COLUMBUS, OHIO (AP) - UCLA freshman Patrick Cantlay made the field for his first U.S. Open, three former U.S. Open champions came up short and Vijay Singh didn’t even try Monday.
Cantlay, who wrapped up a sensational first season that earned him the Jack Nicklaus Award as the top college player, had rounds of 65-70 at two area courses that were filled with PGA Tour players. He was among 16 players who earned spots for the U.S. Open at Congressional, which starts June 16.
Singh didn’t show up for the qualifier, making it likely his streak of 67 consecutive majors played will end. Singh, a three-time major champion who shot 65 in the final round of the Memorial, last missed a major at the 1994 U.S. Open.
Columbus was one of 11 sectional qualifiers across the country, all of them 36 holes for precious few spots in the U.S. Open, the one major in which half the field is open to anyone willing to try.
Sam Saunders, the grandson for Arnold Palmer, made it through a qualifier in Florida, while Fred Funk qualified in Maryland. Funk, a former golf coach at Maryland, will be 55 on Tuesday of the U.S. Open.
Jones, who made it through sectional qualifying in 1996 and went on to win at Oakland Hills, missed out on a playoff by four shots. Tom Kite, the 1992 winner at Pebble Beach, failed to qualify in Dallas, while two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen just missed in Tennessee.
Brandt Jobe, a runner-up by one shot at the Memorial on Sunday, joined Chez Reavie as co-medalists in Columbus. Reavie had knee surgery a year ago and will be in his third U.S. Open. He was an amateur in the other two.
“I was hitting the ball well, I was making putts. It was fun _ a lot of fun,” said Reavie, who had a 69 at Brookside and 63 at The Lakes.
Others who qualified in Columbus were Robert Garrigus, Marc Turnesa, John Senden, D.A. Points, Marc Leishman, Kevin Chappell, Adam Long, Justin Hicks, Nick O’Hern and Chris Wilson. Tim Petrovic, Scott Hend and Webb Simpson were part of a six-man playoff for three spots. Among those who got bumped out of the playoff were former Ryder Cup players J.J. Henry and Brett Wetterich.
Gary Woodland called officials to withdraw. He moved up to No. 41 in the world ranking after his sixth-place finish at the Memorial, and is a lock to stay in the top 50 next week to get into the U.S. Open.
Others who failed to earn spots out of Columbus were former British Open champions David Duval and Ben Curtis, Rocco Mediate, Sean O’Hair and Bob Hope winner Jhonattan Vegas.
This was the second time in three years that Funk has qualified. Among the other nine players who qualified in Rockville, Md., were Ty Tryon, three-time tour winner Kirk Triplett and former U.S. Amateur champion Bubba Dickerson.
In other qualifiers:
_ Saunders earned his spot in Vero Beach, Fla., surviving a three-for-two playoff at Quail Valley Golf Club. Joey Lamielle was the medalist, while Michael Barbosa got the other playoff spot.
_ Bennett Blakeman led three qualifiers in St. Charles, Ill. Among those who failed to get through was Scott Langley, last year’s NCAA champion who tied for 16th in the U.S. Open last year and tied for low amateur.
_ S.Y. Noh of South Korea, a rising star on the Asian Tour, earned one of two spots from Springfield, Ohio.
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