Herr claims medalist honors in Open qualifier at Butler Country Club

   Zach Herr was a dominant scholastic golfer at Council Rock North. He won two District One titles and was a perennial contender at the PIAA Tournament while putting together an impressive junior resume.

   His sister Erica was a year behind him and was even more dominant among the girls, winning back-to-back PIAA Class AAA individual titles and finishing third as a senior. She just completed her sophomore season on a Wake Forest team that is on the rise. The last of the Herrs, Madelein, won a District One Class AAA individual title as a senior at Council Rock North last fall. Madelein also teamed with her pal, Radnor’s Brynn Walker, to reach the semifinals of the inaugural U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship last spring. Team WalkHerr is gearing up for another run at this year’s Four-Ball beginning next Saturday at Streamsong in Florida.

   So whatever happened to Zach Herr, you might be wondering. Well, he’s a junior at Vanderbilt and the Commodores, No. 9 in the latest Golfstat rankings, are seeded second and are the host team for an NCAA regional that tees off Monday at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn. But if the Vandy lineup for the Southeast Conference Championship is any indication, Herr will not be in it.

   But rest assured, Zach Herr has not forgotten how to play the game.

   He teed it up in a local U.S. Open qualifier at Butler Country Club in western Pennsylvania Friday and fired a 2-under 68 to capture medalist honors.

   Couldn’t tell from the results list if he started on the front or the back, but he had birdies at eight, 15, 16 and 18 to offset bogeys at six and nine to edge Penn State senior JD Dornes by a shot.

   Herr, competing as an individual, actually finished in a tie for 24^th on the same Vanderbilt Legends Club course where Monday's regional will be staged when the Commodores hosted and won the Mason Rudolph Championship in early April. Such is the depth of talent on the Vanderbilt roster, though, that Herr’s 8-over 221 total only tied him for the sixth-best score among the Commodores.

   There is no indication on the Vandy website as to the lineup the Commodores will use Monday, but it seems unlikely Herr will be included. He will, however, be making plans for a U.S. Open sectional qualifier, a 36-hole test June 6, “Golf’s Longest Day.” He will be seeking a coveted ticket for a return trip to western Pennsylvania for the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, which hosts our national championship for the eighth time from June 16 to 19.

   Not sure if it factored into Herr’s decision as to where to play his local Open qualifier, but Butler has been good luck for the Herrs. Erica, in the summer before her senior year at Council Rock North, traveled to Butler, where she qualified for the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open at Sebonack Golf Club on Long Island.

   Dornes, meanwhile, celebrated his graduation from Penn State with his runnerup finish at Butler. The former Manheim Township star will be in the Penn State lineup when the Nittany Lions, ranked 33^rd, tee it up Monday in an NCAA regional at Blackwolf Run’s Meadow Valleys Course in Kohler, Wis.

   Dornes was sitting alone in second place in the individual standings in the Big Ten Championship at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Ind. before faltering a little with a final-round 78 that left him in a tie for 20^th, but it was a strong showing nonetheless.

   Dornes’ Penn State teammate, sophomore Cole Miller, snagged a spot in the U.S. Open sectionals in a playoff at the local qualifier at Moselem Springs Golf Club a day earlier.

   Rob McClellan, the head pro at Butler Country Club, took a break from his duties in the pro shop to grab third in the qualifier with an even-par 70. Hey, nothing wrong with a little home-course advantage.

   Two fledgling pros, former Georgia Tech standout Bo Andrews of Raleigh, N.C. and former University of Hartford standout Danny Yustin of East Amherst, N.Y. got the last two berths after each carded a 1-over 71. Parker McLachlin, a PGA Tour member and former UCLA standout out of Scottsdale, Ariz., was the odd man out in a three-way playoff for the final two berths.

   I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a player who didn’t make the cut. Bob Ford, the legendary head pro at Oakmont, carded a 4-over 74 at age 62ish. Ford will step down as the director of golf at Oakmont following this year’s Open, a position he has held since 1979. He is very simply one of the all-time great club pros in this country.