With one big name already in and another definitely not, a veritable who’s who in golf was ready to grind it out in qualifying events Monday in hopes of making it to the 2011 U.S. Open.
LPGA Hall of Famer Betsy King, 55, played her way into the U.S. Women’s Open with a second-place finish in a 36-hole qualifier in Arizona, while former No. 1 Vijay Singh missed his Monday morning tee time at Columbus, Ohio’s Brookside Country Club. Further details were not forthcoming about Singh, who will sit out his first Open since 1994.
Singh, who owns thee major championship titles but was not exempt for the Open because he had fallen out of the top 50 players in the world, failed to show for an 8:10 a.m. tee time for the 36-hole qualifier in Columbus, Ohio. The 48-year-old who held first place in the world rankings during parts of 2004 and 2005, will also take a pass on qualifying for the British Open, according to the BBC.
Singh could apparently try to capture an exemption the British by playing well in this week’s St. Jude Classic in Memphis, said the BBC, although his name was not among those listed for the tourney as of Monday afternoon. Two-time Open champ King shot 73 and 71 to finish one stroke off the pace of amateur Kyung Kim, both of whom will play in the U.S. Women’s Open July-July 10 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.
With the men’s Open set to kick off in 10 days at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., the competition promised to be hard-fought for the few spots open to qualifiers. The 2012 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III was one of 71 guys competing for four spots in Texas. Others included 1999 Ryder Cup hero Justin Leonard, Tom Kite, and vaunted amateur Jordan Spieth.
The stars were out in Columbus, where 120 players were competing for 16 slots. Brett Wetterich and amateur Martin Cody were the first-round leaders in the clubhouse after firing 5-under 67s.
New England golfer and tour rookie Keegan Bradley, who won his first tourney at the Byron Nelson Championship a week ago but missed the cut at Jack Nicklaus’ event, was set to go up against a roster of accomplished golfers, including:
- Rocco Mediate, who famously lost to Tiger Woods in the 2008 Open and now stars in Dick’s Sporting Goods commercials
- David Duval, who owns one major championship
- Ricky Barnes, a 12-time tour winner
- Sean O’Hair, who’s most recent fame springs from his face-to-face set-to with Rory Sabbatini at the 2011 Zurich Classic
- Jose Maria Olazabal, who owns two green jackets after winning the 1994 and 1999 Masters
- Jhonattan Vegas, a rookie who won the 2011 Bob Hope Classic in a playoff
- Mike Weir, the left-handed Canadian who has four top-10 finishes in U.S. Opens but has struggled mightily of late
- Gary Woodland, one of the longest hitters on tour and winner of this year’s Transitions Championship
Ten spots were up for grabs in Maryland, where Curtis Thompson, brother of 16-year-old Alexis and Nationwide Tour player Nicholas, was to take on Ty Tryon, who was the youngest player, in 2001, at 17, to earn a PGA card through Q-school, and 110 others. The field included tour Rhode Island’s own Brad Faxon and tour vets Fred Funk, Jason Gore.
In Florida, Arnold Palmer’s grandson Sam Saunders was to vie with NBC Sports broadcaster Gary Koch and 54 others for three spots. With 78 positions available, seven-time winner and one-time wunderkind Sergio Garcia was to slug it out with former PGA Championship titleholder Rich Beem, three-time tour winner Chris DiMarco, Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, and 74 others in Memphis.
Visit the USGA for a more detailed look at each qualifier.
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. Check her out on the Waggle Room, Boston Golf Examiner, National Golf Examiner, and GottaGoGolf websites. You may also follow Kay on Twitter @golfexaminer.)
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