Making the U.S. Open was a dream. Then he shot 35-over-par

New York Times

17 hours ago

OAKMONT, Pa. — The smile wasn't particularly wide, but it was a smile. After playing in his first U.S. Open, after exploring every last inch of Oakmont Country Club, and after sinking one last putt to mercifully break 90, George Duangmanee deserved to grin as little or as much as he wanted.
'I knew it was going to be a hard test coming in, but I didn't think it was going to be this hard,' Duangmanee said, standing outside Oakmont's scoring area. With scores of 86-89, he finished his 36 holes at the U.S. Open at 35-over-par. Duangmanee stood in 156th place. Out of 156 players.
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The U.S. Open is called an open for a reason. Duangmanee made it here the hard way.
The 23-year-old from Fairfax, Va. graduated from the University of Virginia last year and began his pursuit of professional golf without membership on any professional tour. This spring, that pursuit included paying a $200 entry fee to sign up for the first stage of U.S. Open qualifying. Duangmanee was good enough to play his way into his first PGA Tour event last month, so why not the U.S. Open?
In Maryland, Duangmanee shot a 1-under 71 to advance to the second and final stage, but that's the (relatively) easy part. Final qualifying came next: Duangmanee faced a stronger field with higher-ranked players, a harder course, and 36 holes to prove yourself.
Rounds of 68 and 67 put Duangmanee in a tie for second place, and four players were moving on to Oakmont. Those two scores gave him his first major championship tee time. They gave him solace that the grind of mini-tour golf that's required for most to rise up the professional golf ranks was worth it.
That's what makes this championship great. Anyone — at least anyone with a .4 handicap or better — can make it. The USGA accepted a record 10,202 entries for qualifying this year. That 10,000-plus dwindled to 980, and that 980 dwindled to 69. Of those 69 U.S. Open qualifiers, only 17 made it through both the local and final qualifying stages, Duangmanee included.
But making it to a U.S. Open and playing in a U.S. Open — those are two different experiences.
Duangmanee hit 10 of 28 fairways at Oakmont. He hit six of 18 greens. There were seven double bogeys, one triple bogey and one quadruple bogey. He slapped it around a course that wasn't just a brutal test of golf for a local qualifier. Oakmont is making a fool out of greats and major champions. Sergio Garcia, Max Homa and Rickie Fowler aren't even here.
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Duangmanee played in the 2:42 p.m. pairing on Thursday, the last of the day. He went home that night after finishing an opening round 86 in the dark. Then got up out of bed on Friday to do it all over again.
The next day, he finished his first U.S. Open in front of his family and friends, a pair of whom carried an overflowing merchandise bag as they begged a volunteer to let them pass onto a grandstand and watch him two-putt to avoid the ignominy of 90.
'I mean, going into today, I just wanted to have fun out there,' Duangmanee said. 'I knew I was kind of out of it after my first round. So I just tried to enjoy the experience as much as possible. I didn't really get down on myself. I just kept going, and I was just happy to be out here today.'
Double bogey after double bogey, punch after punch, the 23-year-old tried to keep himself in good spirits, not only for his own sanity but for the future. After playing in his 36-hole U.S. Open qualifier last week, Duangmanee played four more 18-hole rounds and earned status on a tour for the first time. It's conditional status on the PGA Tour of Americas, but he'll take it.
He bore the brunt of the U.S. Open, but that doesn't mean he couldn't learn something along the way. He'll keep learning when he sticks around for the weekend to watch the rest of the championship.
'It's a little bit intimidating being around people you watch on TV every week. I'm trying to learn as much about how they practice, how they warm up and everything. So I've been keeping an eye on how the best in the world do it, so I'm gonna use that going forward,' Duangmanee said.
Duangmanee wasn't hesitant to share that this was the biggest stage of golf he's ever played in. He had no shame in admitting that the test all but slapped him in the face.
But a highlight of the week? He couldn't necessarily think of one. He was just happy to be there, at Oakmont, grateful to soak it all in and say that he made it to the tournament in the first place.
How many of the 10,000 would have traded places with him in that moment?
(Top photo of George Duangmanee: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)