The Best Storylines, Key Links Of 2018 U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying

Sectional qualifying, conducted over 36 holes with the chance to play the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.

Scores can be tracked at the USGA's Sectional Qualifying page.

Golfweek's coverage can be found here.

Fox Sports 1 airs a sectional recap show at 10 pm ET.

And here is the fine work of USGA Communications, trimmed down to the storylines that caught my eye. You'll probably notice a strong bit of age discrimination in the list, but I favor both the old guy and young guy storylines. (Adam Scott is not listed as his desire to play was up in the air following the Memorial, but he has teed off.)

Of course, all competitors making to Sectionals are fine players and are to be commended for their efforts. Here goes...

Walton Heath Golf Club (New and Old courses)
Surrey, England

Paul Dunne, 25, of the Republic of Ireland, won the PGA European Tour’s British Masters by three strokes over Rory McIlory in 2017. He was a member of the victorious 2015 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team. Dunne shot a third-round 66 on the Old Course at St. Andrews to share the 54-hole lead in the 2015 Open Championship and finished in a tie for 30th. He became the first amateur since Bob Jones in 1927 to share the 54-hole lead. Dunne, who was an All-American at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, reached the 2015 U.S. Amateur quarterfinals.
Padraig Harrington, 46, of the Republic of Ireland, won the 2007 and 2008 Open Championships, conducted by The R&A, and the 2008 PGA Championship. He has competed in 16 U.S. Opens and has posted five top-10 finishes. He tied for fourth in 2012 at The Olympic Club. He was chosen 2007 European Tour Player of the Year and 2008 PGA Tour Player of the Year.
Sam Horsfield, 21, of England, has competed on the both PGA European Tour and Challenge Tour in his first year as a professional. He has played in 13 USGA championships, including the 2015 and 2016 U.S. Opens. Horsfield reached the Round of 16 in the 2016 U.S. Amateur. A two-time All-Southeastern Conference selection at the University of Florida, Horsfield was chosen first-team All-American and SEC Freshman of the Year in 2016.
Andrew Johnston, 29, of England, has played in two U.S. Opens, tying for 42nd last year at Erin Hills and tying for 54th in 2016 at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. Johnston, known as “Beef” since his youth, has won once on the PGA European Tour and twice on the Challenge Tour.
Chase Koepka, 24, of Tequesta, Fla., is the younger brother of 2017 U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka. Chase posted five top-10 finishes on the Challenge Tour last year. He was a three-time All-American Athletic Conference and all-region selection at the University of South Florida. He advanced to match play in two U.S. Amateurs (2013, 2015).
Alfie Plant, 25, of England, earned the silver medal as the low amateur in last year’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Plant, who is in his first year as a professional, won the 2017 European Amateur Championship with a birdie on the fifth playoff hole. He was a member of the 2017 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team. Plant holed a 9-foot birdie putt on the final hole to help England finish second in the 2016 World Amateur Team Championship. He tied for third as an individual with a final-round 66. Plant has also run a marathon, parachuted from a plane, bungee jumped and gone cage-diving among great white sharks.
Lee Westwood, 45, of England, has played in 18 U.S. Opens and has recorded nine top-25 finishes. He tied for third in 2008 at Torrey Pines Golf Course and in 2011 at Congressional Country Club. Westwood, who has competed on seven winning European Ryder Cup Teams, has compiled 23 victories on the PGA European Tour and has 42 professional wins overall.

Lake Merced Golf Club & The Olympic Club (Ocean Course)
Daly City, Calif.

