When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Quick Roundup: 2015 U.S. Open Sectional Qualifiers
/2015 U.S. Open Sectional Storylines And Links
/Golf's Longest Day The 2015 U.S. Open Sectional qualifying kicks off Monday with several hundred dreamers battling for the chance to get to Chambers Bay.
The best way to follow scores: the USGA's one-stop page with links. Though as we know sometimes that's been a less than perfect place to get scoring updates, so if you stumble on more direct links, don't hesistate to post them.
There have been rumors of Fox Sports 1 providing roundup coverage, confirmed by the USGA's first rate information team. Word is FS1 from 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET.
The qualifying sites:
Big Canyon CC & Newport Beach CC, Newport Beach, Calif.
The Bear’s Club, Jupiter, Fla.
Hawks Ridge Golf Club, Ball Ground, Ga.
Woodmont Country Club (North Course), Rockville, Md.
Old Oaks Country Club & Century Country Club, Purchase, N.Y.
Brookside Golf & Country Club & Lakes Golf & CC, Columbus, Ohio
Springfield Country Club, Springfield, Ohio
Germantown Country Club & Ridgeway CC, Memphis, Tenn.
Northwood Club, Dallas, Texas
Tumble Creek Club, Cle Elum, Wash.
Everyone who has made it to this point has a great story, but these caught my eye. And you will notice a youthful theme to the qualifiers. According to the USGA, the breakdown of teenagers looks like this: 4 players (age 15), 5 (age 16), 12 (age 17) and 23 (age 18) in the combined 10 U.S. sites. That's 44 who are 18-and-under with a shot at the U.S. Open.
Big Canyon Country Club & Newport Beach Country Club
Newport Beach, Calif.; 112 players for TBD spots
• Josh Anderson, of Murrieta, Calif., was PGA Tour player Rickie Fowler’s teammate at Murrieta Valley High School. An honorable mention All-America player at Pepperdine University, Anderson was a semifinalist at the 2010 U.S. Amateur Public Links. He advanced to match play at the 2007 and 2008 U.S. Amateurs and competed in two U.S. Junior Amateurs.
• Jeff Brehaut, of Los Altos, Calif., has played in two U.S. Opens and tied for 17th in 2007. He has competed in one U.S. Senior Open, tying for 23rd in 2013. The 51-year old won twice on the Nationwide Tour (now Web.com Tour) and earned his PGA Tour card through Q-School in 1998.
• Patrick Cantlay, of Long Beach, Calif., has played in two U.S. Opens and was the low amateur in 2011, tying for 21st. Cantlay reached the 2011 U.S. Amateur final (losing to Kelly Kraft) and was a member of the 2011 USA Walker Cup Team. He was a semifinalist in the 2010 U.S. Amateur, held at Chambers Bay.
• Fred Couples, 55, has played in 23 U.S. Opens and has nine top-25 finishes. He tied for third in 1991 at Hazeltine National Golf Club, his best finish. A 15-time winner on the PGA Tour, Couples grew up in Seattle, less than 40 miles from Chambers Bay, the site of this year’s U.S. Open.
• Dillon Dougherty, of La Quinta, Calif., was the runner-up to Edoardo Molinari at the 2005 U.S. Amateur. Dougherty, who was an All-Big Ten Conference performer at Northwestern, is now an assistant professional and golf instructor. He caddied for Tiger Woods when the three-time U.S. Open champion played as a collegian at Stanford.• Shane Feist, of Bismarck, N.D., was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2009. He overcame two surgeries and a cycle of chemotherapy to earn all-conference honors at Missouri Western State University. Feist, who plays on the Dakotas Tour, won the North Dakota Golf Association’s stroke-play title in 2009.
• Max Homa is attempting to qualify for his second U.S. Open, having played in 2013. Homa, an All-American at the University of California-Berkeley and a member of the 2013 USA Walker Cup Team, has played in nearly 20 PGA Tour events this season. He reached the quarterfinals of the 2010 U.S. Amateur, held at Chambers Bay.
