Martin Laird is ranked among the top 120 golfers in the world, but the former Colorado State University player hasn’t competed in the U.S. Open — a tournament that features a 156-man field — in four years.
However, that will change next week when the three-time Tour winner competes at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis.
Laird (pictured), a former winner of the Denver Open, earned his U.S. Open trip on Monday by tying for fourth out of 122 players in the toughest Sectional Qualifying field, the place where most of the non-exempt PGA Tour players compete.
Laird shot rounds of 67-67 for a 10-under-par 134 total in Columbus, Ohio, where the top 14 finishers qualified for the Open. He made 13 birdie and three bogeys on a day that was marred by rain. J.T. Poston of St. Simons Island, Ga., was the medalist at the site with a 36-hole total of 132.
This will be the sixth U.S. Open for Laird, who missed the cut in his first four before placing 21st in 2013, his last appearance.
This season on the PGA Tour, Laird has recorded four top-10 finishes. He’s ranked No. 68 on the 2016-17 wraparound season money list with $1,115,886.
Laird was the only player with strong Colorado connections who qualified for the U.S. Open on Monday, when 10 36-hole Sectional tournaments were held in the U.S. A total of 21 local players were vying for U.S. Open berths at Sectionals, which mark the second and final stage of Open qualifying.
Of the Coloradans who fell short on Monday, making the most serious run at advancing was David Oraee of Greeley, the 2015 CGA Player of the Year. A year after missing a playoff at a U.S. Open Sectional site by just two strokes, the former University of Colorado golfer fell five shy of the final qualifying spot this year in Dallas, where just the top three finishers advanced.
Oraee was in good shape after a first-round 64 that featured two eagles in his final three holes, including a hole-in-one on No. 7. He played his last six holes of round 1 at Lakewood Country Club in Texas by going birdie, birdie, birdie, hole-in-one, par, eagle. For those of you keeping track, that’s 7 under par in six holes.
But Oraee played his first five holes of round 2 in 3 over par and couldn’t get anything going the rest of the way to get back into the top three. He made a dozen straight pars before finishing with a birdie, leaving him with 73 for the round and 5-under 137 overall, good for ninth place.
The U.S. Open will be held June 15-18 at Erin Hills.
U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying (36 Holes)
(a-indicates amateur)
For scoring, CLICK HERE.
Newport Beach, Calif. (103 players for 6 U.S. Open spots)
Failed to Qualify
39. a-Daniel Pearson, Longmont 75-70–145
50. Pat Grady, Denver 70-76–146
50. a-Former CSU golfer Blake Cannon 70-76–146
70. a-Ross Macdonald, Castle Pines 78-72–150
82. Rich Lash, Denver 76-78–154
89. a-Greg Condon, Monte Vista 75-80–155
Summit, N.J. (80 players for 5 U.S. Open spots)
Failed to Qualify
17. Former Golden resident Andrew Svoboda 69-70–139
53. Former CU golfer Justin Bardgett 71-75–146
Columbus, Ohio (120 players for 14 U.S. Open spots)
Qualified for U.S. Open
4. Former CSU golfer Martin Laird 67-67–134
Failed to Qualify
74. Andy Connell, Denver 70-77–147
Former Fort Collins resident Sam Saunders WD
Springfield, Ohio (77 players for 4 U.S. Open spots)
Failed to Qualify
52. Parker Edens, Greeley 77-72–149
59. a-Hunter Paugh, Fort Collins 71-82–153
Memphis, Tenn. (108 players for 9 U.S. Open spots)
Failed to Qualify
38. Mark Hubbard, Denver 71-69–140
50. Zahkai Brown, Golden 69-73–142
55. a-Jake Staiano, Englewood 72-71–143
77. a-Josh Seiple, Castle Rock 75-78–153
Dallas (58 players for 3 U.S. Open spots)
Failed to Qualify
9. David Oraee, Greeley 64-73–137
30. Jacob Lestishen, Lone Tree 71-70–141
46. a-Jackson Solem, Longmont 76-72–148
Lakewood, Wash. (70 players for 4 U.S. Open spots)
Failed to Qualify
54. Jason Preeo, Highlands Ranch 79-76–155
