Chris Crawford did it again.
For the third time in the last six years, the former Holy Ghost Prep and Drexel standout survived the grind of 18 holes of local qualifying and 36 holes of sectional qualifying – “Golf’s Longest Day” – to earn a ticket to the U.S. Open, America’s national championship, which tees off June 17 at the South Course at Torrey Pines in San Diego, Calif.
The bulk of the sectional qualifiers were held Monday all over the country with scores of players battling for a precious few berths in the field at Torrey Pines. When it became apparent around this time last year that the logistics of qualifiers for United States Golf Association’s championships made it unfeasible to hold them in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, I did a post in praise of those qualifiers.
Prominent in that post was Crawford’s first successful run through the qualifying process for our National Open as an amateur five years ago. Crawford holed a 40-foot birdie putt to make it through his sectional on the number and advance to the 2016 Open at Oakmont Country Club, the iconic layout outside of Pittsburgh.
Remarkably, Crawford, still an amateur, repeated the feat and reached the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.
The big difference in his third successful bid to the make it to the U.S. Open, accomplished Monday at Woodmont Country Club’s North Course in Rockville, Md., was that Crawford did it this time as a professional golfer.
The 27-year-old Crawford turned pro in the fall of 2017 and plays on the West Florida Golf Tour and the GPro Tour and has some status on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica. If he can make the cut at Torrey Pines, something Crawford has been unable to do in his first two cracks at the U.S. Open, he will collect a paycheck.
There was one constant in all three of Crawford’s successful runs to a U.S. Open berth and that was the man on his bag, Drexel golf coach Ben Feld. And Crawford was quick to give credit to Feld, who was an assistant at Drexel when Crawford was playing there. Crawford then spent the fifth year of his academic program at Drexel as an assistant to Feld after Feld became the head coach.
“He did a fantastic job (Monday) and I wouldn’t have been able to make it through without him,” Crawford told the Golf Association of Philadelphia website concerning Feld. “He knows my game and process so well that our familiarity with each other gave me an edge in playing (Monday).”
Crawford matched the scorecard on the front nine in his first tour of the North Course Monday morning. He made birdies at the 10th 14th and 15th holes to get it to 3-under. A bogey at the 17th hole was his only blemish in a 2-under 70.
A sudden burst of four birdies in five holes on the North Course’s outgoing nine at the fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth holes got him to 6-under for the day. He grinded out 10 pars and a bogey at the 16th hole the rest of the way. And has been the case twice before, his 5-under 139 was good enough to grab one of just four tickets available to Torrey Pines out of a field of 71 players.
Crawford finished in a tie for third place with career PGA Tour grinder Chris Baker of Brownstown, Ind. Baker added a 1-under 71 to his opening-round 68 to join Crawford at 139.
Medalist honors went to Taylor Pendrith, a Korn Ferry Tour player from Canada, who fired a sparkling 6-under 66 in the afternoon after opening with a 70 for an 8-under 136 total. Another Korn Ferry guy, Dylan Wu of Medford, Ore., was a shot behind Pendrith in second place as the 24-year-old Northwestern product opened with a 6-under 66 before adding a 71 in the afternoon for a 7-under 137 total.
There were a bunch of guys of either local interest or who advanced out of the four GAP-administered local U.S. Open qualifiers in the field who failed to advance out of the sectional at Woodmont.
Two pro players who shared medalist honors in the GAP-administered qualifier May 13th at the Country Club of York, 27-year-old Ryan Siegler of Baltimore and 37-year-old Mark Kriston of Clemons, N.C., both teed it up at Woodmont.
Siegler, who starred collegiately at Towson and was the winner of the 2011 Christman Cup, one of GAP’s major championships for junior golfers, bounced back from an opening-round 76 with a 4-under 68 in the afternoon for an even-par 144 total. Kriston, a GPro Tour player, added a 74 to his opening-round 76 for a 6-over 150 total.
