U.S. Open sectional qualifying was held at courses across the country yesterday. If the championship is the U.S. Open, then the sectional could be called the U.S. Wide Open, a blank canvas waiting to be filled with a story.

In many ways, sectionals embody the spirit of the USGA even more than the championship event. There is an air of hope and possibility for amateurs and young professionals, and there is also the grinding journey of accomplished PGA professionals to uncover past glory and success. I took the day to check out qualifying and get feel for those who punch their ticket to compete in the national championship.

In my area, the event was held at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, MD., a course that has held a number of USGA qualifyers. The day was about as good as it gets for the Nation’s Capital in summertime, 72 degrees and sunny with puffs of wind just strong enough to give the players something to think about. It felt more like San Diego than Washington, DC and the heavy rains from the night before made the greens as receptive as they could possibly be after being prepared to approximate U.S. Open levels of speed and treachery.

A couple of players took advantage of the conditions to go low in the first of the two required rounds. Mark Lawrence, an amateur playing out of Richmond. VA, took advantage of the second alternate slot to post a 5-under par 67, the low round of the day. Cody Proveaux, a pro from Richmond, VA with an “everyman” body but a swing to die for, put up a 68 in his opening round. Unfortunately, Lawrence followed up with a 76 and Proveaux with a 77. Woodmont giveth and Woodmont taketh away.

Temporary 8th Tee box with regular back tee in front

The list of 68 entrants had names that ring familiar to Tour fans. Robert Allenby, Vaughn Taylor, Dan Summerhays, and Erik Compton have known success on the PGA Tour at some time. None of them were among the four players who went through from the field of 63. It was a demonstration of the difficulty of the conditions on a course set up to be a test of the best. The course had been stretched and hardened to USGA standards; in one case the temporary 8th tee was moved so far back I was actually on the fringe surrounding the adjacent 9th green. Past glory meant nothing on a day that was all about what happens in ten days time.

It’s always good sport for spectators to spot a player that isn’t known and go “all in” in support of his effort. Standing on the range I saw a lanky young man who for all the world looked like Memorial champion Patrick Cantlay, striping low-flighted drivers under the wind and puring 7-irons that landed within a beach towel’s distance of each other. The golfer was Trevor Werbylo, who had just completed his sophomore year at the University of Arizona. He put himself in competition with a first round 71.

I asked if Open qualifying felt different than other competitions. “Well, you have to stay patient. It’s two rounds of golf, so that’s different from a lot of qualifiers. I put myself in a good position, and I think I need to get to 3- or 4-under to have a chance.” Werbylo played some impressive golf, hitting driver/7-iron for an easy birdie and almost driving the 350 yard 4th. Werbylo fell short, 4 shots shy of a playoff. But he definitely showed that he is a young player with the tools to make his mark in the game someday.

Trevor Werrbylo

Standing on the first tee waiting or the first round begin I saw a familiar figure approaching. It was Steve Wheatcroft, a PGA Tour professional who I had played with last year at the Humana Challenge (formerly the Bob Hope Desert Classic). Wheatcroft had impressed me that day with his play and even more so with his friendly and helpful attitude. Playing in that event I was very aware of being in their “office”, but he went out of his way to read putts and give tips to me during the round.

He was disappointed in his first round 75, but his 320-yard drive to open the second round displayed his ability to right the ship. He at 146, but was undaunted. As soon as the last show was struck, he was packing the car and getting ready for the car trip to the next event with his caddy. Such is the life of the journeyman pro, a far cry from the private jets and entourages of the top names.

Steve Wheatcroft

The winners were Billy Hurley III (141), Connor Arrendell (141), Joe Bramlett (142) and Ryan Sullivan (142). Hurley is a well-known player on the PGA Tour and in the Washington, DC area. He looked comfortable and confident, like an Olympic sprinter who knows that he has enough to make it past the qualifying heats. His game showed the full-set of skills available to a PGA Tour winner, including a lovely up-and down on the Par 5 3rd that had the crowd buzzing.

All four advanced to one of the most prestigious events in golf on one of its iconic courses, Pebble Beach Golf Links. The Latin phrase “carpe diem” means seize the day; four golfers did just that. For the rest, it’s off to the bar for a beer, then back to the range to look for the shot will make the difference for them in 2020.

Billy Hurley III

Below are the results from the other 10 sites (courtesy USGA).

