Philip Jonas of Surrey, B.C. shot 3-under 69 to earn medalist honors in leading the field of 57 players who competed today in U.S. Senior Open qualifying at the par-72 Bellingham (Wash.) Golf and Country Club. Jonas was the only player in the field to shoot under par.
Keith Henderson of Blaine, Wash. shot even-par 72 to claim the only other available spot in this qualifier.
Jonas and Henderson, both professionals, now advance to play in the 2017 U.S. Senior Open Championship, which will be held June 29-July 2 at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass.
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.
Jonas stood at 1-over par after the front nine, well outside the projected cutline, after shooting back-to-back bogeys on holes eight and nine. He then shot 4-under on the back nine, which included four birdies in a five-hole stretch.
Jonas is a CPGA professional who runs, along with his wife Patty, a two-time BC Women’s Amateur champion, the Jonas Golf Academy, with two locations in the greater Vancouver area. Jonas played on the European Senior Tour in 2013 and 2014. He was the PGA of BC Player of the Year in 2003, 2004 and 2007.
Henderson had made the turn at 3-under, but after a double-bogey on par-3 13th and bogey on the par-4 16th, he was able to hang on to the final available spot.
For complete hole-by-hole scoring of this qualifier, click here.
The USGA accepted a total of 2,680 entries for the 2017 U.S. Senior Open Championship. Entries came from golfers in 48 states, including 81 from Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia, as well as 25 foreign countries.
The U.S. Senior Open is open to professional golfers, and amateurs with a Handicap Index not exceeding 3.4 who are 50 years of age at the start of championship play.
Founded in 1922, the WSGA is a 501c4 non-profit, amateur golf association governed by men and women volunteers. Serving over 68,000 individual members at more than 550 member golf clubs and 270 golf courses throughout the state of Washington and Northern Idaho, the WSGA works to continually expand the game of golf to people of all backgrounds.
The WSGA 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.
