Standing on the 15th tee during Monday’s U.S. Open qualifier at Columbine Country Club, Dustin White realized exactly how close he was to a lifelong dream. Bret Guetz, one of three co-leaders after the opening round of the 36-hole event, had stumbled, suffering three-putt bogeys on his final two holes.
“I knew then what I had to do,” White said.
At that point, the Pueblo resident actually had a one-shot lead, but no guarantee of a spot in the field at historic Winged Foot Golf Club. However, a birdie on the 15th moved him closer, and when White struck the flagstick to help save par on the following hole, it seemed clear that the golf gods were indeed smiling upon the 25-year-old. Two holes later, White was a part of the USGA’s 106th national championship.
“I’m not sure how I feel yet,” White, who finished at 67-68-135, said immediately afterward. “I’m sure when I get to Winged Foot, and see all the guys that you see on TV, you’ll see what you’ve done. I think it’ll mean a lot more then.”
A two-time winner on the minor-league Gateway tour, White called his victory Monday the biggest accomplishment of his career, perhaps an understatement given what he achieved and how he got there. White hadn’t advanced out of local qualifying in his previous two attempts, missing out in a playoff in 2004 and falling short by a shot last year.
This year, White shot a 66 at Walking Stick in Pueblo – “It was definitely like a home game,” he said – to move on to Columbine. Even so, the odds against him were pretty long; the USGA decides how many players move from the sectionals into the Open based on what it calls the “quality of field.”
At Columbus, Ohio, near the site of last week’s PGA Tour Memorial, there were so many pros around that there were two sectionals, with a total of 23 berths available.
At Columbine, there were 25 players in the field, but only one would be assured of playing in New York. For much of the day, it seemed as if that man would be Guetz. A regular on the Canadian Tour, Guetz shot a 4-under-par 32 on the opening nine holes of his second round, putting him at 9-under for the day.
That’s where he stood, facing a 20-footer on the 17th green; three strokes later, he had dropped a shot. The same thing happened on No. 18, this time from 15 feet.
“I felt very confident coming into it,” Guetz said. “It’s not the way you want to finish, but it happened.”
Having qualified in 2003, Guetz missed out on his chance to return to the Open, a scenario that White could scarcely believe was at hand.
“You play golf, knowing what level you want to play at, knowing you want to get to the highest level,” he said. “Now I’m getting a chance to do that for a week; it’s a privilege but it’s an opportunity as well.”
Staff writer Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
