It’s been very rare in recent decades that a U.S. Open golf championship is held without anyone in the field with strong Colorado connections.
It happened two years ago at Oakmont, but beyond that you have to look back more than a half-century to find a U.S. Open field without any Colorado “locals”.
But, barring a minor miracle, no one with major Colorado ties will be competing in next week’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y.
No local players are exempt, and on Monday, the 22 players with major Colorado connections who were competing in 36-hole U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying all came up short of advancing to the national championship.
But that’s not to say that no one came close.
Denver native Wyndham Clark, who was based in the state until graduating from the University of Oregon a year ago, finished one stroke out of a playoff for the final qualifying position in Summit, N.J.
And former Coloradan Mark Hubbard made a run in Richmond, Texas before falling three shots short.
In New Jersey, Clark started off relatively slowly with a 2-over-par 72, but the Web.com Tour regular gave himself a chance with a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 in round 2. But with the top five finishers qualifying, Clark ended up one stroke out of a two-man playoff for the final U.S. Open berth.
Hubbard, another Web.com Tour player who competed for three years on the PGA Tour, opened with a 7-under-par 65 that included an 18th-hole eagle in Texas. But he couldn’t sustain the momentum in the afternoon in posting an even-par 72. That left him at 7-under 137 and three strokes out of a playoff. Glenn Workman of Pueblo West, the 2017 CGA Amateur champion, recorded two straight rounds of 2-under 70 but also couldn’t get over the hump.
Monday marked the second of a two-stage qualifying process for the U.S. Open. A dozen 36-hole Sectional Qualifiers were held, including 11 on Monday and 10 in the U.S.
The U.S. Open itself will run June 14-17 at Shinnecock Hills.
Here are the scores for all the players with strong Colorado connections who competed in Sectional Qualifying on Monday:
Summit, N.J. (81 players for 5 spots)
Failed to Qualify
T7. Former Colorado resident Wyndham Clark 72-66–138
Former Golden resident Andrew Svoboda 70-74–144
Former CU golfer Justin Bardgett 69-77–146
Richmond, Texas (52 players for 3 spots)
Failed to Qualify
T7. Denver native Mark Hubbard 65-72–137
Glenn Workman of Pueblo West 70-70–140
Trevor McKune of Littleton 72-74–146
Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction 76-74–150
David Good of Colorado Springs 77-74–151
Jupiter, Fla. (48 players for 3 spots)
Failed to Qualify
Former Fort Collins resident Sam Saunders 76-WD
Rockville, Md. (53 players for 4 spots)
Failed to Qualify
36. Nick Mason of Parker 76-74–150
Columbus, Ohio (120 players for 14 spots)
Failed to Qualify
44. Josh Seiple of Castle Rock 75-70–145
Derek Fribbs of Thornton 75-75–150
Jonathan Kuzava of Littleton 74-77–151
Jack Castiglia of Lakewood 75-81–156
Former CSU golfer Martin Laird 72-WD
Springfield, Ohio (65 players for 6 spots)
Failed to Qualify
19. Parker Edens of Greeley 73-70–143
Memphis, Tenn. (117 players for 11 spots)
Failed to Qualify
55. Zahkai Brown of Golden 73-70–143
Former CU golfer Kevin Kring 71-74–145
Daly City, Calif. (86 players for 5 spots)
Failed to Qualify
31. Former Colorado School of Mines golfer Marty Jertson 72-74–146
Portland, Ore. (81 players for 4 spots)
Failed to Qualify
50. Tom Gempel of Lone Tree 73-75–148
50. Steven Kupcho of Westminster 76-72–148
Davis Bryant of Aurora 77-72–149
For complete Sectional Qualifying results, CLICK HERE.
