Wil Collins isn’t from Colorado, but he undoubtedly has a soft spot in his heart for the Centennial State.
The Albuquerque resident not only won the 2005 HealthOne Colorado Open, but he’s twice been medalist in U.S. Open Local Qualifying at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo.
Five years ago, he shot a 64 and won the qualifier by four strokes. And on Monday, he overcame the cold and rain to fire a 4-under-par 67 and prevail by two.
“It feels good,” the former PGA Tour player said. “I haven’t had many good things happen in quite some time, but I’ve had some success at Walking Stick. It’s a good golf course for me. You don’t have to be extremely long, and I’ve played it quite a few times. I played some junior events there and the Southern Colorado Amateur there. It’s a good place to come.
“I’m thrilled. I have my sights set on going to the Olympic Club” in San Francisco, site of the U.S. Open June 14-17.
Collins made seven birdies on Monday — one on a chip-in — to be one of five players who advanced in the two-stage qualifying process. Also moving on out of the 82-man field were Michael Baird, James Love and Nick Mason, all from Denver, and Bradley Besler of Blessing, Texas.
Baird, a former University of Colorado golfer, carded a 69, while the other three recorded 70s.
The top five finishers earned spots in the 36-hole Sectionals, the final stage of Open qualifying. They’ll play at one of 13 Sectional tournaments held worldwide, most of which will be contested June 4.
The five players who tied at 70 on Monday had to play off for the final three Sectional berths. Love, a former University of Denver golfer who now has a Nationwide Tour card, and Mason, the 2010 Utah Open champion, joined Besler in parring all three playoff holes to advance. Dustin White, who grew up in Pueblo, bogeyed the second extra hole and Keenan Holt of Durango bogeyed the third to finish as the second and first alternates, respectively.
Collins, 33, who played on the PGA Tour in 2009, missed the cut in the U.S. Open in 2005, the same year he won the Colorado Open.
Baird made five birdies and three bogeys on Monday to join Collins as the only players to break 70 on a day that featured temperatures in the 40s and a light rain on and off.
“It felt good” to make it, said Baird, a 27-year-old who has been playing the Golfweek National Pro Tour this year. “I didn’t have my best stuff, and to still get through is encouraging.
“It was mainly just the cold that was hard to get used to. I was hitting a lot of long irons into par-4s, so it was kind of a grind.”
Baird will be going to Sectionals for the second time, though he’s never played in a U.S. Open.
Steve Irwin, son of three-time U.S. Open champion Hale Irwin, fell short in his bid to qualify for two consecutive U.S. Opens as he shot a 77. Also missing out was Tom Glissmeyer, who qualified for the U.S. Open as a 16-year-old in 2003. He posted an even-par 71 at Walking Stick.
Monday marked the first of three U.S. Open Local Qualifying tournaments scheduled in Colorado. Others will be held May 14 at two other sites, the Heritage at Westmoor in Westminster and Collindale Golf Club in Fort Collins. The top five finishers at each course will advance to Sectional Qualifying.
All told, 9,006 entries were accepted for this year’s U.S. Open.
