Hot putters help four advance in US Open qualifying at TPC Summerlin
It’s not supposed to be easy to win a spot in the U.S. Open.
It’s even tougher when you have to try and qualify playing TPC Summerlin and there’s only four spots available to advance.
Qualifying for the Open, which will be played June 16-19 at Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh, was held at 27 different locations throughout the country Monday. More than 9,000 players have entered looking to land a spot.
In Las Vegas, 78 players tried to get over the first tough hurdle at a course that hosts the city’s annual PGA Tour event. TPC Summerlin played to 7,198 yards Monday with par coming at 71. The Fortunate Four were Austin Graham, Scott Diel, Monte Montgomery and Mitch Carlson.
Graham, 26, had the day’s best round, a 5-under par 66 that saw him birdie five of his last six holes.
“I hit it well,” said Graham, who is from San Clemente, California, and played at UC Davis. “I tried to keep everything the same and not overthink things.”
Included in that birdiefest were a couple of 30-foot putts that dropped.
“That definitely helped,” Graham said. “When you’re making putts like that, you can go far.”
His next stop is the June 6 sectional where 36 pressure-packed holes await. But Graham, who comes to Henderson each month to practice at Rio Secco Golf Club (he works with Greg LaBelle), said he won’t change his approach.
“Anyone can make it,” he said. “But it would be an amazing experience to get to play in the Open.”
Diel, 31, who just started working at TPC Summerlin after working as a teaching pro at Black Mountain Golf Club, said his round was built on not taking any risks.
“I played the back nine to par,” he said. “I was 3-under at the turn so I didn’t want to go backwards.”
Montgomery, who was at 4-under through 12 holes, had to scramble to get in as he dropped two shots with consecutive bogeys at holes No. 5 and 6. He made birdie with a nice up-and-down culminating with an eight-foot putt at the par-5 ninth to get back to 3-under.
“I was trying to get around with as little damage as possible,” Montgomery, 45, said. “But I self-destructed a little and I had to regroup.”
Carlson was 1-under at the turn and he picked up a couple of shots on his back nine to get to 3-under.
Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow on Twitter: @stevecarprj