• Beau Hossler, of Mission Viejo, Calif., was chosen 2015 Big 12 Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore on the University of Texas team. Hossler played in the 2011 U.S. Open at age 16 and tied for 29th in 2012. He qualified for match play at last year’s U.S. Amateur.• Kaiwen Liu, 15, of San Diego, Calif., is a sophomore at Torrey Pines High School and his team has won five consecutive sectional titles. He earned second-team All-CIF San Diego Section honors and was the runner-up at the FCG San Diego Junior Amateur last year.
• Rhett Rasmussen, 16, of Draper, Utah, tied for second at the 2014 Class 4A state championship and led his Canyon Corner High School team to a seventh-place finish. Rasmussen, who was third at the state competition as a sophomore, qualified for the 2012 U.S. Junior Amateur.
• Chris Zambri, of Camarillo, Calif., is in his ninth year as the head coach at the University of Southern California. He has guided USC to the NCAA Championships in every season. Zambri was an all-conference golfer for the Trojans and played professionally on the Nationwide Tour. He qualified for the 1995 and 1999 U.S. Opens.
The Bear’s Club
Jupiter, Fla.; 70 players for TBD spots
• Thomas Curtis, of England, advanced from U.S. Open local qualifying in a 4-for-1 playoff at Shingle Creek Golf Club, in Orlando, Fla. His wife, Amber, allowed him to play in an event during their Bermuda honeymoon last March and he went on to win the Grey Goose World Par 3 Championship. Curtis has competed on the Gateway and PGA Latinoamerica tours.
• Chris DiMarco, 46, has played in eight U.S. Opens and his best finish was a tie for ninth in 2004 at Shinnecock Hills. DiMarco has finished second in the other three major professional championships: the Masters (2005), British Open (2006) and PGA (2004).
• Luke Donald has competed in 11 U.S. Opens and his best finish was a tie for eighth in 2013. Donald has won five times on the PGA Tour and seven times on the PGA European Tour, including back-to-back BMW PGA Championship wins in 2011 and 2012.
• Sean Jacklin, of Bradenton, Fla., is the son of 1970 U.S. Open champion Tony Jacklin. Sean, who went to high school in Florida, was named after actor Sean Connery, his father’s good friend. He has played on the Challenge Tour and recently earned his South Africa Sunshine Tour card.
• Josh Jamieson, of Scotland, is the great grandson of Laurie Ayton, who played in eight U.S. Opens, including a tie for ninth in 1925, and is a descendant of William Ayton Sr., one of the 11 founding members of St. Andrews. Jamieson, a junior on the Northwestern University golf team, grew up playing all of the St. Andrews’ links courses and worked at the Old Course as a caddie.
Ball Ground, Ga.; 42 players for TBD spots
• Franco Castro, of Alpharetta, Ga., is the brother of PGA Tour player Roberto Castro and the nephew of LPGA Tour veteran Jenny Lidback. He was a two-time all-conference performer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte after transferring from Louisiana State University. Castro qualified for the 2010 U.S. Amateur at Chambers Bay.
• Roberto Castro is attempting to qualify for his third U.S. Open. His brother, Franco, is competing in this same Ball Ground, Ga., sectional qualifier. Roberto, who was an All-American as a collegian at Georgia Tech, played on the eGolf and Nationwide tours before earning his PGA Tour card in 2012. His mother is Peruvian and his father is Costa Rican.
• Ryan Nelson, of Charleston, S.C., is attempting to advance through both local and sectional qualifying to the U.S. Open for the third time. He accomplished the feat in 2011 and 2013. Nelson, a 37-year-old professional, primarily competes on the eGolf Gateway Tour.
• Todd White, 47, of Spartanburg, S.C., won the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship with partner Nathan Smith and was a member of the winning 2013 USA Walker Cup Team. He has competed in 16 USGA championships, including four U.S. Amateurs and three Mid-Amateurs. He played in the 1995 U.S. Open, held at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
Woodmont Country Club (North Course)
Rockville, Md.; 56 players for TBD spots
• Garrett Barber, 15, of Stuart, Fla., shot a 5-under-par 67 to earn medalist honors at the Delray Beach, Fla., local qualifier. Barber is a ninth grader at The Pine School. He qualified for last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
• Brian Hollins, of Mount Laurel, N.J., is assistant professional at Trenton Country Club. His fiancé, Carli Lloyd, is a member of the U.S. National Women’s Soccer Team and has won two Olympic gold medals and earned a World Cup silver and bronze.
