second playoff hole. Once there, it was determined that we were losing daylight too quickly to complete the hole, so play was suspended due to darkness.
The remaining seven players reported back the next morning at 7:30am to finish the playoff. On the second playoff hole - first of the morning - Chris Naegel and Will Postlethwaite both made birdie to claim the remaining two qualifying spots. The remaining players continued on to determine the alternates. After two more playoff holes, Jamie Dick became the first alternate and Carr Vernon became the second alternate.
The seven qualifiers will move onto Final Qualifying at the location they chose from the 11 locations across the U.S. There, they will play in what has been coined “golf's longest day” by playing 36 holes in one day in an attempt to break into the U.S. Open field. The USGA is looking for the strongest competitors, and it's safe to say, we are sending a tough group of golfers their way.