Yesterday was sectional qualifying in the United States for the US Open, which consisted of 10 separate golf tournaments taking place at the same time for the right to compete in one of the biggest tournaments in the world. It is one of the coolest and most chaotic days in golf, and many who survive are players no one has ever heard of who will be playing in their first ever PGA Tour event. For these players, just getting a spot in the tournament is an accomplishment...but for other qualifiers, they have bigger goals in mind. Here, now, in my opinion, are five sectional qualifiers who could contend for the US Open trophy.
Honorable Mention - J.B. Holmes
- I was originally going to have Holmes on this list, but his style of play isn't rewarded at US Open settings. There is talk that the rough won't be as bad this year, and if that is true, then Holmes could be part of the conversation. As it stands now, though, with what we know about US Open golf, I don't see Holmes being a factor at the end of the week.
5) Brian Stuard
- Stuard, who dominated the Springfield qualifier, is having an up and down season on the PGA Tour, but ranks 29th in the FedEx Cup and has four top 10 finishes this season. Stuard qualified for the US Open last year and missed the cut. While I do not expect Stuard to hoist the trophy on Sunday, he fits the bill of the typical lower name player who is at or near the top of the leaderboard going into the weekend. He will need to hit a few more greens in regulation, but is a pretty decent putter.
4) Brooks Koepka
- Usually, the international qualifying sites provide a few big names that could sneak into the the picture at the US Open. This year seems devoid of those names, as players such as Matteo Manassero and Padraig Harrington missed out on qualifying, and instead the names of those who did include Shane Lowry, Marth Mulroy, and Tom Lewis. Koepka might have the most firepower of anyone at the European qualifier, and has played a majority of his golf in the States this year. He also made the cut in the last major he played in, the 2013 PGA Championship.
3) Hyung Sung Kim
- Kim skipped out on the qualifier in Japan to play in the Memorial and the qualifier in Ohio. He made the right decision, as he easily qualified in one of the hardest qualifying fields. Kim played on the Japan Tour and hasn't missed a cut all season. He also played three times in the US this year, and while the results weren't spectacular, he hasn't missed any of those cuts, either. Kim won one of the biggest golf tournaments in Japan, the Crowns, this season. Other winners of the Crowns include Ryo Iskikawa, Darren Clarke, Justin Rose, and Seve Ballesteros.
2) Paul Casey
- I sure would have liked this pick more had Casey not crumbled on the weekend at Memorial, but I can not ignore what he has done with the limited playing opportunities he has gotten this season. Four of the last five tournaments he has entered have results in top 25s, and would have been a real threat to win some of them had one round not gotten away from him. The US Open is the kind of tournament that can forgive a bad round if you play well enough the rest of the week. Casey has played in 9 US Opens, including the last time it was held at Pinehurst, but he withdrew from that tournament after the first round. He made the cut at Marion last year.
1) David Toms
- David Toms hasn't missed a cut on the PGA Tour since March, and his most recent event was a tie for fifth at Colonial. He easily qualified in Memphis, where he opened with a round of 66 and never once was in trouble of missing the qualifying. Toms tied for forth at the US Open two years ago, and finished 7th at the PGA Championship last year. Toms is trending in the right direction, and I can easily see him being part of the conversation once Sunday comes.
No comments:
Post a Comment