• Tyler Koch, 17, of Issue, Md., is a junior on the La Plata High School team. He tied for 18th at the 2015 MPSSAA state championship. He helped his squad register an undefeated conference season for the second consecutive year.
• Timothy O’Neal, 42, of Savannah, Ga., has played on the Web.com, PGA Tour Latinoamerica, Asian and eGolf tours. He also competed on the European Professional Development Tour in Morocco and was sponsored for two years by actor Will Smith. He was the first African-American to win the Georgia State Amateur in 1997. O’Neal played collegiately at Jackson State and was coached by Eddie Payton, whose brother Walter is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
• Camiko Smith, of Bermuda, grew up next to a public course (Port Royal G.C.) in his native country. He worked for eight years as assistant pro shop manager at Belmont Hills C.C. and recently relocated to Orlando, Fla. Smith also reached U.S. Open sectional qualifying last year.
• Patrick Tallent, of Vienna, Va., is the oldest player in U.S. Open sectional qualifying at age 61. Tallent has competed in 27 USGA championships, including four U.S. Senior Opens. He won the 2014 U.S. Senior Amateur by defeating Bryan Norton, 2 and 1, in the final.
• Derek Tolan, 29, of Highlands Ranch, Colo., played in the 2002 U.S. Open as a 16-year-old and made a 50-foot birdie chip on the first playoff hole at sectional qualifying to advance to Bethpage State Park’s Black Course. Tolan later qualified for the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Amateur Public Links. An honorable mention All-American at the University of Colorado, Tolan competes on the Web.com Tour.
• Mason Williams, of Bridgeport, W.Va., is the youngest player in U.S. Open sectional qualifying at age 15. He tied for third at the WVSSAC Class AA state championship in the fall of 2014. The freshman led Bridgeport High to a runner-up finish. Williams won the 2014 West Virginia Junior Amateur Championship (Boys’ 13-14).
Old Oaks Country Club & Century Country Club
Purchase, N.Y.; 71 golfers for TBD spots
• Dylan Dethier, of Williamstown, Mass., took a post-high school adventure in which he played golf in the each of the Lower 48 states. His journey included rounds at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links and TPC Sawgrass, but mostly public courses. The expedition resulted in a book, “18 in America: A Young Golfer’s Journey to Find the Essence of the Game.” Dethier would later play on the golf team at Williams College, where his father, David, is a professor.
• Matthew Dobyns, of Lake Success, N.Y., is the head professional at Fresh Meadow Country Club and won the 2012 PGA Professional National Championship. He is attempting to advance through both local and sectional qualifying for the second consecutive year.
• Brian Gaffney, 44, of Darien, Conn., qualified for his lone U.S. Open in 2012 by advancing through both local and sectional qualifying. He is attempting to accomplish that same feat this year. Gaffney is the head professional at Quaker Ridge Golf Club, the site of the 1997 Walker Cup Match and 2018 Curtis Cup Match.
• Gavin Hall, 20, of Pittsford, N.Y., is a sophomore on the University of Texas golf team, where he earned first-team All-Big 12 Conference honors this year. He was the youngest player in the 2013 U.S. Open field at Merion Golf Club when he qualified through local and sectional play. Hall competed in the 2013 and 2014 U.S. Amateurs.
• Vinay Ramesh, 17, of Newtown, Pa., captured the 2014 PIAA-AAA state championship. The Pennsbury High School senior rallied from six strokes behind and won on the third playoff hole. Ramesh, who will attend Princeton University in 2015-16, claimed last year’s Philadelphia Junior PGA title.
• Steve Scott was the 1996 U.S. Amateur runner-up to Tiger Woods, losing in 38 holes. Scott, who is the head professional at Paramount Country Club in New City, N.Y., played on the PGA, Web.com and Canadian tours. He was a member of two USA Walker Cup Teams, in 1997 and 1999, and the 1996 USA World Amateur Team squad.
