Golf’s longest day went deep into the evening on Monday night, but after multiple playoffs in the gloaming, we finally secured 57 sectional qualifiers for the U.S. Open. The two biggest sectionals, Columbus and Memphis, needed extra holes but unlike last year, we were able to wrap up all sessions in one day. For a review of the six sites that finished up earlier in the day, visit our sectional qualifying stream. Here are the late results from Monday.
2014 U.S. Open sectional qualifying results: Columbus, Memphis go to extra holes in the darkness
The two most loaded sectional sites needed playoffs late to settle the qualifying process for this year’s U.S. Open, with two-time heart transplant survivor Erik Compton earning the final spot out of the always difficult Columbus site.
Brookside Golf & Country Club & Scioto Country Club, Columbus, Ohio
- 120 players for 16 spots
- Complete scores here
Columbus is always the most compelling sectional, a loaded group of PGA Tour pros staying in town after the Memorial to try and qualify. And again this year, we had a playoff that raced the setting sun. But at least we didn't have the scheduling drama of last year, when Mike Weir got stuck in traffic trying to get from one course to the next for the playoff session. It's June in Ohio, so you can conceivably play golf until almost 9:30 p.m., but the playoff was pushing it, and especially the extra holes to determine the first alternate between Cameron Tringale and Michael Putnam.
Lot darker than this photo makes it look. Appears Tringale will earn spot for 1st alternate, which should get him in pic.twitter.com/ETY4ahKKy2
— Stephanie Wei (@StephanieWei) June 3, 2014 In the end, it was Erik Compton, the two-time heart transplant survivor who everyone is always rooting for, who got the last spot in the 5-for-3 playoff (Ken Duke and Ryan Blaum were the others). Tringale will almost certainly get an invite, with the USGA typically leaving room for the alternates to get the field to 156. And with just 74 exempt at the moment, and 57 qualifiers locked in today, several alternates should get the call up.
Aside from the group battling for the final spots, the other 13 qualifiers are mostly PGA Tour regulars. Justin Leonard encountered little trouble at the two Columbus courses, and he'll now play in his first U.S. Open since 2010. While the PGA Tour pros rose to the top, way too many continued the disturbing practice of either not showing up or just bailing in the middle of the qualifying session once they hit a rough start.
Counted 14 tour players who bailed after first round of U.S. Open qualifying in Columbus. #BadForm
— Bob Harig (@BobHarig) June 3, 2014 That will upset some of the alternates, the no-names who would love to just play 36 holes of U.S Open sectional qualifying golf but I guess those pros earned the right to play and quit. Here are those who qualified, and those who just missed at the loaded Columbus sectional:
| Player | Score |
| Leonard, Justin | -5 |
| Noh, Seung Yul | -5 |
| Thomas, Justin | -5 |
| Pampling, Rod | -4 |
| Van Pelt, Bo | -4 |
| Wilson, Mark | -4 |
| Casey, Paul | -4 |
| Guthrie, Luke | -4 |
| Tway, Kevin | -3 |
| Allenby, Robert | -3 |
| Baddeley, Aaron | -3 |
| Kim, Hyung Sung | -3 |
| Stegmaier, Brett | -3 |
| Duke, Ken | -2 |
| Blaum, Ryan | -2 |
| Compton, Erik | -2 |
| Did Not Qualify | |
| Alt. 1 - Tringale, Cameron | -2 |
| Alt. 2 - Putnam, Michael | -2 |
| Steele, Brendan | -1 |
| Hahn, James | -1 |
| Choi, K. J. | -1 |
| Hoffmann, Morgan | -1 |
| Rozo, Marcelo | -1 |
| Kim, Michael | -1 |
| Perez, Pat | -1 |
| Immelman, Trevor | -1 |
| Villegas, Camilo | Even |
| Ishikawa, Ryo | Even |
| Garrigus, Robert | Even |
| Dechambeau, Bryson (a) | Even |
| Harman, Brian | Even |
| Leishman, Marc | Even |
| Mackenzie, Will | Even |
Colonial Country Club (North/South Course), Memphis
- 145 players for 13 spots
- Complete scores here
The Memphis sectional is close to Columbus in terms of depth, with lots of PGA Tour pros in the area for the FedEx St. Jude Classic this week. Some played at Memorial on Sunday and opted to make the trip to Tennessee, while others have been waiting for their shot to play their way into the national championship. Hudson Swafford set the pace with a 10-under score through 36 holes to earn medalist honors.