Allen Geiberger Jr., 30, of Palm Desert, Calif., is the son of Al Geiberger, who played in 20 U.S. Opens and tied for second in 1969 and 1976. Al Geiberger, the 1966 PGA champion, became the first player to shoot 59 in a PGA Tour event, the 1977 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic.
Scott Hoyt, 64, of San Jose, Calif., is the oldest player in U.S. Open sectional qualifying. Hoyt is the general manager at Pasatiempo Golf Club, where he carded a 2-under 68 to advance through local qualifying with his wife, Anne, serving as his caddie. Hoyt was a key figure in his club’s irrigation project, which provides three sources of water – recycled, well and potable. Hoyt, an All-America selection at San Jose State, advanced to the Round of 16 in the 1975 U.S. Amateur.
Thomas Lehman, 22, of Scottsdale, Ariz., is the son of Tom Lehman, who won the 1996 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes and three senior major professional titles. Thomas is a sophomore on the Cal Poly team and tied for 15th in the 2018 Big West Conference Championship. He competed in football and baseball (not golf) on the high school level.
Jordan Miller, 31, of Anchorage, Alaska, shot a 2-under 70 in 47-degree weather with a 25-mph wind coming off the glacier to earn medalist honors by five strokes in U.S. Open local qualifying. Miller, a financial analyst for ConocoPhillips, is traveling 3,075 miles to play in sectional qualifying. He is a two-time defending Alaska State Amateur champion.
Collin Morikawa, 21, of La Canada Flintridge, Calif., helped the USA to a 19-7 victory over Great Britain and Ireland in the 2017 Walker Cup Match, at The Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club. Morikawa, Maverick McNealy and Doug Ghim became the first trio of USA players to record perfect 40 Walker Cup records. In 2018, Morikawa was chosen All-Pac-12 Conference first team for the third consecutive year as a junior on the University of California-Berkeley team.
Danny Ochoa, 23, of Carlsbad, Calif., miscalculated a jump on his motocross bike nine years ago and broke his humerus bone after his bike landed on top of him. Two metal rods were placed in his left arm, and he was looking at a year of recovery. Ochoa, who returned in seven months and later placed fifth at the 2010 Callaway Junior World Golf Championships, went on to play at the University of Southern California. He reached the 2017 California Amateur quarterfinals.
Kevin Sutherland, 53, of Sacramento, Calif., has competed in 10 U.S. Opens, with his best finish a tie for 10th at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club in 2003. Sutherland won the PGA Tour Champions’ Charles Schwab Cup Championship by one stroke over Vijay Singh last year.
Sahith Theegala, 20, of Chino Hills, Calif., was selected to the All-West Coast Conference first team for the third consecutive year and helped Pepperdine win its first WCC Championship since 2015. Theegala, who was the WCC co-player of the year as a sophomore, qualified for the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills. He has advanced to match play in consecutive U.S. Amateurs (2016, 2017). Theegala won the Collegiate Showcase to earn a spot in the PGA Tour’s 2017 Genesis Open and went on to tie for 49th.
Jeff Wilson, 54, of Fairfield, Calif., has competed in four U.S. Opens and was the low amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2000 when he tied for 59th. Wilson is the general sales manager at an automobile dealership and abandoned a professional golfer’s life, bouncing around mini-tours, for a more stable career path. Wilson, who was reinstated as an amateur in 1997, has competed in 28 USGA championships, including nine U.S. Amateurs and three U.S. Senior Opens.

The Bear's Club
Jupiter, Fla.

Canon Claycomb, 16, of Orlando, Fla., tied for third in the 2017 FHSAA Class 1A state championship and helped Circle Christian High to the team title as a sophomore. Claycomb had played on the Greenwood High School team in Bowling Green, Ky., since fourth grade. He led the team to a second-place finish in the 2016 KHSAA state championship when he tied for second. Claycomb, who qualified for the 2017 U.S. Amateur, won the 2015 Teen World Championship at Pinehurst No. 8.
Sam Saunders, 30, of Atlantic Beach, Fla., is the grandson of 1960 U.S. Open champion Arnold Palmer. In 2015, Saunders was co-medalist in the Columbus, Ohio, sectional qualifier and tied for 50th in the U.S. Open. He also played in the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club. Saunders shot a first-round 59 and tied for second in the 2017 Web.com Tour Championship.
Jamison Sindelar, 28, of Horseheads, N.Y., is the son of Joey Sindelar, who has seven PGA Tour victories and competes on PGA Tour Champions. Jamison, who is a Type 1 diabetic and travels with an insulin pump, has played on the Web.com Tour. He was a member of the Ohio State University team, like his father, and lettered from 2010-12.
Tyler Wilkes, 16, of Tampa, Fla., won the 2017 Florida Boys’ Junior Championship by five strokes with a final-round 64. A first-team All-Hillsborough County selection as a sophomore at Gaither High School, Wilkes tied for sixth in the 2016-17 Florida state 3A championship. He won the Orlando International Amateur for Juniors last January.