U.S. Open Local Qualifying
At Par-71 Walking Stick GC in Pueblo
ADVANCE TO SECTIONAL QUALIFYING
Wil Collins, Albuquerque, N.M., 33-34–67
Michael Baird, Denver, Colo., 35-34–69
James Love, Denver, Colo., 37-33–70
Bradley Besler, Blessing, Texas, 35-35–70
Nicholas Mason, Denver, Colo., 36-34–70
ALTERNATES (in order)
Keenan Holt, Durango, Colo., 34-36–70
Dustin White, Pueblo, Colo., 34-36–70
FAILED TO QUALIFY
Tom Glissmeyer, Colorado Springs, Colo., 35-36–71
Luke Hickmott, Saratoga, Calif., 35-36–71
Steve Ziegler, Westminster, Colo., 34-37–71
Michael Harrington, Colorado Springs, Colo., 37-35–72
Chris Smith, Denver, Colo., 38-35–73
David Simpson, Englewood, Colo., 34-39–73
Jesse Barnsley, Albuquerque, N.M., 36-37–73
Andrew Connell, Denver, Colo., 35-38–73
Steve Saunders, Albuquerque, N.M., 37-36–73
Zenon Brown, Arvada, Colo., 37-37–74
Jared Butler, Thornton, Colo., 35-39–74
Tommy Carpenter, Centennial, Colo., 36-38–74
Jimmy Makloski, Pueblo, Colo., 37-37–74
Tim Wohlgemuth, Denver, Colo., 36-38–74
Connor Klein, Lone Tree, Colo., 38-37–75
Cody Eberl, Indio, Calif., 37-38–75
Kyle Burns, Denver, Colo., 37-38–75
Walker Frey, Garden City, Kan., 37-38–75
Keith Humerickhouse, Gypsum, Colo., 36-39–75
Matthew Marino, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 37-38–75
Zechariah Potter, Wichita, Kan., 36-39–75
Mike Troyer, Parker, Colo., 37-38–75
Benjamin Moore, Englewood, Colo., 39-36–75
Brian Morfeld, Littleton, Colo., 37-39–76
David Schroeder II, Colorado Springs, Colo., 40-36–76
Michael Fan, Pearl City, Hawaii, 38-38–76
Jeremy Berbert, Westminster, Colo., 40-36–76
William Squires, Pueblo West, Colo., 39-37–76
David Cosel, Monument, Colo., 39-37–76
Jason Schmidt, Aurora, Colo., 39-37–76
David Duarte, Pueblo, Colo., 38-39–77
Peter Norwood, Denver, Colo., 37-40–77
Chris Niemiec, Saint Charles, Ill., 38-39–77
Steven Irwin, Arvada, Colo., 39-38–77
Travis Wolf, Denver, Colo., 37-40–77
Sam Chapman, Parker, Colo., 37-41–78
Trey Fankhouser, Goodwell, Okla., 41-37–78
Charles Soule, Denver, Colo., 40-38–78
Andrew Romano, Littleton, Colo., 43-35–78
Zach Dunlap, Hugoton, Kan., 39-40–79
Carson Henry, Englewood, Colo., 39-40–79
Blake Young, Trinidad, Colo., 39-40–79
Garrett Froggatte, Colorado Springs, Colo., 34-45–79
Matthew Brookshier, Colorado Springs, Colo., 38-41–79
Alex Crall, Aurora, Colo., 42-37–79
Eric Hallberg, Castle Rock, Colo., 38-42–80
Corey Graham, San Jose, Calif., 40-40–80
Scott Brozena, Oakland, Calif., 37-43–80
Joshua Weeden, Englewood, Colo., 39-41–80
Ethan Freeman, Littleton, Colo., 40-40–80
Ben Gibson, Colorado Springs, Colo., 42-38–80
Charles Rider, Centennial, Colo., 36-45–81
Riley O’Neill, Monument, Colo., 37-44–81
Adam Jardon, Monte Vista, Colo., 41-40–81
Adam Joiner, Carbondale, Colo., 43-39–82
Danny Armstrong, Steamboat Springs, Colo., 43-39–82
James Sorenson, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, 41-41–82
Chris Weinstein, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 38-44–82
William Bernhardt, Canon City, Colo., 45-38–83
Graham McCoy, Colorado Springs, Colo., 41-42–83
Steven Anderson, Grand Junction, Colo., 41-43–84
Andrew Vance, Lakewood, Colo., 44-40–84
Cameron Connor, Boulder, Colo., 42-43–85
Ken Weiss, Centennial, Colo., 45-40–85
Matthew Unrein, Cortez, Colo., 43-42–85
Randy Urso, Aurora, Colo., 44-42–86
Brian Thomas, Aurora, Colo., 42-45–87
Nick Simmons, Greenwood Village, Colo., 40-48–88
Bradley Neher, Englewood, Colo., WD
David Delich, Colorado Springs, Colo., WD
Richard Lash, Dillon, Colo., WD
Brian Whitehouse, Garden City, Kan., NC
Jason Bandy, Glendale, Ariz., NS
John Luoma, Parker, Colo., WD
Justin Borzych, Castle Rock, Colo., NC
