Richland, Wash. – Joe Highsmith of Lakewood, Wash. shot rounds of 69-69 to claim medalist honors in U.S. Open Final Qualifying. The final qualifier was held at Meadow Springs Country Club in Richland, Wash.
The other player to advance from this qualifier is Steve Allan of Australia who advanced through a one-hole playoff to secure the final qualifying spot.
Both players from this qualifier have secured spots in the 121st U.S. Open Championship, which will be held June 17-20 at Torrey Pines – South Course.
Click here for final hole-by-hole scores for all players.
Highsmith played a fairly clean day of golf, carding six birdies, one eagle and just two bogeys over 36 holes. He entered the day fresh off a week at the NCAA Championship where he and his Pepperdine teammates took home the title.
“To be able to qualify for the U.S. Open is a dream come true and I’m more than happy about that,” said Highsmith. “I’m just so excited and I can’t believe I really did it.”
He was the medalist in the La Quinta, Calif. local qualifier. He won the Western Intercollegiate and had seven top-10 tournament finishes as a junior at Pepperdine University. Highsmith earned All-West Region honors as a sophomore and was the WCC Freshman of the Year in 2019. Highsmith, who won the 2019 Sahalee Players Championship, became the youngest player to win the Washington State Amateur in 2017 and reached the quarterfinals of the 2020 North & South Amateur.
Watch the full post-round interview with Highsmith.
Allan, 47, is a professional golfer from Australia. He has played in five previous U.S. Opens with the most recent being in 2010.
“I feel pretty good! It’s been a while since I’ve played in a U.S. Open,” said Allan. “Last time I played in a U.S. Open was at Pebble Beach, my two eldest boys were three and one, but now I’ve got another son who’s 10 and it’ll be great to see me playing in a U.S. Open.”
Allan is a journeyman on the PGA and Korn Ferry tours and continues to play on various international tours. He has two international victories to his name, the 1998 German Open and the 2002 Holden Australian Open.
Watch the full post-round interview with Allan.
Click here to view photos from today's qualifier.
Final qualifying was held on 11 sites, including Texas and Japan on May 24 and at nine sites throughout the U.S. on Monday, June 7. Final qualifying is contested over 36 holes and is the final stage for those vying to play in the U.S. Open.
Washington Golf (WA Golf) is the local representative of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and conducted this Final qualifier for the U.S. Open Championship.
The U.S. Open is one of 14 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Founded in 1922, WA Golf is a 501c4 non-profit, amateur golf association governed by men and women volunteers. Serving over 71,000 individual members at more than 550 member golf clubs and 270 golf courses throughout the state of Washington and Northern Idaho, WA Golf works to continually expand the game of golf to people of all backgrounds. WA Golf also serves as a statewide representative of the USGA and works closely with a number of allied associations within the golf industry for the betterment of the game.
For more information visit wagolf.org.
U.S. Open Final Qualifying
Meadow Springs Country Club
Richland, Wash.
6,860 yards, Par 72
