Chambers De Facto Defending Champ Uihlein Misses U.S. Open

The U.S.Open Sectional Qualifying kicked off with the annual Walton Heath/post-BMW Championship qualifier and as longtime readers know I'm obligated to dwell unfairly on the number of WD/DNF's (22 this year).

Though for a change the bigger news out of England may be the misses by Peter Uihlein and Padraig Harrington, two players who, when healthy, would have been more than just showing up hoping to make the cut. Uihlein, the 2010 U.S. Amateur champ at Chambers Bay and by default the de facto host-site defender, missed by two.

Harrington, who has enjoyed a resurgent game and who should embrace the conditions at Chambers Bay, battled through shoulder issues to make a playoff for the alternate spot only to miss after a two-hour wait.

Alistair Tait with all the details from Walton Heath.

The full field scores, including those who had better things to do.