Medina, Wash. (Monday, May 10) – 120 players competed for eight spots advancing into Sectional Qualifying, in mild and cool conditions at the U.S. Open Local Qualifying held at Overlake Golf and Country Club in Medina, Wash. on Monday.
Jeff Coston, a golf professional from Blaine, Wash. took Medalist honors after leading the field with a 4-under par 67 which included five birdies and just one bogey. Coston will now advance to Sectional Qualifying where he will try and punch a ticket to the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links, which happens to be the location of his only other U.S. Open Championship appearance in 2000 where he made the cut and finished in 53rd place.
Also advancing from Local Qualifying after rounds of 2-under par 69, were professional Brian Thornton of Sumner, Wash. and amateurs Derek Berg of Duvall, Wash., Tze Huang Choo of Singapore, and Richard Lee of Bellevue, Wash.
Six players tied with rounds of 1-under par 70, to get into a sudden death playoff for the final three advancing spots as well as a first and second alternate. In the playoff were Chris Williams of Moscow, ID, Oliver Tubb of Vancouver, B.C., James Feutz of University Place, Wash., Doug Morgan of Coquitlam, B.C., Corey Prugh of Spokane, Wash., and Isaac Weintraub of Santa Cruz, Cali. The playoff began on the par-5 eighth hole with Williams, Morgan, Prugh, and Weintraub all making birdie to advance to the second playoff hole, the par-4 ninth. On hole nine Williams, Morgan, and Weintraub made par to advance to Sectional Qualifying while Prugh’s bogey placed him as first alternate.
The United States Golf Association accepted 9,052 entries for the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links. The number of entries for the 110th championship, to be contested June 17-20, is the second-highest ever, just shy of the 9,086 entries received for the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y.
The USGA received entries from golfers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 68 foreign countries, including 783 applicants who listed foreign addresses.
The youngest golfer to enter was Italian-born Domenico Geminiani, 14, of Bradenton, Fla. The oldest applicant was 81-year-old Harris Moore Jr. of Los Angeles, Calif. To be eligible, a player must have a Handicap Index® no higher than 1.4, or be a professional.
Local qualifying, which will be played over 18 holes at 111 sites, will take place between May 7-20.
Sectional qualifying, played over 36 holes, will be conducted at two sites (in Japan and England) on May 24 and 13 sites in the United States on June 7. A total of 171 applicants chose an international site (43 Japan, 128 England). It is the sixth consecutive year that the USGA has offered two international sectional qualifiers.
The U.S. Open Championship is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
The Washington State Golf Association (WSGA) is the local representative of the United States Golf Association and conducts this Qualifier for the United States Open Championship.