Ansley Golf Club (Settindown Creek Course)
Roswell, Ga.

Tadd Fujikawa, 27, of Honolulu, Hawaii, was the youngest player (age 15) to compete in a U.S. Open when he advanced through both local and sectional play in 2006. At age 16 years and 4 days, he made the 36-hole cut at the Sony Open, the second-youngest player at the time to make the cut in a PGA Tour event. Fujikawa was born three months premature and doctors gave him a 50-50 chance of survival.
Scott McCarron, 52, of Mooresville, N.C., spent four years working in the family clothing business after playing at UCLA. He returned to golf in 1992 and won three times on the PGA Tour. He later worked for Golf Channel and Fox as a broadcaster. He has six PGA Tour Champions victories, including last year’s PGA Seniors Championship. McCarron has played in six U.S. Opens, including a tie for 10th in 1997.
Garrett Rank, 30, of Canada, became a full-time National Hockey League official in 2016-17 after working for several years in the American Hockey League. He was called into action during the first-round playoff series this year between the Blue Jackets and Capitals when another official was injured mid-game. Rank, who overcame a cancer scare at age 23, was the runner-up in the 2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur and has twice reached the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball semifinals (with partner Patrick Christovich). He has competed in 15 USGA championships, including six U.S. Amateurs.
Gene Sauers, 55, of Savannah, Ga., won the 2016 U.S. Senior Open Championship at Scioto Country Club, in Columbus, Ohio. He was also the runner-up to Colin Montgomerie in 2014. He has played in four U.S. Opens, with his best finish a tie for 58th in both 1985 and 1987. Sauers registered three PGA Tour victories.
Jackson Van Paris, 14, of Pinehurst, N.C., is the youngest player in U.S. Open sectional qualifying. He helped The O’Neal School capture the 2018 North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) state 2A championship and was third as an individual. As an eighth grader, he won the NCISAA state individual title and was a first-team all-state selection. He was second in this year’s AJGA Junior at Lost Springs with a 54-hole score of 4-under 212.

Woodmont Country Club (North Course)
Rockville, Md.

Joseph Bramlett, 30, of San Jose, Calif., was the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Amateur when he competed at age 14 in 2002. Bramlett recently returned to golf after being sidelined for two years due to lateral spine dysfunction. He was an All-America and All-Pac-12 Conference selection at Stanford University and earned his PGA Tour card through qualifying school in 2010. He has two top-10 finishes on the Web.com Tour this year.
Sean Knapp, 56, of Oakmont, Pa., outlasted Paul Simson, 2 and 1, to win the 2017 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship at The Minikahda Club in Minneapolis, Minn. He has competed in 42 USGA championships but has never played in a U.S. Open. He took up the game of golf at age 19 while caddieing at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. He is vice president of financial sales for an investment management firm.
Nicholas Thompson, 35, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., has played in three U.S. Opens and was a member of the 2005 USA Walker Cup Team. He has competed on the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour. His brother, Curtis, also plays on the Web.com Tour. Their sister, Lexi, the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion, has won nine LPGA Tour titles, including the 2014 Kraft Nabisco.

Canoe Brook Country Club (North & South courses)
Summit, N.J.

