Jeff Coston of Blaine, Wash. shot a 5-under par 67 and earned medalist honors in leading the field of 70 players at today's U.S. Senior Open qualifying held at Canterwood Golf & Country Club in Gig Harbor, Wash. Also qualifying is Tom Brandes of Bellevue, Wash.
Brandes and Coston will play in the 2014 U.S. Senior Open, to be held July 10-13 at Oak Tree National Golf Club in Edmond, Okla.
The Washington State Golf Association (WSGA) is the local representative of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and conducted this qualifier for the U.S. Senior Open Championship.
Coston, a member of the Pacific Northwest Section PGA Hall of Fame and a teaching pro at Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine, Wash., had six birdies on the day, with his lone bogey coming on the par-4 second hole. Coston has won 19 PGA Section championships.
This is the second consecutive U.S. Senior Open that Brandes has qualified for. An amateur, Brandes is the four-time defending WSGA Senior Men's Player of the Year, and last year finished second in the British Senior Amateur.
Tom Sovay, a PGA professional from Redmond, Wash. who three weeks ago won the Senior Washington Open, earned the first alternate spot; while Steve Stull, a PGA professional from Richland, Wash., is the second alternate.
The U.S. Senior Open is open to professional golfers and amateurs with a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 3.4 who are 50 years of age at the start of championship play. Sectional qualifying is being played at 34 sites across the United States between June 12-24.
A total of 2,715 golfers have entered to play in this year's championship. The USGA received entries for the 35th U.S. Senior Open from golfers in 49 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 30 foreign countries.
The U.S. Senior Open is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