• Mark Watros, of Darien, Conn., is the caddie master at the Country Club of Darien. Watros served in the U.S. Marine Corps and had several tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Combat Distinguished Device after redirecting a vehicle loaded with explosives, saving many of his fellow Marines. He was one of eight players to advance from local qualifying at Elmwood Country Club, in White Plains, N.Y.
Brookside Golf & Country Club & Lakes Golf & Country Club
Columbus, Ohio; 120 players for TBD spots
• Derek Barron, of Tacoma, Wash., played and worked at Fort Steilacoom Golf Course, just 7 miles from Chambers Bay, this year’s U.S. Open site. Barron, who attended Emerald Ridge High School, is an assistant pro at Tacoma Firs Golf Club and competes on mini-tours.
• George Cunningham, 19, of Tucson, Ariz., earned 2015 second-team All-Pacific-12 Conference honors as a freshman at the University of Arizona. He was the youngest player (age 15) in the 2010 U.S. Amateur field at Chambers Bay. Cunningham played in four U.S. Junior Amateurs and reached the Round of 16 in 2013. He owns a Harley-Davidson sportster motorcycle.
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• Bryson DeChambeau, 21, of Clovis, Calif., is a junior on the Southern Methodist University team and the 2015 NCAA Division I individual champion. He has played in 10 USGA championships and was a quarterfinalist at the 2014 U.S. Amateur Public Links. DeChambeau, who helped the USA to victory in the 2014 World Amateur Team Championship, reached the Round of 16 the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball.
• Luke Guthrie qualified through the Columbus, Ohio, sectional to advance to the U.S. Open the last two years. In 2013, he made a birdie to survive an 11-for-7 playoff. In 2014, he shot rounds of 68 and 70 to earn one of 16 available spots. Guthrie, an All-American and Big Ten Conference Player of the Year at the University of Illinois, has won twice on the Web.com Tour.
• Maverick McNealy, 19, of Portola Valley, Calif., won the Pacific-12 title and was the conference player of the year as a sophomore on the Stanford University squad. He qualified for both the 2014 U.S. Open and 2014 U.S. Amateur. McNealy advanced to match play at two U.S. Junior Amateurs (2012, quarterfinalist) and made the Round of 16 at the 2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball.
• Michael Putnam is attempting to qualify for his fourth U.S. Open. His younger brother, Andrew, is in the Memphis sectional qualifier. Michael was chosen 2013 Web.com Tour Player of the Year. He was an All-America player at Pepperdine University and member of the 2005 USA Walker Cup Team. He lives in University Place, Wash., near Chambers Bay, the site of the 2015 U.S. Open.
• Patrick Rodgers, of Avon, Ind., has split time this season between the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour. He tied for second at the Wells Fargo Championship in May. Rodgers, an All-American at Stanford University, was a member of two USA Walker Cup Teams (2011, 2013) and played in three U.S. Amateurs and two U.S. Junior Amateurs. He reached the Round of 32 in the 2010 Amateur at Chambers Bay.
• Steve Stricker, 48, has played in 19 U.S. Opens and has 11 top-25 finishes. Stricker finished fifth in both 1998 and 1999. He has 12 PGA Tour victories. Stricker was an All-American at the University of Illinois before his career began on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour.
Springfield Country Club
Springfield, Ohio; 67 players for TBD spots
• Bob Friend, 51, of Pittsburgh, Pa., is the director of operations at Pikewood National G.C., in Morgantown, W.Va., and has played in four U.S. Opens. He also works as a Sirius/XM radio analyst. His father, Bob, was an All-Star pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and a member of the 1960 World Series champions.
• Will Grimmer, 17, of Cincinnati, Ohio, will attempt to advance to the U.S. Open through both local and sectional qualifying for the second consecutive year. Grimmer, who is a senior at Mariemont High School and will attend Ohio State University this fall, reached the quarterfinals of the 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur. He also helped his state tie for eighth at the USGA Men’s State Team and qualified for the U.S. Amateur. He carded a 59 in the 2013 North & South Junior Amateur.
• Nick Hardy, 19, of Northbrook, Ill., is a freshman on the University of Illinois team and recently helped the Illini advance to the NCAA Championship for the eighth consecutive year. Hardy reached the Round of 64 at the 2013 U.S. Amateur and made match play at the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2012 and 2013.
