NEW YORK – PGA Tour veteran Matt Kuchar and 2012 US Open winner Webb Simpson qualified for the 2024 US Open the old-fashioned way.
They were among those who locked up their spots for the Major via final qualifying on June 3, often called “Golf’s Longest Day”.
A total of 672 players competed in 36-hole qualifiers at locations around the United States and Canada to try to earn one of 44 available spots into the field at the US Open, to be played from June 13 to 16 at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club (Course No. 2) in North Carolina.
World No. 108 Kuchar, 45, was the medallist at his qualifying site. He shot rounds of 70 and 67 at The Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Florida, to go seven under for the day.
While Kuchar has never won a Major, he has nine wins on the PGA Tour and once ranked as high as world No. 4. But he did not qualify for any exemptions into the US Open field.
Simpson’s exemption for winning the 2012 US Open expired after 2022. He has not made a cut at Major since the 2022 PGA Championship.
On June 3, Simpson recorded a 67 and a 69 at Duke University Golf Club in Durham, North Carolina, which tied him for fourth, two shots behind medallist Frankie Capan III. Simpson finished one stroke above a seven-for-two playoff that determined the final two of the site’s seven berths. Carter Jenkins and Harry Higgs won those spots.
Australia’s Adam Scott is in danger of missing the US Open, which would end the longest active streak of Major starts. He has played in every Major since the 2001 Open Championship, a stretch of 91 straight. However, he is not currently exempt for the 2024 edition.
On June 3, he followed a 64 with a 69 to get to seven under at Springfield (Ohio) Country Club, but he wound up in a two-for-one play-off against countryman Cam Davis.
Scott chipped in for birdie on the first play-off hole, but Davis responded by sinking his birdie putt. After both players parred the second hole, Davis made a three-foot birdie putt to beat Scott and earn Springfield’s final berth.
However, there is one more chance for Scott to receive an exemption. Anyone in the top 60 of the world rankings as of June 10 will be invited, if not already eligible. Scott enters the week at No. 60 and will not play in the June 6-9 Memorial Tournament.
Also missing from The Memorial will be Robert MacIntyre, who withdrew one day after winning his first career PGA Tour title at the Canadian Open on June 2.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Miles Russell will make his PGA Tour debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit later in June.
The Florida native received a sponsor’s exemption on June 3 for the June 27-30 tournament at Detroit Golf Club.
In April, Russell became the youngest player to record a top-25 finish at a Korn Ferry Tour event when he finished tied for 20th at the Suncoast Classic.
Source: The Straits Times
