COLUMBUS, Ohio — On a long day when it seemed everything was going wrong, Cameron Young birdied three of his last four holes Monday to get into a five-way playoff and then made a 12-foot birdie to earn his spot in the U.S. Open in two weeks at Oakmont.
The drama went coast-to-coast, and even north of the border into Canada, with 47 places available at 10 qualifying sites to fill the field for the major regarded the toughest test in golf.
Young advanced with his clutch play, while Rickie Fowler was eliminated with a bogey.
Young, already enduring a tough year that forced him to do a 36-hole qualifier, hit 9-iron to 8 feet for birdie on the 15th, birdied the par-5 16th and then hit wedge to 18 inches on the final hole to earn a spot in the 5-for-1 playoff.
“I feel like I showed myself something today,” he said. “For so long today I saw nothing go in.”
The playoff began on the 10th hole, and Young hit driver into the left rough and judged his wedge perfectly to 12 feet below the hole.
“I started my day here 12 hours ago and made a 3, so I tried to do it again,” he said.
Erik van Rooyen opened with a 64 at Kinsale and had no trouble getting to Oakmont for the U.S. Open on June 12-15. He wound up six shots ahead of the field. Other qualifiers were Bud Cauley, Lanto Griffin, Justin Lower and, at No. 2,651 in the world ranking, Harrison Ott.
Cauley is No. 56 in the world, and is likely to stay in the top 60 after the Canadian Open and get in through that category. If that happens, Chase Johnson will get to his first U.S. Open. He won the playoff for the two alternate spots with Eric Cole.
In the other Ohio qualifier in Springfield, Zac Blair won a four-way playoff for the last spot by outlasting John Peterson, a former PGA Tour player who retired and then asked to be reinstated as an amateur.
The four spots from the Florida qualifier did not finish because of a rain delay. In California, Preston Summerhays of Arizona State led three of the four qualifiers. A playoff for the final spot between Joey Herrera and Lucas Carper was to be completed on Tuesday.
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If you don’t like giving up, but still feel the pressure. Then you need to hear Cameron Young’s playoff miracle. When everything was on the line, he found another gear. Let’s break down how it all went down. It’s Monday in Columbus, Ohio, and Cameron Young’s day is going sideways. He’s battled through 36 grueling holes in a marathon qualifier, and nothing is dropping. But with just four holes left, he flips the script. Birdie on 15 with a clutch 9 iron. Another birdie at the par 516th and then a wedge to just 18 inches on 18. Suddenly he’s in a five-way playoff for one last golden ticket to the US Open. The pressure unbelievable. You’re playing for a spot in golf’s toughest major with nerves jangling and a playoff that could end in a heartbeat. The playoff starts on the 10th. Young drives into the rough, but then cool as ice drops a wedge to 12 ft. One putt stands between him and Oakmont. He drains it. Birdie, he’s in. That’s drama. Meanwhile, qualifying action is happening all across the map. Canada, Washington, Florida, Georgia. Pros, amateurs, future stars, and even former caddies turned dentists chasing a dream. From Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olsen to Argentina’s Ameiliano Grill, the field is global and hungry. But it’s Young’s lastminute heroics and gutsy playoff win that steal the headlines. From down and out to Oakmont bound, it’s the kind of drama only golf can deliver. Who else is ready for the US