Evan Brown, a scholastic standout at Kennett who recently wrapped up an outstanding college career at Loyola of Maryland, matched par in the afternoon with a 72 after opening with a 79 for a 5-over 149 total. Brown just missed a trip to the NCAA Championship as an individual as he finished in a tie for eighth place in last month’s Kingston Springs Regional at the Golf Club of Tennessee.
Sean O’Hair, an adopted son of Delco after marrying into the Lucas family, added a 76 to his opening-round 75 for a 7-over 151 total. A four-time winner on the PGA Tour, O’Hair is trying to revive his career at age 38 after a long and painful recovery from a tear of his left oblique muscle.
Kyle Vance, the two-time District One Class AAA champion at Methacton, added a 1-over 73 to his opening-round 78 to join O’Hair at 151. The 22-year-old Vance was the qualifying medalist in the GAP-administered local qualifier May 10th at Indian Valley. Vance, who can hit it a mile, graduated from Kansas State last month, although he did not participate in the golf program as a senior.
Vance, playing out of Blue Bell Country Club, had won the 2015 GAP Junior Boys’ Championship at Indian Valley.
A couple of City 6 standouts, Drexel’s Connor Schmidt, a scholastic standout at Peters Township, and Temple’s Conor McGrath, who plays out of Huntingdon Valley Country Club, both landed at 155.
The 23-year-old Schmidt, who struggled in his final season with the Dragons this spring, but whose career at Drexel rivaled that of Crawford’s, came out of the Country Club of York local qualifier. Schmidt, playing out of LuLu Country Club, added an 80 to his opening-round 75.
The 21-year-old McGrath, who capped his junior season at Temple by finishing in 34th place in the American Athletic Conference Championship, was the runnerup to Vance in the local qualifier at Indian Valley. After opening with a 74 at Woodmont, McGrath struggled to an 81 in the afternoon.
Zach Juhasz of Bethlehem came out of a GAP-administered local qualifier at the Steel Club May 12th. The 24-year-old Juhasz, who plays out of Northampton Country Club, added a 79 to his opening-round 77 for a 156 total.
Also at 156 was John Devereux of Brielle, N.J., who advanced out of the Country Club of York local qualifier. Devereux, who captured the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference individual crown with Rider and played in the NCAA Kingston Springs Regional as an individual this spring, struggled to an 81 in the opening round before adding a 75.
Penn State’s Lou Olsakovsky, who wrapped up his senior season by finishing in a tie for 20th place in the Big Ten Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club, added a 78 to his opening-round 79 for a 157 total. Olaskovsky was a scholastic standout at Upper St. Clair.
Former Temple standout Patrick Ross, who came out of the GAP-administered local qualifier May 17th at Elmhurst Country Club, joined Olsakovsky at 157 as Ross also opened with a 79 before adding a 78. The 24-year-old Ross, the qualifying medalist in the BMW Philadelphia Amateur at the iconic East Course at Merion Golf Club in 2016, is an assistant pro at Mizner Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla.
Former Villanova standout Andy Butler, who also came out of the local qualifier at the Steel Club, added an 81 to his opening-round 80 for a 161 total. The 25-year-old Butler, playing out of Huntingdon Valley Country Club, was a standout on some powerful Manheim Township teams.
Brian Bergstol, a teaching pro at the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort, was the medalist in the local qualifier at the Steel Club. The 36-year-old Bergstol, a collegiate standout at Moravian, couldn’t get it going at Woodmont, adding an 83 to his opening-round 81. Bergstol had qualified for the U.S. Open the last time it was played at Torrey Pines in 2008 not long after turning professional.
Former Wake Forest standout Cameron Young lists Jupiter, Fla. as his home base these days, but his glittering amateur career has its roots in New York and North Jersey’s Metropolitan Association. Young was right at home in grabbing medalist honors at the sectional hosted by Old Oaks Country Club and Century Country Club in Purchase, N.Y. There were 79 players battling for four tickets to Torrey Pines.
Young, who had back-to-back victories on the Korn Ferry Tour this spring, fired an opening-round 67 at Old Oaks and added a 66 at Century for an 8-under 133 total.
Jimmy Hervol, the former Connecticut standout from Hopkinton, Mass., was the runnerup as he carded 68s at both courses for a 5-under 136 total that left him three shots behind Young.
