Cheng-Tsung Pan, a senior at the University of Washington, shot a 5-under par 67 and took medalist honors in leading the field of 120 players who competed today in local qualifying at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash.
Along with Pan, six other players advanced from this local qualifier to the sectional qualifier, which will be held on June 8. The 2015 U.S. Open Championship is being held June 18-21 at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash.
The Washington State Golf Association (WSGA) is the local representative of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and conducted this local qualifier for the U.S. Open Championship.
Pan, from Bellevue, Wash., birdied the par-4 first hole and never looked back, collecting five birdies in a bogey-free round.
During his collegiate career at the University of Washington, Pan set the school record for individual wins with seven, and for a short time last year was the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world. He previously played in the 2011 and 2013 U.S. Opens.
Pan will now play in the sectional qualifier at Tumble Creek Club on June 8, where in 2013 he was one of two players to advance to the U.S. Open at that year's sectional qualifier.
Among the other players to qualify are Cameron Peck of College Station, Texas, who finished at 3-under par 69. Peck, who grew up in Olympia, Wash., won the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur, and in 2013 won both the Washington State Amateur and the PNGA Men's Amateur. He has since graduated from Texas A&M and turned professional.
Also qualifying are amateurs Spencer Tibbits of Vancouver, Wash.; Spencer Weiss, a freshman on the University of Washington golf team; and Ahren Young, a sophomore at Seattle University.
In a 7-man playoff for the final two available spots, James Lepp of Abbotsford, B.C., birdied the first playoff hole and Kyle Cornett of Mill Creek, Wash. birdied the third playoff hole. Lepp, a professional, was the 2005 NCAA individual champion while playing for the University of Washington, a two-time PNGA Player of the Year (2003, 2005), and a two-time participant of Golf Channel's "Big Break" series. Cornett is a sophomore at Seattle University.
The Home Course, which opened in 2007, is owned and operated by the WSGA and the Pacific Northwest Golf Association. It was the companion course to Chambers Bay for the 2010 U.S. Amateur, and was the site of the 2014 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links.
This year's U.S. Open will visit the Pacific Northwest for the first time in its 115-year history. There were 9,882 entries accepted by the USGA, the most entries ever accepted for a U.S. Open held on the West Coast, and second only to last year's record number of 10,127 entries. To be eligible, golfers must either be a professional, or be an amateur with a handicap index of 1.4 or less.
Local qualifying for the 2015 U.S. Open is taking place at 111 sites across the country between May 4 and May 21. Those who make it through local qualifying will move on to sectional qualifying. There are 12 sectional sites - 10 in the United States, one in England and one in Japan. International sectional qualifiers will be contested May 25, while all sectional qualifiers in the U.S. will be played on June 8. Sectional qualifying will be played over 36 holes. The WSGA will conduct a sectional qualifier at Tumble Creek Club in Cle Elum, Wash.
