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Stanley Hammers Way To U.S. Open; Lee Falls Short

Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Danny Lee, who turned pro after the Masters, turned in an afternoon 73 that squashed his U.S. Open hopes. (John Mummert/USGA)

By Dave Shedloski

Columbus, Ohio – Clemson University junior Kyle Stanley finished second two weeks ago in the NCAA Division I golf championship. He was second to no one Monday at the U.S. Open sectional qualifier here, sharing medalist honors with PGA Tour player George McNeill.

A member of the winning USA Walker Cup team two years ago, Stanley, 21, opened with the low round of the day, a bogey-free 10-under-par 62 at The Lakes Golf & Country Club on the way to a 36-hole total of 12-under 132. McNeill, one of 61 players in the qualifier who competed last week at the Memorial Tournament, was steady with rounds of 67-65.

The pair led a contingent of 17 players out of 121 entrants into the 109th U.S. Open next week at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y. (For complete results of the June 8 sectional qualifying events at 13 sites around the country, click here.)

“It was a long day, but I’m really glad to be on through,” said Stanley, who was helped through the day by Fred Sanders, the longtime caddie for veteran tour player Kenny Perry. “I knew I didn’t have to shoot a great round this afternoon to get through. I just didn’t want to do anything stupid. I played pretty well. I like Ohio.”

Indeed, Stanley finished second to NC State’s Matt Hill at the NCAA tournament at Inverness Golf Club in Toledo. He will be making his second U.S. Open appearance after successfully qualifying last year at Brookside and Ohio State’s Scarlet Course. He missed the cut at Torrey Pines South by one stroke.

“It would be nice to play a bit more than two rounds this time,” said Stanley, of Gig Harbor, Wash., who intends to turn pro after the U.S. Open.

Stanley was one of two amateurs to qualify, joined by 2007 Walker Cup teammate Rickie Fowler from Murrieta, Calif. Fowler, a junior at Oklahoma State, shot 70-65‑­-135 at The Lakes and Brookside, respectively, to tie for 10th. Fowler was the youngest player in the field at last year’s U.S. Open, and made the cut, finishing T60.

PGA Tour rookie James Nitties survived a nine-man playoff to earn the last of the 17 berths with two birdies at Brookside. Bethpage will be his first major championship. Fellow Australian John Senden won the first alternate spot with his par on the second hole while Dean Wilson bogeyed. Wilson is second alternate for Bethpage Black.

Former British Open champion David Duval, playing in his first sectional qualifier since his days as a college golfer at Georgia Tech in the mid-1990s, also tied for 10th after shooting 66-69--135.

“You don’t have much of a chance to win if you can’t tee it up on Thursday,” said Duval, who last played in the U.S. Open in 2006 at Winged Foot, tying for 16th. “I’ve made no bones about it, I think the two Opens [U.S. and British] are the two most important tournaments of the year. I am excited about how I’m playing. I’ve been leaving shots on the golf course and probably left four or five out there today, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Tom Lehman, another former British Open champion, also qualified for Bethpage today at Columbus, as did long-hitting J.B. Holmes and Ryan Moore, winner of both the U.S. Amateur Public Links and U.S. Amateur championships in 2004.

While Duval and Lehman are returning to the U.S. Open next week, several other major champions came up short in their bids to qualify, most notably former PGA champion Davis Love III, who had played in the last 18 U.S. Opens. Love shot a pair of 69s to miss the playoff by two shots.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen struggled with his driver in the second round at Brookside, shot even and ended up at 4-under 140. That was one better than two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain, who carded 70-71.

Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Danny Lee will not be going to Bethpage, either. The 18-year-old New Zealander, who turned pro after the Masters, followed up a morning 69 with a 73.

“I am very disappointed. I feel like breaking some clubs, but it’s not the clubs’ fault,” Lee said with a small grin. “I am just exhausted right now. I’ve played too much golf. I am going to take some time off and get away from it.”

As the U.S. Amateur champion, Lee was automatically exempt into the U.S. Open until he turned professional. He was not about to second-guess himself. “I felt it was the right time for me. Yeah, I would love to be at Bethpage and playing in another major, but I’d hope I’ll have other chances.”

Dave Shedloski is a freelance writer whose work has previously appeared on www.usopen.com.

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