Andy Pope, a native of Glen Ellyn, Ill. who plays on the Korn Ferry Tour, added a 70 at Old Oaks to the 67 he fired at Century as he finished in third place, a shot behind Hervol at 4-under 137.
Another UConn standout of recent vintage, Zach Zaback, a Korn Ferry Tour player out of West Palm Beach, Fla., grabbed the final ticket to Torrey Pines as he added a 70 at Century to the opening-round 67 he registered at Old Oaks for a 3-under 148 total. Hervol, a 2019 UConn graduate, and Zaback, a 2016 graduate, were teammates for one season with the Huskies.
Chris Gotterup of Little Silver, N.J. added a 73 at Old Oaks to his opening-round 72 for a 4-over 145 total. Gotterup wrapped up an outstanding career at Rutgers by finishing in a tie for 20th place in the NCAA Kingston Springs Regional at the Golf Club of Tennessee last month.
Anthony Sebastianelli, the medalist in the local qualifier at Elmhurst, added a 72 at Century to an opening-round 74 for a 5-over 146 total. Sebastianelli, a Clarks Summit native who starred scholastically at Abington Heights and collegiately at Central Connecticut State, is an assistant pro at Glenmaura National Golf Club.
Nemanja Savic, a pro from Raleigh, N.C. via Serbia and Zambia who advanced out of the qualifier at the Steel Club, carded a pair of 75s for a 9-over 150 total.
William Mirams, the 2018 PIAA Class AA champion as a senior at Notre Dame of East Stroudsburg, packed it in after recording a 78 at Century. The 19-year-old Mirams had advanced out of the Elmhurst qualifier by making eagle on the second hole of a playoff.
A member of the Delaware men’s team, Mirams received the 2019 UISGA/AJGA Presidents’ Leadership Award.
Pretty sure the Jalen Griffin listed as being from San Francisco is the same former Wissahickon standout who earned a share of medalist honors in qualifying for match play in last summer’s BMW Philadelphia Amateur at Lancaster Country Club. Griffin, a four-year standout with the San Francisco Dons, withdrew after posting a 75 at Old Oaks.
The sectional at the Dallas Athletic Club’s Blue and Gold Courses was held May 24 with 115 players teeing it up for 10 spots in the field at Torrey Pines.
Pretty sure they had some weather issues that week in Dallas, the kind of information you can only get by following the Monday Q Info guy on Twitter. More on him later.
The co-medalists in Dallas were a couple of college guys, Germany’s Matthias Schmid, who wrapped up his senior season by leading Louisville to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Charlotte’s Matt Sharpstene, who led the 49ers to a berth in the NCAA Kingston Springs Regional.
Schmid opened with a 68 at the Blue Course and then ripped off a 65 at the Gold Course for a 9-under 133 total. Sharpstene, an Asheville, N.C. native who made a run to the U.S. Amateur semifinals at the Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon last summer, blitzed the Gold Course with a scintillating 63 after opening with a 70 to join Schmid at 9-under.
Pretty sure the sectional at Dallas bled over into a second day and concluded with a 10-for-1 playoff for the final ticket to Torrey Pines. Luis Fernando Barco, a native of Peru who plays on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, was the sole survivor and is believed to be the first Peruvian to get make a U.S. Open field.
Tyler Sokolis, who played scholastically at Central Bucks West and collegiately at Saint Joseph’s, advanced out of the Indian Valley local qualifier and teed it up in Dallas. Sokolis, another LuLu representative, signed for a 78 at the Gold Course and then withdrew.
The sectional at the Lakes Golf & Country Club and Brookside Golf & Country Club in Columbus, Ohio is always an interesting one because it draws a host of PGA Tour players due to its proximity to the Memorial, which wrapped up Sunday at Muirfield Village.
And a couple of PGA Tour veterans, Chez Reavie and South African Erik van Rooyen, shared medalist honors at 12-under 132. A field of 120 filled with PGA Tour players was battling for 16 spots in the field at Torrey Pines.