• Dustin Korte, of Metropolis, Ill., shot 63 to earn medalist honors in U.S. Open local qualifying at Hot Springs (Ark.) Country Club. Korte, at age 23, served as interim head coach last fall at his alma mater Austin Peay University and is now assistant coach. Korte led the program to the 2013 Ohio Valley Conference Championship and earned all-region honors as a senior.
• Willie Mack III, of Orlando, Fla., was the medalist with a 65 at the Lake Mary, Fla., local qualifier. Mack became the first African-American to win the Michigan Amateur in 2011 and currently competes on the Florida Professional Golf Tour. He attended Bethune-Cookman University and was a member of the 2008 PGA Minority Collegiate Championship team.
• James Piot, 16, of Canton, Mich., tied for sixth at last year’s MHSAA Division I state championship as a freshman. Piot and his older brother, Glenn, led Detroit Catholic Central High to a runner-up finish. James qualified for last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur.
• Jeffrey Scohy, 37, of Bellbrook, Ohio, spent seven years on active duty as a U.S. Air Force acquisitions officer, rising to the rank of captain. Scohy is now in the Air Force Reserves as a major. He has made four trips to Iraq on temporary duty. Scohy, who has played in six U.S. Mid-Amateurs, has won three Armed Services golf championships.
• Chris Thompson, of Lawrence, Kan., was one of 24 players to advance through both local and sectional qualifying to the U.S. Open last year. He earned one of three spots in the Springfield, Ohio, sectional last year to make the U.S. Open field for the first time. Thompson, an All-American at Kansas, has competed on the Golden Bear, Gateway and Web.com tours.
Germantown Country Club & Ridgeway Country Club
Memphis, Tenn.; 121 golfers for TBD spots
• Sam Burns, 18, of Shreveport, has won three consecutive Louisiana high school state titles and will attend LSU in the fall. He qualified for the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur and 2014 U.S. Amateur. Burns advanced to the 2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball semifinals with partner Austin Connelly.• Austin Connelly, 18 of Dallas, Texas, advanced to match play in the 2013 and 2014 U.S. Junior Amateurs. He will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall. Connelly, who is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States, reached the semifinals with partner Sam Burns in the 2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
• David Duval, the 2001 British Open champion, tied for second in the 2009 U.S. Open and has four top-10 finishes in 16 appearances. Duval, who won the 1989 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, is now working as a Golf Channel announcer and commentator.
• Brad Elder, of Dallas, Texas, was a member of the victorious 1997 USA Walker Cup Team and was an All-American at the University of Texas. Elder, who has played in two U.S. Opens, won three times on the Nationwide Tour (now Web.com Tour).
• Doug Ghim, 19, of Arlington Heights, Ill., earned first-team All-Big 12 Conference honors as a freshman at the University of Texas. Ghim was the 2014 U.S. Amateur Public Links runner-up to Byron Meth and a semifinalist in the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur.
• Retief Goosen, 46, won the U.S. Open in 2001 (playoff with Mark Brooks) and 2004 (by two strokes over Phil Mickelson). Goosen, who was struck by lightning as an amateur in South Africa, has seven wins on the PGA Tour and 14 victories on the PGA European Tour.
• Jimmy Gunn, of Mesa, Ariz., caddied at Scotland’s Royal Dornoch and worked as a part-time carpenter before moving to the United States to play on professional mini-tours seven years ago. He has won once and tied for second three times on the Gateway Tour this year. Gunn aspires to be a professional fisherman and his biggest thrill is catching a large bass.
• Trevor Immelman has played in eight U.S. Opens, with his best finish a tie for 21st in 2006 at Winged Foot Golf Club. The South African won the 1998 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and the 2008 Masters Tournament.
• Andrew Putnam is attempting to qualify for his second U.S. Open. His older brother, Michael, is in the Columbus sectional qualifier. Andrew won on the Web.com Tour last year. He was a three-time All-American and four-time all-conference player at Pepperdine University. He lives in University Place, Wash., near Chambers Bay, the site of the 2015 U.S. Open.
