U.S. Open qualifying: 50-year-old Justin Hicks ties for medalist in West Palm Beach sectional
Nine 36-hole U.S. Open sectional qualifiers were held on June 2 from Florida to New Jersey, and from Maryland to Washington, to fill the final 47 spots in the U.S. Open June 12-15 at the Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa. Of the 744 players began the day with hopes of making the field, only six percent would make it.
Advertisement
The Florida qualifier at Emerald Lakes in West Palm wasn't over until June 3 and it produced a variety of players who punched their ticket to Oakmont.
Justin Hicks of Wellington leads a U.S. Open sectional qualifier at Emerald Lakes in West Palm Beach with play suspended. The round will resume on June 3 at 7:30 a.m.
Justin Hicks, 50 years old, tied for medalist honors at 11-under-par 133 with former LSU player and Shreveport, La., resident Philip Barbaree and amateur Frankie Harris of Boca Raton, a junior at South Carolina.
Auston Truslow of Fort Lauderdale, who has conditional Korn Ferry Tour status, defeated University of Florida sophomore Luke Poulter in a playoff for the final qualifying spot after both finished at 10-under.
Luke Poulter (left), caddying for his father Ian Poulter in the 2022 JP McManus Pro-Am, is tied for third in a U.S. Open sectional qualifier at Emerald Lakes in West Palm Beach, with play suspended because of weather.
Hicks, who shot 65-68, has played in three PGA tour events this season and missed the cut in all three. Barbaree, 26, who plays on PGA Tour Americas, birdied eight of his first 13 holes in the second round and shot 64. Harris eagled the par-5 first hole in the second round and didn't make a bogey until No. 18 to finish with a 67.
Advertisement
Poulter, who eagled the first hole and birdied the next two before play was suspended the night before at 6:10, finished with a bogey-free 65 after play resumed on June 3. Truslow completed a 66 with five of six birdies during one stretch.
Blades Brown, a 17-year-old from Nashville who turned pro earlier this year, would have joined the Poulter-Truslow playoff had he not bogeyed his final hole. He beat Thomas Ponder III, an Korn Ferry Tour member who played at Alabama, in a playoff for second alternate.
U.S. Open Sectional qualifiers
Emerald Lakes Golf Club, West Palm Beach
Qualifiers
Justin Hicks 65-68–133
Advertisement
Philip Barbaree 69-64–133
Frankie Harris (a) 66-67–133
Auston Truslow 68-66–134
Alternates
Luke Poulter (a) 69-65–134
Blades Brown 65-70–135
Piedmont Driving Club, Atlanta
Mason Howell, 17 and the eighth-ranked player on the American Junior Golf Association, and Big Ten Player of the Year Jackson Buchanan shot lights-out at 18-under 126 to tie for first. Auburn senior Jackson Koivun, who made his PGA Tour debut at The Memorial last week, Florida State sophomore Tyler Weaver, and former University of Georgia player Will Chandler tied for third at 11-under.
Qualifiers
Mason Howell (a) 63-63—126
Jackson Buchanan 63-63—126
Advertisement
Tyler Weaver (a) 66-66—133
Jackson Koivun (a) 69-64—133
Will Chandler 70-63—133
Alternates
Hayden Buckley 68-66—134
Steven Fisk 66-68—134
Canoe Brook Country Club, Summit, N.J.
Korn Ferry Tour member James Nicholas, a Yale graduate, won by one shot over PGA Tour player Chris Gotterup and Korn Ferry Tour member Roberto Diaz.
Qualifiers
James Nicholas 67-68—135
Chris Gotterup 71-65—136
Roberto Diaz 65-71—136
Benjamin James (a) 67-70—137
Alternates
Max Theodorakis 71-67—138
Garrett Engle (a) 69-69—138
Duke University Golf Club, Durham, N.C.
Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach had three birdies on the front nine of his first round, but made only one more birdie over the final 27 holes and is the first alternate at 138. Chandler Blanchet of Jacksonville, a Korn Ferry Tour member, notched one of the final spots by closing with five pars in a row.
Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach is the first alternate for the U.S. Open out of a sectional qualifier at Duke University.
Qualifiers
Zach Bauchou 71-64—135
Advertisement
Alistair Docherty 72-64—136
Alvaro Ortiz 73-63—136
Emilio Gonzalez 69-67—136
Trent Phillips 70-67—137
George Kneiser 69-68—137
Chandler Blanchet 68-69—137
Alternates
Miles Russell (a) 68-70—138
Webb Simpson 72-66—138
Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club, Columbus, Ohio
Cameron Young made a birdie on the first playoff hole to win a 5-for-1 playoff to knock out Chase Johnson, Eric Cole, Max Homa and Rickie Fowler. Jacksonville product and Palm Beach Gardens resident Bud Cauley finished second to reach his first U.S. Open and Ponte Vedra Beach resident Lanto Griffin finished third to qualify for his fifth.
Qualifiers
Erik Van Rooyen 64-67—131
Advertisement
Bud Cauley 69-68—137
Lanto Griffin 69-68—136
Justin Lower 68-69—137
Harrison Ott 67-71—138
Cameron Young 71-68—139
Alternates
Chase Johnson 68-71—139
Eric Cole 70-69—139
Lambton Golf & Country Club, York, Ontario, Canada
Vince Covello of Ponte Vedra Beach (144) and Tyler Mawhinney of Orange Park (145) failed to qualify. PGA Tour member Kevin Velo, who has made only three of 13 cuts this season, is the medalist.
Qualifiers
Kevin Velo 65-67—132
Niklas Norgaard 64-69—133
Matt Wallace 67-66—133
Thorbjorn Olesen 67-67—134
Mark Hubbard 64-70—134
Victor Perez 66-67—134
Emiliano Grillo 69-65—134
Alternates
Takumi Kanaya 69-66--135
Advertisement
Max McGreevy 66-69—135
Springfield Country Club, Springfield, Ohio
Zac Blair beat Kurt Kitayama, Dawson Armstrong of Jacksonville and amateur John Peterson in a 4-for-1 playoff for the final qualifying spot.
Qualifiers
Grant Haefner 68-65—133
George Duangmanee 68-67—135
Maxwell Moldovan 69-66—135
Zac Blair 68-68—136
Alternates
John Peterson (a) 69-67—136
Kurt Kitayama 68-68—136
Valencia Country Club, Valencia, Calif.
Preston Summerhays, an Arizona State senior, birdied six of nine holes and five in a row in his second round.
Qualifiers
Preston Summerhays (a) 69-63—132
Riley Lewis 71-64—135
Zachery Pollo (a) 65-71—136
Advertisement
Alternates
Lucas Carper 70-68—138
Matthew Sutherland 69-70–139
Wine Valley Golf Club, Walla Walla, Wash.
Medalist Matt Vogt is a former caddie at Oakmont and now is a dentist in Indiana. He is from Cranberry Township, Pa., 26 miles from Oakmont.
Qualifiers
Matt Vogt (a) 68-68—136
Brady Calkins 68-69—137
Alternates
Spencer Tibbits 69-69—138
Clark Sonnenberg (a) 70-68—138
Woodmont Country Club, Rockville, Md.
Ryan McCormick, a Korn Ferry Tour member, had 11 birdies and only one bogey in 36 holes to easily win the qualifier.
