Spencer Tibbits of Vancouver, Wash. shot 7-under 65 to earn medalist honors in leading the field of 102 players who competed today in U.S. Open Local qualifying at the par-72 Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash.
Along with Tibbits, five other players will also advance from this Local qualifier to the Sectional qualifier. Those five include Wes Heffernan of Calgary, Alberta; Li Wang of Sammamish, Wash.; Brian Thornton of Sumner, Wash.; Austin Hurt of Bainbridge Island, Wash.; and Daniel Campbell of Bellingham, Wash.
- Qualifier Results – CLICK HERE
Tibbits, an amateur and sophomore on the Oregon State University men’s golf team, had five birdies on the day, as well as an eagle on the par-5 11th hole. His bogey-free round clinched medalist honors.
Prior to joining the Oregon State program, Tibbits was a three-time 3A Washington State High School individual champion, and in 2016 was named the PNGA Junior Boys’ Player of the Year. In his freshman year at Oregon State, his 71.85 scoring average tied for sixth best in school history.
Heffernan, 42, a professional who plays on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada, shot 3-under, four shots back of Tibbits. Heffernan has won the Alberta Open six times. He played in the 2001 and 2011 U.S. Opens.
Wang also shot 3-under. He is a four-time Washington Junior Golf Association state champion, and won the 2013 Seattle Amateur. He graduated from Yale University in 2017, and turned professional that fall. He was born in Beijing, China, and moved to the U.S. at age five.
Thornton shot 2-under 70. He is a PGA teaching professional at Meridian Valley Country Club in Kent, Wash. He won the 2010 and 2016 Northwest Open Invitationals, the 2009 Washington Open, and the 2012 Oregon Open.
Hurt also shot 2-under 70. He is a PGA professional at Wing Point Golf and Country Club on Bainbridge Island, Wash. He played college golf at Washington State University, and won the 2009 Washington State Amateur.
Campbell shot 1-under 71 to claim the final available spot in this Local qualifier. He is a senior at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, where he won the individual title in the 2017 Canadian Collegiate National Golf Championships.
The 2019 U.S. Open Championship will be held June 13-16 at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links.
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.
To be eligible, golfers must either be a professional, or be an amateur with a Handicap Index of 1.4 or less.
Local qualifying, which is played over 18 holes, is taking place between April 29-May 13. Sectional qualifying will be contested over 36 holes and held in Texas on May 20, Japan on May 27, and in England and Canada and at eight sites throughout the U.S. on Monday, June 3.
Founded in 1922, the WSGA is a 501c4 non-profit, amateur golf association governed by men and women volunteers. Serving nearly 70,000 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 United States Golf Association (USGA) and works closely with a number of allied associations within the golf industry for the betterment of the game.