COLUMBUS, OHIO

Brookside Golf & Country Club / Scioto Country Club (121 players for 14 spots)

• Qualifiers: Luke Guthrie, Anirban Lahiri, Sam Saunders, Jhonattan Vegas, Rory Sabbatini, Jason Dufner, Chesson Hadley, Erik Van Rooyen, Luke Donald, Aaron Baddeley, Brandon Wu, Ryan Fox, Collin Morikawa and Kyoung-Hoon Lee

• Notable non-qualifiers: Cameron Champ, Kevin Tway, Danny Lee, Harold Varner III, 2011 U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein, 2018 Latin America Amateur champion Joaquin Niemann, three-time USGA champion Ryan Moore, Cole Hammer, Steve Stricker, Bill Haas, Bobby Clampett, 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up Akshay Bhatia

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO

Springfield Country Club (73 players for 5 spots)

• Qualifiers: Zac Blair, Chip McDaniel, Brian Stuard, Nick Hardy and Brett Drewitt

• Notable non-qualifiers: Troy Merritt, 2016 U.S. Amateur runner-up Brad Dalke, 2014 U.S. Amateur runner-up Corey Conners, Dylan Meyer

SURREY, ENGLAND

Walton Heath Golf Club (Old and New Courses), (109 players for 14 spots)

• Qualifiers: Dean Burmester, Sam Horsfield, Marcus Fraser, Clement Sordet, Matthieu Pavon, Lee Slattery, Marcus Kinhult, Rhys Enoch, Adri Arnaus, Justin Walters, Daniel Hillier, Thomas Pieters, Merrick Bremner and Renato Paratore

• Notable non-qualifiers: Lee Westwood (missed by three strokes), 2005 U.S. Amateur champion Edoardo Molinari, 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Min Woo Lee and 2010 U.S. Open runner-up Gregory Havret

PURCHASE, N.Y.

Century Country Club/Old Oaks Country Club, (73 players for 14 spots)

• Qualifiers: Cameron Young, Matt Parziale, Andy Pope, Rob Oppenheim

• Non-qualifiers: 2011 U.S. Amateur champion Kelly Kraft, 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion/2019 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball champion Scott Harvey, 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Michael McCoy, PGA Tour winners Johnson Wagner, Jim Herman and J.J. Henry, and Gary Nicklaus, son of 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus

MILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA

RattleSnake Point Golf Club, par 72 (37 players for 4 spots)

• Qualifiers: Tom Hoge, Sepp Straka, Nathan Lashley, Alex Prugh

• Notable non-qualifiers: Two-time PGA Tour winner Harris English (141) shot the low round of the day in the morning (5-under 67), but an afternoon 73 put him into the 3-for-2 playoff. He is the first alternate. Fabian Gomez of Argentina (142) is the second alternate.

BALL GROUND, GA.

Hawks Ridge Golf Club, (67 players for 4 spots)

• Qualifiers: Oliver Schniederjans, Noah Norton, Chandler Eaton, Roberto Castro

• Notable non-qualifiers: Jaime Lopez Rivarola, of Argentina, earned the first alternate; Joey Garber went 4 over on his last four holes and is the second alternate. Robert Karlsson, an 11-time winner on the European Tour; Alex Smalley, who played in the 2017 U.S. Open and has a Duke record 25 top 10 finishes; PGA Tour pros Brendon de Jonge, Jason Bohn, and 2000 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion D.J. Trahan.

STREAMSONG, FLA.

Streamsong Resort (Black Course), (56 players for 3 spots)

• Qualifiers: Callum Tarren, Luis Gagne and Guillermo Pereira

• Notable non-qualifiers: Tyson Alexander (missed by one stroke), Tyler Strafaci (missed by four)
• Alexander, 30, of Gainesville, Fla., is the first alternate

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF.

Big Canyon Country Club and Newport Beach Country Club (99 players for 5 spots)

• Qualifiers: Chun An Yu, Hayden Shieh, Richard Lee, Stewart Hagestad, Andreas Halvorsen

• Notable non-qualifiers: 2018 U.S. Amateur semifinalist Isaiah Salinda, 2002 U.S. Junior Amateur champion and PGA Tour winner Charlie Beljan, PGA Tour professional Brandon Harkins, 2015 U.S. Amateur semifinalist Sean Crocker, amateur world No. 2 Justin Suh, three-time PGA Tour runner-up Cameron Tringale

WALLA WALLA, WASH.

Wine Valley Golf Club (55 players for 3 spots)

• Qualifiers: Eric Dietrich, Matthew Naumec, Spencer Tibbits

• Notable non-qualifiers: Mackenzie Tour-Canada competitor Alistair Docherty (first alternate); six-time U.S. Open competitor and three-time Web.com Tour winner Michael Putnam (second alternate); 2016 U.S. Open competitor Matt Marshall; 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur quarterfinalist Joe Highsmith; PGA Tour winner Kevin Stadler