Jack Druga, 58, of Southampton, N.Y., has been the head professional at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, the site of this year’s U.S. Open, since 2007. He was once a caddie and assistant professional at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. Druga competed in the 1990 U.S. Open at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club and advanced to match play in the 1977 U.S. Amateur.
Stewart Hagestad, 27, of Newport Beach, Calif., was a member of the winning 2017 USA Walker Cup Team. Hagestad, who won the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship by defeating Scott Harvey in 37 holes, qualified for last year’s U.S. Open at Erin Hills. In 2016, he produced the largest comeback victory (4 down with five holes to play) since a 36-hole Mid-Amateur final was introduced in 2001. Hagestad was the low amateur (T-36) in the 2017 Masters Tournament.
Steven Kluemper, 25, of Bethlehem, Pa., is in his third year as assistant women’s volleyball coach at Moravian College, an NCAA Division III program. Kluemper, who shot 70 to earn one of five spots in local qualifying at York (Pa.) Country Club, previously led Southern Lehigh High’s boys’ volleyball team to the 2016 2A state quarterfinal. He was a three-time all-conference selection as a member of the Centenary University (N.J.) golf team.
James Nicholas, 21, of Scarsdale, N.Y., was chosen 2018 Ivy League player of the year after leading Yale University to the league championship. Nicholas, a three-sport standout in high school, has competed in golf and football for the Bulldogs. In 2015, he played in 10 games as a freshman, primarily on special teams. Nicholas is sixth all time in state career high school hockey scoring and was an all-state selection in football. He was chosen 2015 Journal News Golfer of the Year. Nicholas advanced to match play in the 2017 U.S. Amateur, his first USGA championship.
Andy Pope, 34, of Orlando, Fla., is attempting to play in his fourth consecutive U.S. Open. He was one of six players to make the cut in the 2015 U.S. Open after advancing through both local and sectional qualifying. Pope, who tied for 70th at Chambers Bay, played at Xavier University and has competed primarily on the Web.com Tour since 2012.

Brookside Golf & Country Club & Lakes Golf & Country Club
Columbus, Ohio

Ryan Armour, 42, of Jupiter, Fla., was the runner-up to Tiger Woods in the 1993 U.S. Junior Amateur. Armour, who recorded his first PGA Tour victory last fall when he won the Sanderson Farms Championship by five strokes, held a 2-up lead before Woods birdied holes 17 and 18 and won it with a par on the 19th hole. Armour, who earned All-America honors at Ohio State University, was a winner on the Web.com Tour in 2016.
Jamie Broce, 41, of Indianapolis, Ind., led IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis) to a third-place finish in the Horizon League in his first year as head coach. Broce spent the previous five seasons at the University of Toledo and was an assistant at Indiana University. As a player, he earned All-America recognition at Ball State University.
K.J. Choi, 48, of the Republic of Korea, has competed in 13 U.S. Opens. His best finish is a tie for 15th in 2005 at Pinehurst No. 2 and in 2012 at The Olympic Club. Choi, a former competitive power weightlifter, has eight PGA Tour wins, including The Players Championship in 2011.
Stewart Cink, 45, of Huntsville, Ala., has competed in 20 U.S. Opens and has seven top-25 finishes. He was third in 2001 at Southern Hills Country Club, in Tulsa, Okla. Cink won the 2009 Open Championship, conducted by The R&A, in a four-hole playoff over Tom Watson.
Erik Compton, 38, of Miami, Fla., was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy at age 9 and has since had two successful heart transplants. Compton, a member of the 2001 USA Walker Cup Team, has played in three U.S. Opens. He tied for second at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014.
Joaquin Niemann, 19, of Chile, won the 2018 Latin America Amateur Championship and established the 72-hole scoring record with a final-round 63. He received the 2017 Mark H. McCormack Medal as the top-ranked male amateur player in the world. Niemann, who qualified for the 2017 U.S. Open, turned professional after competing in the 2018 Masters. He advanced to match play in the 2016 and 2017 U.S Amateurs.
Vijay Singh, 55, of Fiji, has played in 18 U.S. Opens and has seven top-10 finishes. His best effort was a tie for third at Pinehurst No. 2 in 1999. Singh, who has won one Masters and two PGA Championships, tied for seventh in his third U.S. Senior Open at Salem Country Club, in Peabody, Mass., last year.
Sam Triplett, 22, of Scottsdale, Ariz., is the son of Kirk Triplett, who won three PGA Tour titles and was the runner-up to Kenny Perry in last year’s U.S. Senior Open. Sam was chosen second-team All-Big Ten Conference this year and helped Northwestern University reach the NCAA Championship. He qualified for the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Amateur Four-Ball in 2016.
Kristoffer Ventura, 23, of Norway, earned first-team All-Big 12 Conference recognition for the second consecutive year as a senior on the Oklahoma State University squad. He helped the Cowboys win the NCAA Championship and finish second in the Big 12 Championship. He reached the Round of 16 in last year’s U.S. Amateur, his first USGA championship. Ventura, who was an All-American in 2017, speaks three languages and is also a citizen of Mexico.