Qualifiers
Ryan McCormick 66-66—132
Trevor Cone 69-68—137
Bryan Lee (a) 70-69—139
Marc Leishman 70-69—139
Advertisement
Alternates
Sebastian Munoz 71-68—139
Peter Uihlein 73-67—140
Bent Tree Country Club, Dallas (May 19)
Qualifiers
Rasmus Neergaard Petersen 66-65—131
James Hahn 66-66—132
Adam Schenk 64-68—132
Lance Simpson (a) 79-65—134
Cameron Tankersley (a) 68-66—134
Carlos Ortiz 66-68—134
Johnny Keefer 66-69—135
Alternates
Doug Ghim 69-66—135
Cameron Tringale 69-66—135
Tarao Country Club, Shiga, Japan (May 19)
Qualifiers
Yuta Sugiura 68-66—134
Scott Vincent 67-67—134
Jinichiro Kozuma 68-67—135
Alternates
Riki Kawamoto 67-68—135
Taichi Kho 64-71—135
Walton Heath Golf Club, Surrey, England (May 19)
Jordan Smith 64-70—134
Frederic Lacroix 67-68—135
Advertisement
Joakim Lagergren 69-66—135
Guido Migliozzi 68-67—135
Sam Bairstow 70-66—136
Jacques Kruyswijk 66-71—137
Edoardo Molinari 66-71—137
Andrea Pavan 70-67—137
Matthew Jordan 63-74—137
Robin Williams 68-69—137
Alternates
Ryan Lumsden 66-71—137
Björn Åkesson 72-66—138
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: U.S. Open qualifying: Justin Hicks, 50, ties for first in West Palm Beach
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Is DJ Lagway a Heisman Trophy contender heading into 2025?
Every five-star quarterback is signed with the pressure of becoming a Heisman Trophy candidate as quickly as possible. Some fizzle out, others become multi-year starters at respectable programs and a few shine above the rest to reach true greatness. DJ Lagway has a chance to be one of the great ones at Florida, but is he already a Heisman candidate? It depends on who you ask. Most major sportsbooks have him as a top-10 contender for the award before even taking a snap. Arch Manning (Texas), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU) and Cade Klubnik (Clemson) are the so-called favorites, but there isn't a unanimous preseason pick like in prior years. Anthony Richardson found himself in a similar spot a few years ago, albeit during the Billy Napier transitional stage. Ultimately, Lagway's Heisman candidacy will be determined on the field. If he plays well, Florida will win and he'll be in contention. A few ugly games can knock you right out of the conversation, but a head-to-head win against one of the names above could skyrocket his Heisman stock. The Athletic's annual Heisman draft The Athletic recently held a Heisman fantasy draft, where each of the top 10 wins points. The first place gets 10, the second gets nine and so forth. Lagway fell all the way to the 11th pick, finally being picked up by senior writer David Ubben. It's a shot in the dark to pick Lagway for Heisman, in a way, but he's the kind of player that can't be counted out, especially after what he did while healthy last year. "Apparently I'm building my team solely out of dual-threat quarterbacks with a ton of potential amid some skepticism," said Ubben after taking South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers in the first round. "Lagway took over the starting job as a five-star true freshman last year and was a huge reason why Florida rallied late in the season, notching a pair of Top 25 wins to cool off Billy Napier's seat. The Gators are one of the biggest wild cards in the SEC, and their outlook will be closely tied to how much promise Lagway fulfills in his first full season as the starting quarterback. I'm buying stock." CBS Sports/247Sports CBS Sports and 247Sports took on a similar task of naming each preseason top-25 team's top Heisman candidate in May. Lagway was the natural pick with better odds before his injury woes became a headline. He ranked 10th, one spot ahead of Miami (via Georgia) quarterback Carson Beck. "Lagway was 247Sports' No. 1 quarterback in the nation coming out of high school and he backed up that billing with some incredible flashes as a freshman," CBS Sports' Shehan Jeyarajah said. "He threw six touchdowns during a four-game winning streak to end the year that included upsets over Ole Miss and LSU. With another offseason of growth, Lagway should take his rightful place among the best in the country." Florida Heisman Trophy history Florida has had three Heisman winners come through the program. Steve Spurrier brought the first trophy to Gainesville in 1966 after finishing ninth the year before. Only six Gators received votes over the next 30 years. Fullback Jimmy DuBose is the most interesting name on that list, finishing sixth in 1975. What was going on that year? Wide receiver Wes Chandler rounded out the top 10 two years later. Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith surprisingly only finished as high as seventh in 1989, improving on a ninth-place finish in 1987. Shane Matthews was the next quarterback to vie for the award, and his fifth-place finish in 1991 was the closest of anyone since Spurrier. That is until Danny Wuerffel entered the picture in 1995 with a third-place finish. Led by Spurrier, Wuerffel became the second Gator to win the Heisman in 1996, etching his name into the history books and winning a national championship along the way. Rex Grosmann continued the trend of quarterbacks in Orange and Blue contending for the award, finishing the 2001 season as the runner-up. Many believe he should have won over Eric Crouch, but they aren't the voters. Tim Tebow had the most prolific Heisman run of any Florida Gator. After winning it in 2007, he finished third in 2008 and fifth in 2009. Perhaps a win or two away from becoming the first two-time winner since Archie Griffin did it in the 1970s. Kyle Trask (4th) and tight end Kyle Pitts (10th) both finished inside the top 10 in 2020. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Rece Davis ranks his preseason top 10 college football teams
ESPN "College GameDay" host Rece Davis is also a voter in the AP Poll. Davis recently ranked the top 25 college football teams in the country on his AP Poll ballot. Davis ranks the Clemson Tigers as his No. 1 team in the country. He was one of four AP Poll voters to rank Clemson No. 1. Additionally, he ranks Penn State No. 2, Texas No. 3, LSU No. 4 and Ohio State No. 5. We'll find out in Week 1 just how good most of Davis' top five teams are. Texas opens the season at Ohio State while LSU opens the season at Clemson. Davis ranks the Georgia Bulldogs as the No. 8 team in the country. He's a bit lower on Georgia than most other college football experts, but it is understandable. Georgia enters the 2025 season with a lot of questions after losing a significant amount of talent to the transfer portal and having 13 players selected in the 2025 NFL draft. Davis still needs to see how Gunner Stockton performs to have more confidence in the Dawgs. Rece Davis' top 10 college football teams Follow UGAWire on Instagram or Threads for more Georgia Bulldogs coverage!
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
'He's so fast': Texas A&M sophomore WR could be headed towards breakout season
In less than two weeks, Texas A&M will open the 2025 college football season against UTSA on Saturday, August 30, and based on what we've witnessed, sophomore wide receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman has continued to stand out this month, as he is contending for a starting spot heading into the final week of preseason practice before the Aggies decend on the first game-week of the year. For those who need added context, Roman was one of the program's late additions in the 2024 recruiting class after flipping his commitment from Arkansas, which he described during Friday's post-practice press conference. However, what we did not know about his background was his father, Mark Roman, who starred at safety for the LSU Tigers before spending nearly ten seasons in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers, and San Francisco 49ers. Surprisingly, Roman did not receive an offer from LSU, which he vocally expressed on Friday. 'I'm talking mess about LSU (to my parents) every day. I'm throwing the L down in every picture me and my momma take.' This is both humorous and reality-based because it is the usual path players take when their team, the one they grew up rooting for, ignores them during the recruiting process. Roman could have the last laugh, as the Aggies face LSU in Baton Rouge this season, where they have not won in Death Valley since 1994. Again, this isn't media "hype" on our end. While it's in your right to say it is, safety Bryce Anderson spoke for the entire defense that has covered Roman in practice, praising his elite speed and fluid route running that has given starting quarterback Marcel Reed another deep threat in the passing game. 'His tempo at which he runs his routes. He runs his routes at the same tempo. He's so fast. He's explosive. He can accelerate off the line. He gets from 0 to 100 real quick.' Joining KC Concepcion (NC State) and Mario Craver (Mississippi State) from the transfer portal, Texas A&M's revamped wide receiver room is built on speed, quickness, and separation, which, as Anderson stated, Roman perfectly fits the mold. Lastly, as Carter Karels points out, Roman has already shown off these desired traits during the 2025 Maroon & White Spring Game, so the next step is producing during the games that matter. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.
