U.S. Open sectional qualifying: A closer look

It’s one of the most interesting days in golf. Each June, hundreds of players compete for spots in the U.S. Open. The participants range from PGA TOUR winners to club champions. They all start on equal footing. Only their score, not their resume or name recognition, will determine if they get a tee time at Pebble Beach. Nearly half of the U.S. Open field will be filled by qualifiers, giving the Cinderella stories plenty of opportunities to compete in the year’s third major championship. Qualifying started in May, but the bulk of the qualifiers will be held on June 3. Check back here for results from all 11 sites (Note: x-won playoff; (a) – amateur). JUNE 3 England: Walton Heath Canada: RattleSnake Point Florida: Streamsong (Black) Georgia: Hawks Ridge Maryland: Woodmont New York: Century/Old Oaks Ohio: Brookside/Scioto Ohio: Springfield Washington: Wine Valley MAY 27 Kuwana Country Club Kuwana, Japan Kodai Ichihara, a two-time winner on the Japan Tour last year, took medalist honors after making 16 birdies in 36 holes. Ichihara, 37, finished fourth on the Japan Tour money list last season after winning twice. His biggest victory came at the Dunlop Phoenix, where he beat a field that included Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama. Shugo Imahira, who won last year’s Japan Tour money list, took the second spot. Mikumu Horikawa, who finished second to Ichihara at last year’s Dunlop Phoenix, took the final spot in a playoff over Chan Kim. Qualifiers 1. Kodai Ichihara, 65-66 2. Shugo Imahira, 65-67 T3. x-Mikumu Horikawa, 67-66 1st alt. Chan Kim, 65-68 2nd alt. Hiroyuki Fujita, 67-69 MAY 20 Bent Tree CC/Northwood Club Dallas, Texas Two PGA TOUR winners shared medalist honors, while a former major champion also was among the qualifiers. Brendon Todd and Nick Taylor both won in 2014. Todd’s win came at the AT&T Byron Nelson, while Taylor won the Sanderson Farms Championship. Todd was in second place halfway through the 2014 U.S. Open, but shot 79-69 on the weekend to finish T17. He made his only other U.S. Open start the following year. He has made six starts this year as he tries to fight his way out of a slump. He has two top-25s this season, his first since 2015. He’s 189th in this season’s FedExCup. This will be Taylor’s first U.S. Open start as a pro. He played twice as an amateur, in 2008 (MC) and 2009 (T36). He shot a second-round 65 at Bethpage Black to set the record for lowest U.S. Open round as an amateur. Taylor is 111th in this season’s FedExCup. Last year, he shot a 63 in the final round before the FedExCup Playoffs to crack the top 125 in the FedExCup and keep his card. Mike Weir will play his first U.S. Open since 2013 after shooting 69-67 in the qualifier. The 2003 Masters champion made the cut in the two previous U.S. Opens at Pebble Beach. Scottie Scheffler, who is second on the Web.com Tour points list, also qualified. Scheffler, 22, has a win and two runners-up this season. He was the low amateur in the 2017 U.S. Open. Qualifiers T1. Brendon Todd, 65-66 T1. Nick Taylor, 66-65 3. Carlos Ortiz, 66-67 4. Julian Etulain, 71-64 T5. Scottie Scheffler, 68-68 T5. Mike Weir, 69-67 T5. Brian Davis, 69-67 T5. Matt Jones, 66-70 T9. x-Charlie Danielson, 67-70 T9. x-Austin Eckroat (a), 65-72 1st alt. Cody Gribble, 68-69 2nd alt. Jared Wolfe, 67-71 Notables MC. Brian Harman, 68-70 MC. Mackenzie Hughes, 70-68 MC. Shane Bacon, 73-77

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