Road to the U.S. Open

Monday, June 2nd is my favorite day in golf: 10 sites across the U.S. and Canada will host hundreds of players competing for coveted spots in the U.S. Open. There are multi-time major winners, countless PGA Tour winners, and guys that you have never heard of, all looking for a spot at Oakmont. 

We will be conducting a preview of all 10 sites starting with Kinsale Golf Club, which has a particularly loaded site due to its proximity to Memorial. 

Off we go! 

‍Columbus, Ohio

‍The Course: 

Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club is an upscale private club in Powell, Ohio. Just over 7200 yards, it has a 75 rating and 135 slope from the back tees. The course is generous off the tee, but the greens are protected by a lot of bunkering and thick rough. The wind can blow at times, making it very difficult to play on the firm, fast greens. 

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‍Highest-ranked player in the field: 

Bud Cauley, 57th: One of the better stories in golf, Cauley is having a fantastic year after being out of action for years following a car accident. At the beginning of the 2024 season, Cauley was UNRANKED in the OWGR. After his third place finish at Colonial, he has now climbed inside the top-60. He was a week late climbing into the top-60 to earn an exempt spot in the U.S. Open, as the deadline was the week before the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial.

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Other big names in the field: 

This field is loaded with eight players in the top-100 of OWGR: Cam Young, Eric Cole, Erik Van Rooyen, Alex Noren, Max Homa, Jake Knapp, and Adam Hadwin will all have to earn their way through the 36-hole gauntlet of Golf’s Longest Day. 

Also in the field is three-time major champion, Padraig Harrington, who finished T27 at the 2023 U.S. Open at age 51. 

And that only begins to touch on the other decorated players in the field: Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar, Justin Lower, Chez Reavie, Lanto Griffin, and Justin Lower. 

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Stories you might not have heard about: 

‍Michael LaSasso: The junior at Ole Miss just won the NCAA individual championship and now looks to earn a spot at Oakmont. 

‍Bryce Emory: Emory, who held KFT status and won the Illinois Open, has kept his dream alive by working outside services at a club in the Chicago area. 

‍James Piot: The former U.S. Amateur Champion went to LIV and is now grinding it out on mini tours in Florida. He has played well of late and looks to get into his first major as a pro. 

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Scoring: 

‍https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/5220778

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Springfield, Ohio

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Course: 

Springfield Country Club (Ohio) is a longtime host of the U.S. Open sectional qualifier and has held up as a great venue despite its short length. The course measures less than 6,700 yards but the severe runoffs and difficult greens make it a true test. Take, for example, the difficult 18th – a finishing hole with a green perched on a large hill. Leave your approach short, and the ball can run 70 yards down the hill. Get it above the hole and a three-putt (or four-putt) becomes a real possibility. I have been on-site the last few years and it’s a wonderful course. 

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Highest ranked player in the field: 

‍Beau Hossler: It seems like Hossler has been around forever, but the former University of Texas standout is just 30-years-old and ranked 97th in the world. Hossler had a great fall season to end 2024, losing in a playoff at the Sanderson Farms Championship, which was the start of nine consecutive made cuts. So far this year, Hossler has missed just four cuts in 15 events but hasn’t recorded a top-25. 

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Other big names in the field: 

‍Brandt Snedeker: The nine-time PGA Tour winner has shown some life this year making seven of 11 cuts, including his first top-10 in nearly four years. 

‍Nick Hardy: The last two seasons have been a struggle for the former University of Illinois standout. He has made just four cuts in 15 events so far this season. However, there have been signs of a turnaround of late with Hardy making three of his last five cuts, including a T11 last week at the Colonial. Hardy loves Springfield CC and has advanced to the U.S. Open five times from there. 

‍Kurt Kitayama: The former UNLV star who owns a PGA Tour win and two European Tour wins is currently just inside the top-100 in the world. This season has been a struggle. Kitayama has made 14 cuts in 21 starts, and sits 125th in points. However, he had a T5 at the Byron Nelson and a T22 at Colonial, so his game is showing some life. 

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Stories you might not have heard about: 

‍Dylan Meyer: The former University of Illinois All-American has taken a step back from full-time pro golf after he and his dad bought a golf course. (Full story here). But he escaped the challenges of running his own golf course long enough to get through the local qualifier. He is another player that loves Springfield CC, having successfully qualified here before. 

‍John Peterson: The former PGA Tour member turned garage door installer looks to get back to the U.S. Open for the first time since 2013. In 2012, he finished T4 at U.S Open after getting through qualifying. The finish earned him a spot in the 2013 Masters, where he became the first-ever Web.com (KFT) member to compete in the Masters. The former LSU All-American received his amateur status back late last year. 

‍Jeg Coughlin III: It’s not often that someone who owns and operates a major company also plays competitive golf, but Coughlin does just that. Jeg helped broker the sale of Jeg’s Automotive to a private equity group in 2021 and remains on the board. He also played golf at Ohio State and has had success in mini-tour events across the country. 

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Scoring: 

https://www.miamivalleygolf.org/events/usga/us-open-final/times-7824.html

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