• Davis Riley, 18, of Hattiesburg, Miss., was the runner in both the 2013 and 2014 U.S. Junior Amateurs. He received the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Moment Award for sportsmanship after assessing a self-imposed penalty in the 2013 Junior Amateur final. Riley, a senior at Presbyterian Christian, will attend the University of Alabama in the fall.
• Braden Thornberry, 18, of Olive Branch, Miss., won the MHSAA Class 6A state title for the second consecutive year as a member of the DeSoto Central High School team. Thornberry, who will attend the University of Mississippi in the fall, shot a 61 as a 15-year old to tie the course record at TPC Southwind in Memphis. He advanced to the Round of 32 in last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur.
• Curtis Yonke, of Overland, Kan., is the grandson of PGA Tour and Champions Tour veteran Jim Colbert, who played in 16 U.S. Opens and tied for third in 1971. Yonke, a four-year member of the Kansas State University golf team, competes on the Web.com Tour.
Northwood Club
Dallas, Texas, 78 players for TBD spots
• Jason Allred of Scottsdale, Ariz., won the 1997 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship by defeating Trevor Immelman. Allred is attempting to qualify for his third U.S. Open. He achieved the feat in 2006 and 2010.
• Brad Dalke, 17, of Hobart, Okla., is the youngest of seven children and comes from an athletic family. His mother, Kay (Pryor), played on the first University of Oklahoma women’s golf team. His father, Bill, was a linebacker on Oklahoma’s 1975 national championship team. His grandfather, Ken (Pryor), played on the school’s basketball and baseball teams. Dalke, who will attend Oklahoma in the fall, won the 2014 Class 2A state high school championship.
• Bob Estes, 49, has played in 15 U.S. Opens. Estes, who has four PGA Tour victories, tied for 11th in 2005, his best finish, at Pinehurst No. 2. He owns top-10 finishes in the other three major professional championships (Masters, British Open, PGA).
• Hunter Haas, of Southlake, Texas, won the 1999 U.S. Amateur Public Links and was a member the 1999 USA Walker Cup Team. Haas, who was a semifinalist in the 1999 U.S. Amateur, has won four times on the Web.com Tour and played in two U.S. Opens.
• Cole Hammer, 15, of Houston, Texas, is a freshman on the Kincaid School golf team. He earned All-Southwest Preparatory Conference recognition this spring and helped his squad tie for eighth at the conference championship. Hammer plans to attend the University of Texas in 2018.
• Peter Kindstrom, of McHenry, Ill., had his large intestine removed in high school due to the inherited disorder familial polyposis. His father suffered from the same disease. Kindstrom went on to play at Carthage College, in Kenosha, Wis., and competes on the Adams Golf Pro Tour. His teacher is Homero Blancas, who tied for fourth in the 1972 U.S. Open.
• Brad Nurski, 36, of St. Joseph, Mo., is a conductor and switchman for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. He was the runner-up to champion Scott Harvey in the 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur. Nurski has won one state amateur and two state mid-amateur titles.
• Scott Verplank, 50, has played in 18 U.S. Opens. His best finish was a tie for seventh in 2007. Verplank, a diabetic who plays with an insulin pump, won the 1984 U.S. Amateur and has five PGA Tour wins. He will compete in his second U.S. Senior Open this year.
Tumble Creek Club
Cle Elum, Wash.; 50 players for TBD spots
• Derek Bayley, of Rathdrum, Idaho, earned his spot in sectional qualifying in Wasilla, Alaska, when Rob Nelson deferred his medalist status. Nelson, who fired a 67, was one stroke better than Bayley, who just completed his first year at Washington State University. Bayley, who advanced to match play in the 2012 U.S. Junior Amateur, turned in the best scoring average (72.36) by a Cougar freshman in program history.
• Brien Davis, of Peoria, Ill., is the nephew of 2004 U.S. Senior Open champion Peter Jacobsen. Davis, who has competed on the Web.com Tour and PGA Tour Canada and played as a collegian at UNLV, works for a sign and graphics company.
• James Lepp, of Canada, won the 2005 NCAA Division I individual championship as a member of the University of Washington team. Lepp, who also claimed the 2003 Pacific Coast Amateur, won two Canadian Tour events. He founded Kikkor Golf, a golf shoe and apparel company.
