Two Coloradans earned their way into the U.S. Open on Monday at sectional qualifiers.
Amateur Steve Irwin of Arvada, a former University of Colorado golfer whose father, Hale, won three U.S. Opens, was one of five qualifiers at the Glendale, Calif., sectional by finishing tied for third, one shot behind the co-medalists.
A day after finishing in a tie for second in the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio, Brandt Jobe, a Kent Denver High School graduate, continued his solid play by finishing as co-medalist at the sectional in Columbus, Ohio.
The U.S. Open will be held June 16-19 at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.
Among the bigger names of golf, Vijay Singh changed his mind and didn’t show up in Columbus for the 36-hole qualifier. Now he’s likely to miss a major championship for the first time in 17 years.
Sergio Garcia also changed his mind about qualifying and it paid off when he earned a spot at Congressional by surviving a seven-man playoff. Garcia, who has fallen to No. 75 in the world, said only last month that he wouldn’t go through qualifying. He had rounds of 68-67 at Tunica National in Memphis, Tenn., then got one of the four spots in a playoff to extend his streak in the majors to 47 straight. This was the first time since turning pro in 1999 that Garcia had to qualify.
Singh’s streak of 67 consecutive majors — dating to the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont — will end unless he gets a top finish in the St. Jude Classic this week, and it’s not clear if he’s going to play.
Those were the two biggest developments on a day with 11 sectional qualifiers in 10 states.
Fred Funk, who will be 55 on the Tuesday of the U.S. Open, made the field from the sectional in Rockville, Md. This was the second time in three years that Funk has qualified.
Just as noteworthy were some of the players who failed to qualify. The list included a trio of U.S. Open champions (Steve Jones, formerly of Yuma, Lee Janzen and Tom Kite) and a trio of British Open champions (Justin Leonard, David Duval of Cherry Hills Village and Ben Curtis).
“It’s entirely worth it,” Duval said. “You can’t win the golf tournament if you’re not in it. So I guess I’m not going to win it this year.”
