May 13, 2026, 4:57 p.m. ET
Naples native Spencer Ives won medalist honors at a local U.S. Open qualifier at Kensington Golf and Country Club.Ives, a senior at Community School of Naples, shot a 5-under 66 to win by one stroke.Winners from the final qualifier will compete in the 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.
On a day where players beat oncoming bad weather conditions, Naples product Spencer Ives handled the conditions at Kensington Golf and Country Club perfectly.
Ives, a Community School of Naples senior who signed with Mercer, beat Evan Long of Naples by a stroke to win medalist honors in the local U.S. Open qualifier at Kensington. The top 5 finishers on Wednesday, May 13, moved to the final leg of qualifying at BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens on June 8.
The top finishers from the final qualifier will head to the 126th annual U.S. Open being held at historic Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y., from June 18-21.
Niko Gordic-Ronderos of Bradenton came in third with a 68. Nick Marcoaldi of Fort Myers finished fourth overall with a 69, tying with Drew Madigan from Collierville, Tennessee.
Austin Schultz of Fort Myers won the first alternate spot, and Preston Worch won the second alternate spot.
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Ives started out with a 31 – including five birdies – on the front nine on Wednesday morning. He carded an even-par 35 on the second nine. He birdied the 18th, a 589-yard par-5 to finish at 5-under.
Ives not only competed on Robert Trent Jones’ 6,757-yard, par-71 layout, he found time to enjoy himself.
“I am very pleased. It was a fun day out here,” Ives said. “It was great to start out with three birdies. I felt motivated today. I felt I hit the ball well off the tee and putted well. It was great to finish the way I did.”
The birdie at No. 18 turned out to be necessary as Long closed strong.
“Kensington is a great course, and the greens were in great shape,” Ives said. “The greens rolled true on all 18 holes. You had to hit the greens in the right spots. If you didn’t, you could hurt yourself. They had some very hard pin placements today.”
Long’s round of 67 included five birdies.
“A 4-under par in the wind out here is a very good thing,” Long said. “It got breezy later on, and it changed some of my tee shots. The pins were in tough places today. If you can hit 16 greens, it makes golf a lot easier, and that’s what I was able to do. I was able to hit almost every fairway, so mistakes were hard to come by. Hitting fairways and greens is a great recipe for success.”
Other top local golfers included Jeremy Wells of Estero, who carded a 70, and Community School of Naples graduate Ryan Celano shot a 71.
“There was some good out there for me, but I made a lot of mistakes,” Celano said. “The course was perfect, just like I expected. It was just one of those things where I didn’t do certain things well and made too many double bogeys. I learned the cliches of putting the ball in play, and hitting fairways and greens. If you have no bogeys, golf is easy. If you make lots of bogeys, it isn’t easy.”
Other local contestants included Jake Marriott of Naples, who had a 74, Paul Gustafson of Naples, 74, Matthew Paradis of Naples, 71, Justin McCarraher of Fort Myers, 73, Travis Harrison of Fort Myers, 73, Husband Kimmel of Naples, 72, Carl Gustin had a 73, Ethan Provino of Fort Myers, 75, Brandon Collier of Naples, 77, Henry Liebwein of Fort Myers, 77, Ryan Longo of Fort Myers, 77 and Zachary Felton of Estero, 81
Kensington U.S. Open Local Qualifier Top Finishers
Spencer Ives, Naples, 66 (M)
Evan Long, Naples, 67 (Q)
Niko Gordic-Ronderos, Bradenton, 68 (Q)
Drew Magidan, Collierville, Tenn., 69 (Q)
Nick Marcoaldi, Fort Myers, 69 (Q)
Austin Schultz, Fort Myers, 69 (A)
Landon Michelson, Miami, 70 (A)
Fielding Brewbaker, Seminole, 70
Justin Hicks, Wellington, 70
Patrick Williams, Canada, 0
Preston Worch, Delray Beach, 70
Jeremy Wells, Estero, 70
M- Medalist, Q – Qualifier, A – Alternate