The Colonial Country Club courses are a little easier than what the PGA Tour pros face in Columbus, and Jeff Maggert had us on #59Watch early on Monday at the home of the PGA Tour’s first round that broke 60 (Al Geiberger in the Memphis Classic in 1977). Maggert shot 63, and that was plenty to get him a spot.
Maggert has not played in a U.S. Open since 2005, but that span is nothing compared to the layoff of David Gossett. The one-time can’t-miss prospect was the subject of much hype and many in-depth profiles, but his career never panned out as predicted. He qualified with a 66-69 and will now play in his first major since the 2002 PGA Championship (read this ’where are they now’ profile from Alan Shipnuck from TEN years ago for a refresher on Gossett’s story).
Just like Columbus, we had a playoff in the gloaming in Memphis, but with five players going for just two spots. Brady Watt, who waited for two hours between the end of his 36 holes and the playoff, took one of the two spots while amateur Hunter Stewart grabbed the other. Scott Langley played in the final pairing on Sunday with Bubba Watson at the Memorial, and he’ll be the first alternate and likely get the call from the USGA as well.
Here are those players who made it through from Memphis, and the group just on the outside:
| Player | Score |
| Swafford, Hudson | -10 |
| Holmes, J. B. | -9 |
| Kisner, Kevin | -8 |
| Ogilvie, Joe | -8 |
| Gossett, David | -8 |
| Toms, David | -8 |
| Maggert, Jeff | -8 |
| Gribble, Cody | -7 |
| Shelton, Robby (a) | -7 |
| Millard, Jason | -7 |
| Wittenberg, Casey | -7 |
| Watt, Brady | -6 |
| Stewart, Hunter (a) | -6 |
| Did Not Qualify | |
| Alt. 1 - Langley, Scott | -6 |
| Alt. 2 - Love, Sam (a) | -6 |
| Cappelen, Sebastian (a) | -6 |
| Fritsch, Brad | -5 |
| Randolph, Jonathan | -5 |
| Streb, Robert | -5 |
| Riley, Davis (a) | -5 |
| Prugh, Alex | -5 |
| Labelle II, Douglas | -5 |
| Connelly, Austin (a) | -5 |
| Malnati, Peter | -5 |
While the two sectionals in Columbus and Memphis get most of the publicity, there were also two West Coast sites that still had to fill the final seven spots.
Lake Merced Golf Club & The Olympic Club (Ocean Course), San Francisco
- 110 players for 5 spots
- Complete scores here
Kevin Sutherland and Alex Cejka, two players with plenty of PGA Tour experience, climbed to the top in the Bay Area. This may not be the deepest or most competitive sectional, but it probably has the best and most scenic venues.
| Players | Score |
| Cejka, Alex | -11 |
| Alker, Steven | -8 |
| McNealy, Maverick (a) | -7 |
| Sutherland, Kevin | -6 |
| Campbell, Brian (a) | -6 |
| Did not qualify | |
| Alt. 1 - Barlow, Craig | -5 |
| Alt. 2 - Favela, Armando | -4 |
| Mina, Eric | -4 |
| Long, Adam | -4 |
| Dexheimer, Aaron | -4 |
Emerald Valley Golf Club, Creswell, Oregon
- 50 players for 2 spots
- Complete scores here
Out in the Pacific Northwest, we didn't have a Casey Martin sighting this year. Here are the qualifiers coming from Oregon:
| Player | Score |
| Blair, Zac | -7 |
| Rask, Clayton | -3 |
| Did Not Qualify | |
| Alt. 1 - McIver, Brandon (a) | -2 |
| Alt. 2 - Peterson, Paul | -1 |
| Brown, Ted | Even |
With 57 sectional qualifiers now set, we’re officially at 131 players for the 2014 U.S. Open. The field will be 156, and there will be a few who earn exemptions by moving into the top 60 in the Official World Golf Rankings with a strong showing in Memphis this week. But with 25 spots still open, expect several alternates to also get an invite to Pinehurst next week. The USGA’s process of determining the order of the those alternates, however is much tougher to figure out and predict.
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