Reavie opened with a 5-under 67 at Lakes before adding a 65 at Brookside. Van Rooyen blitzed Lakes with an 8-under 64 after opening with a 68 at Brookside.
Among those failing to advance was reigning Pennsylvania Open champion Jimmy Ellis, the Pittsburgh area mid-amateur who won last summer at Oakmont Country Club. Ellis opened with a solid 3-under 69 at Lakes before adding a 74 at Brookside for a 1-under 143 total.
Pretty sure the Brett Walker listed from Jupiter, Fla. is the Sunnybrook Golf Club assistant pro who was coming off an appearance in the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island after finishing in a tie for eighth place in the PGA Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Guy’s had a busy spring.
Walker opened with a 76 at Lakes before adding a 74 at Brookside. Walker missed the cut in his first PGA Championship appearance with a pair of 77s at Kiawah’s Ocean Course.
Also teeing it up in Columbus was Palmer Jackson, the 2018 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Franklin Regional. A quarterfinalist in the 2019 U.S. Amateur at the Pinehurst Resort, Jackson withdrew after opening with a 78 at Lakes. Jackson was coming off an ultimately disappointing sophomore season at Notre Dame, although the Fighting Irish did earn a berth in the NCAA Stillwater Regional at Karsten Creek Golf Club.
Ryan French, the aforementioned Monday Q Info guy, has turned his fixation with the guys who are striving to make it to the big leagues of professional golf into a cottage industry, is absolutely in his element on “Golf’s Longest Day.” Pretty sure he’s a bartender and part-time looper – sounds like my kind of guy – and he was on the scene for the sectional in Springfield, Ohio Monday.
But when bad weather forced the Columbus sectional to bleed into Tuesday, French made the short hop from Springfield to Columbus for what turned into a 5-for-4 playoff for the final berth to Torrey Pines and an even more entertaining 12-for-1 playoff for second alternate that included major champions Padraig Harrington, Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner and Rickie Fowler.
The 5-for-4 playoff included Pierceson Coody and Cole Hammer, teammates on the powerhouse Texas team and on the winning U.S. Walker Cup team at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla. last month. Coody, the grandson of Charles Coody, who celebrated the 50th anniversary of his 1971 Masters triumph this spring, advanced out of the playoff and Hammer was the odd man out.
Later this week, Hammer, the first alternate, found out he would indeed get a starting time for the U.S. Open when European Tour player Mikko Korhonen of Finland decided not to accept his invitation because of pandemic concerns.
As for the 12-for-1 playoff for second alternate, England’s Ben Taylor made short work of it by making eagle on the first or second playoff hole. Fowler could be heard explaining to Taylor in a classic Monday Q Info Twitter post that getting to the Open as a second alternate was pretty unlikely.
One last name I always search for on days like this was that of Stewart Hagestad, whose epic victory in the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship victory on the 37th hole at Stonewall I got to witness. Hagestad, who has now played on three winning U.S. Walker Cup teams since his victory at Stonewall, failed to advance out of the sectional at Rolling Hills Country Club in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif., where 90 players battled for just five spots in the Cali U.S. Open.
Hagestad added a 3-under 69 to his opening-round 72 for a 3-under 141 total.
The beauty of the day is that this post barely scratches the surface of all the stories that happened on “Golf’s Longest Day(s).” Daniel Rappaport of Golf Digest took a stab at the nine most intriguing stories from U.S. Open final qualifying (which, I guess, is what the USGA wants to call sectional qualifying these days) and I glommed a little of his stuff for this post. And it took me a long time to get to this post because I almost got lost following French’s Monday Q Info tweets on my Twitter timeline.
To scan the scores from “Golf’s Longest Day,” is to see the unbelievable depth of talent that takes a stab at a U.S. Open berth. I was just concentrating on the Philly-area guys and those who emerged from the GAP-administered local qualifiers, which I used to round up, but just never got to in an unbelievably busy month of golf in May.
Too much golf? You’re not going to hear that from me. After suffering through a mostly golf-less month of May in 2020, there ain’t no such thing as too much golf (to paraphrase Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.)
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