Springfield Country Club
Springfield, Ohio

Ben Bendtsen III, 32, of Mount Pleasant, Wis., is a fourth-generation baker whose Racine bakery is known for kringle, which is a Scandinavian pastry or Nordic variety of pretzel. Bendtsen, who mixes the dough by hand, left the family business for two years to play the mini-tour professional circuit after winning the 2008 Wisconsin State Amateur. He shared medalist honors (70) at the Sheboygan, Wis., local qualifier.
Zac Blair, 27, of Orem, Utah, qualified for his lone U.S. Open through both local and sectional play. He tied for 40th at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014. Blair, an All-America selection at Brigham Young University, has two top-30 finishes on the PGA Tour this season.
Doc Redman, 19, of Raleigh, N.C, won the 2017 U.S. Amateur in 37 holes, coming from 2 down against Doug Ghim with two holes remaining in the final match to force extra holes with an eagle on the 35th and a birdie on the 36th hole. Redman, who tied for 15th individually in the 2018 NCAA Championship, earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference recognition for the second consecutive year as a sophomore at Clemson University. Redman, who was the 2016-17 ACC Freshman of the Year, was a member of the winning 2017 USA Walker Cup Team. He turned professional on May 30.

Portland Golf Club
Portland, Ore.

Davis Bryant, 18, of Aurora, Colo., was born 14 weeks premature, weighed 1 pound, 10 ounces and spent 105 days in the hospital before his parents could take him home. Bryant, who has competed in two U.S. Junior Amateurs, won the 2017 CHSAA Class 5A state championship by two strokes as a member of the Eaglecrest High School team. He once caddied for Pro Football Hall of Fame and Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway in the Colorado Senior Open.
Gipper Finau, 27, of St. George, Utah, is the younger brother of PGA Tour player Tony Finau. Gipper turned professional before his senior year of high school and made the 36-hole cut in a Nationwide Tour (now Web.com) event at age 16. Finau, who is of Tongan and American Samoan descent, shot 70 in the Las Vegas, Nev., local qualifier.
Tyler McCumber, 27, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., considers himself a surfing thrill seeker. He rode 15-foot waves in Puerto Rico, following his philosophy: "If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room." He is the son of Mark McCumber, who tied for second with Chip Beck and Ian Woosnam behind Curtis Strange in the 1989 U.S. Open. McCumber, who competed in 13 U.S. Opens, won 10 PGA Tour titles and tied for eighth in the 1986 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills after briefly holding a share of the lead on Sunday.
John Murdock, 21, of Laramie, Wyo., shot a 68 to earn medalist honors in the Westminster, Colo., local qualifier to advance to U.S. Open sectionals. Murdock, who has played the classical violin since third grade, tied for 25th in the 2018 Mountain West Conference Championship for the University of Wyoming. He was a four-time all-state high school selection at Laramie High.
Hunter Stewart, 25, of Lexington, Ky., recorded five top-10 finishes on PGA Tour Canada in 2017. He was a member of the 2015 USA Walker Cup Team. Stewart, who qualified for the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, competed in four U.S. Amateurs. In 2014-15, he earned first-team All-America honors and became the first player from Vanderbilt University to be chosen Southeastern Conference player of the year; he tied for third at the NCAA Championship.
Mike Weir, 48, of Canada, has played in 13 U.S. Opens and recorded four top-10 finishes. He tied for third at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club in 2003. Weir has won eight times on the PGA Tour, including the 2003 Masters and 2001 Tour Championship.

Ridgeway Country Club & Colonial Country Club (South Course)
Memphis, Tenn.