• Casey Martin is in his ninth year as the head golf coach at the University of Oregon. At age 26, Martin played in the 1998 U.S. Open at The Olympic Club, using a cart in competition due to a circulatory disorder, Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome. In 2012, he qualified through both local and sectional play for his second U.S. Open, which was again held at Olympic.
• Cameron Peck, of Olympia, Wash., won the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. He went on to attend Texas A&M University where he earned honorable mention All-America and All-Big 12 Conference honors. Peck won the Washington State and Pacific Northwest Amateurs in 2013.
**Rex Hoggard on the big number of WD's prior to the Columbus qualifier due to weather, fatigue, scheduling, injuries and Chambers Bay.
Video: Chambers Bay Seventh Hole Flyover
/The fourth straight difficult par-4 doglegs right and Gil Hanse explains its Cape characteristics. Looks beautiful to stare at but a nightmare to play.
U.S.G.A. Says Goodbye To Its Iconic Manual Scoreboard
/Brad Faxon Wouldn't Have Said What Mike Davis Said
/Good to see Brad Faxon, now of Fox Sports, is not doubling as a USGA house organ in publicly contradicting the views of Executive Director Mike Davis, who has said and since clarified his point that Chambers Bay requires extensive study if a player hopes to win.
Talking to Golfweek's Jim McCabe, Faxon actually things a nonchalant attitude is key.
“I never would have said what Mike said,” Faxon said, referring to Mike Davis, the executive director of the USGA. “I don’t think it’s crucial to have experience with the course at Chambers Bay. I think the opposite. I think you’ll need a certain degree of nonchalance.”
Faxon's most intriguing of many insights is into the Chambers greens, which he says will be unprecedented in a sense.
“You'd better be damn resilient, because so many whacky things are going to happen,” he said. “You can’t slump your shoulders. I would look at players who have the ability to let things roll off their backs to do well.”
Video: Chambers Bay Sixth Hole Flyover
/40th Memorial Tournament This And That
/The Memorial normally arrives as a strong barometer for the U.S. Open two weeks away. With its classic parkland setting, thick rough, fast greens and overall demanding offerings, Muirfield Village offers a chance to see who is playing well.
With a faux links looming in two weeks at Chambers Bay, The Memorial won't foretell what is to come, and that's a good thing. For a change The Memorial is about a classic, traditional event with a strong field.
Doug Ferguson previews the event where Hideki Matsuyama defends against a field including the red-hot youngsters (Fowler, Spieth) and the old guys hoping to quiet some of the youth obsession (Woods, Mickelson, Furyk, etc...).
Steve DiMeglio reports on Tiger, who is due to show signs of improvement with his latest game overhaul, has implemented a few things in his swing.
The early Woods-Reed-Day pairing will be the focus of PGATour.com/DirecTV's Live@ coverage starting at 8 am ET.
My preview touching on the many intriguing storylines from the Nationwide Live Studio:
Video: Chambers Bay Fifth Hole Flyover
/Video: Chambers Bay Fourth Hole Flyover
/By the looks of this one the course picks up considerable steam in the difficulty department playing 495 yards uphill and with what sounds like a fairway that can get tricky if the ball is running.
Bradley Klein has just posted at Golfweek his thoughts on each hole and he finds more strategy in this one than Gil describes in the flyover. (Thanks reader PG.)
The flyover, with commentary from Sonders and Hanse.
Video: Chambers Bay Third Hole Flyover
/Tiger...Or Is It Bigfoot Spotted At Chambers Bay?
/First there was a jet sighting, then several blurry photos, and then a long distance shot of something resembling a standing, two-legged being inhabiting a Chambers Bay fairway. Further analysis determined it to be of human origin and most definitely Tiger Woods scouting the 2015 U.S. Open host site. Phil Mickelson was also spotted sneaking in some golf but got a much better weather day.
Safe to say you can add Tiger to the list who have made the cross-country trek to the remote lands of University Place. And mercifully, we've gotten the two biggest scouting trips out of the way.
**Seems there was an entourage of swing consultants and other unidentified clinging objects. Tiger defeats Phil by two in the Invited Consultants Cup.
Tweet from the Tacoma News Tribune: