In Colorado, Arnold Palmer is perhaps best known for his huge final-round comeback in winning his only U.S. Open, at Cherry Hills Country Club in 1960.
For the last 2 1/2 years, Arnie’s grandson, Sam Saunders, has lived in Colorado — Fort Collins, to be exact. But he’s had little exposure to competing in the U.S. Open himself.
He did qualify in 2011, but missed the cut. Two years ago, he was on the verge of qualifying again, but a missed 4-inch putt early in his second round of Sectionals ended up leaving him a playoff, and he was left on the outside looking in at the end of the day.
But on Monday, Saunders (pictured) earned a return trip to the national championship by his performance at a 36-hole U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Ironically, that’s the city where just three days earlier Saunders matched his highest score of the 2014-15 PGA Tour wraparound season as he carded an 80 in missing the cut at the Memorial.
But that was a distant memory on Monday as the 27-year-old shared qualifying medalist honors in Columbus with Michael Putnam of University Place, Wash., where the U.S. Open will be played at Chambers Bay June 18-21.
Saunders made two eagles in his last seven holes to go along with a dozen birdies en route to shooting 66-66 for a 12-under-par 132 total.
All in all, it had to be Saunders’ most satisfying finish since placing a PGA Tour career-best second at the Puerto Rico Open in March, where he lost in a playoff.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Saunders and Putnam were paired together on Monday.
“We had a great time out there today,” Saunders said. “We were sort of in the same situation today. We both had our families with us, we both missed the cut at the Memorial, (and) we were staying in the same hotel. There was a good vibe out there for us.”
After struggling at the Memorial, Saunders actually used the irons owned by his caddie, Travis McAlister, for the qualifier.
“He has the same irons I used to have, and I decided to use his instead of mine,” Saunders said. “I also made a good swing adjustment over the weekend. I hit it well.”
Saunders was one of 23 players with strong local ties who were competing Monday in one of the 10 36-hole Sectional Qualifying tournaments held across the country. But he was the only one of the 23 to actually punch his ticket to the Open itself.
All told, 58 U.S. Open spots were up for grabs at the Sectionals on Monday.
Here are the scores for all the players with strong Colorado ties who competed in Sectional Qualifying on Monday:
Columbus, Ohio (120 players for 15 spots)
T1. Sam Saunders of Fort Collins 66-66–132
58. Jim Knous of Englewood 73-74–147
Newport Beach, Calif. (112 players for 6 spots)
11. Former Grand Junction resident Monte Montgomery 69-71–140
48. Michael Schoolcraft of Denver 68-79–147
48. Eric Bradley of Eagle 76-71–147
55. Andrew Romano of Lone Tree 73-75–148
64. Colin Prater of Colorado Springs 79-70–149
74. Former Fort Collins resident Matt Rutledge 78-72–150
100. Nick Hodge of Littleton 76-80–156
Memphis, Tenn. (121 players for 10 spots)
13. Former CSU Golfer Martin Laird 65-73–138
80. Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village 75-73–148
99. Former CSU Golfer Michael Wuertz 79-80–159
104. Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe 68-WD
115. David Duval of Cherry Hills Village 75-WD
Springfield, Ohio (67 players for 4 spots)
35. Parker Edens of Greeley 68-75–143
55. Cameron Harrell of Colorado Springs 79-73–152
60. Greg Johnson of Lakewood 75-83–158
Jupiter, Fla. (70 players for 4 spots)
19. A.J. Morris of Aspen 75-75–150
Rockville, Md. (56 players for 3 spots)
19. Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch 74-74–148
45. Former Coloradan Mark Hubbard 75-82–157
Purchase, N.Y. (71 players for 4 spots)
48. Former Coloradan Tom Kalinowski 77-75–152
Dallas (78 players for 6 spots)
36. Former CU Golfer Josh Creel 73-69–142
Cle Elum, Wash. (50 players for 3 spots)
25. Nathaniel Goddard of Fort Collins 77-74–151