Ken Duke, 49, of Stuart, Fla., has played in four U.S. Opens, with his best finish a tie for 23rd at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club in 2007. Duke, who overcame spinal surgery as a teenager, won the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship in 2013 and recorded two Nationwide Tour victories.
Retief Goosen, 49, of South Africa, won the U.S. Open in 2001 (playoff with Mark Brooks) and 2004, a two-stroke victory over Phil Mickelson at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Goosen, who was struck by lightning as an amateur, has seven wins on the PGA Tour and 12 victories on the PGA European Tour. He has played in 18 U.S. Opens and received a special exemption into the field at Oakmont in 2016 (missed the cut).
Davis Love III, 54, of Sea Island, Ga., has played in 23 U.S. Opens and owns five top-10 finishes, including a tie for second in 1996 at Oakland Hills. Love has 21 PGA Tour wins, including the 1997 PGA Championship. He served as United States captain for the 2012 and 2016 Ryder Cup Matches. Love will compete in his first U.S. Senior Open this year at The Broadmoor. His son, Davis IV, qualified for the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills.
Shaun Micheel, 49, of Collierville, Tenn., won the 2003 PGA Championship by two strokes over Chad Campbell. He has competed in seven U.S. Opens, with his best finish a tie for seventh at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links in 2010. He became the second known player to record a double eagle in U.S. Open history when he accomplished the feat on the sixth hole in the fourth round.
Geoff Ogilvy, 40, of Australia, won the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., by one stroke over Jim Furyk, Colin Montgomerie and Phil Mickelson. He has competed in 13 U.S. Opens. Ogilvy, who has at least a top-six finish in all four professional major championships, won the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in 2006 and 2009.
Henrik Simonsen, 50, of Denmark, is the head professional at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn., which will host the 2021 U.S. Senior Amateur, its sixth USGA championship. Simonsen was an all-conference selection at Houston Baptist University from 1988-90.
Steve Stricker, 51, of Madison, Wis., tied for 16th in the 2017 U.S. Open after earning medalist honors in the Memphis, Tenn., sectional qualifier. Stricker has played in 20 U.S. Opens and has 12 top-25 finishes. He finished fifth in both 1998 and 1999. Stricker, who has 12 PGA Tour victories, was an All-American at the University of Illinois before starting his pro career on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour in 1990. He is fully exempt to play in his first U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor, June 28-July 1.
Norman Xiong, 19, of Canyon Lake, Calif., was a member of the victorious 2017 USA Walker Cup Team. Xiong tied for 11th individually in the 2018 NCAA Championship as a sophomore on the University of Oregon team. Xiong, who turned professional on May 30, earned first-team All-Pac 12 Conference honors for the second consecutive year. He received the 2017 Phil Mickelson Award as Division I’s top freshman in leading the Ducks to the Pac-12 championship and NCAA match-play final against Oklahoma. Xiong also defeated Doc Redman in 22 holes to win the 2017 Western Amateur.

Shadow Hawk Golf Club
Richmond, Texas

Angel Cabrera, 48, of Argentina, won the 2007 U.S. Open, a one-stroke victory over Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club, and the 2009 Masters in a playoff over Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell. Cabrera has competed in 18 U.S. Opens and has posted four top-25 finishes. He also owns three PGA European Tour victories.
Cameron Champ, 22, of Sacramento, Calif., tied for 32nd in last year’s U.S. Open at Erin Hills and was one of five players to complete 72 holes who advanced through both local and sectional qualifying. He was a member of the victorious 2017 USA Walker Cup Team and later turned professional. Champ has posted four top-25 finishes on the Web.com Tour this year. His father, Jeff, was a catcher at San Diego State University who was selected in the 33rd round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Baltimore Orioles.
Viktor Hovland, 20, of Norway, earned All-Big 12 Conference honors for the second consecutive year as a sophomore on the Oklahoma State University team. Hovland, who helped the Cowboys win the NCAA Championship and place second in the Big 12 Championship, competed in last year’s U.S. Amateur. He led Norway to fifth place, its best finish, in the 2016 World Amateur Team Championship with a final-round 65.
Sammy Schmitz, 37, of Farmington, Minn., won the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship and earned an invitation to the 2016 Masters. Schmitz recorded the second known ace on a par 4 in USGA championship history when he holed his tee shot on No. 15 on John’s Island Club’s West Course in the championship match. He has competed in eight USGA championships.
Matthew Wolff, 19, of Agoura Hills, Calif., was chosen 2018 Big 12 Conference newcomer of the year and helped Oklahoma State University win the NCAA Championship. Wolff tied for seventh individually in the NCAA Championship. He has advanced to match play in two U.S. Amateurs (2016, 2017) and was the runner-up to Noah Goodwin in last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur. Wolff led Westlake High School to two CIF state titles (2014, 2015) and finished as runner-up in 2016. He was selected 2017 Ventura County Star Boys Golfer of the Year.