5 Things to Know: 2025 U.S. Open Local Qualifying Week 3

Tickets | Qualifying Results

This is the third part in a weekly series on the path to the 125th U.S. Open Championship at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club, June 12-15. The two-stage process begins with 18-hole local qualifying, conducted at 110 sites in 43 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico. Those players who advance will join a group of locally exempt players in final qualifying, which will be conducted over 36 holes at 13 sites between May 19 and June 2.

►Arnold Palmer, who won the 1960 U.S. Open, played in four of his 32 Opens at Oakmont Country Club, including an 18-hole playoff loss to Jack Nicklaus in 1962. Palmer’s grandsons, Sam Saunders and Will Wears, will try to follow in the Western Pennsylvania legend’s footsteps. Saunders, a three-time U.S. Open qualifier, made 158 career PGA Tour starts until his retirement last fall. The 37-year-old is entered in the Fort Collins, Colo., qualifier on May 6. Wears, a college player development representative for a golf manufacturer, is a 30-year-old amateur who will play in the Silver Spring, Md., qualifier on May 5. Others will try and trace their father’s marks to Oakmont as well.

Lanny Wadkins posted two top-10 finishes in 1973 and 1983 on the historic course designed by Henry Fownes and which straddles the Allegheny River. The 1970 U.S. Amateur champion’s son, Travis Wadkins, 37, will play on May 6 in Irving, Texas. Olin Browne, the 2011 U.S. Senior Open champion, also fared well at Oakmont in 1994 and 2007, making the 36-hole cut in both years. His son, Olin Browne Jr., 36, is hoping to advance through two stages of qualifying, as he did in 2023, on May 5 at Wellington National Golf Club in Florida. Sean Jacklin, 33, of Scotland, also worked his way through the local and final framework in 2022 and will start his journey on May 8 in the Fort Myers, Fla., qualifier. His father, Tony Jacklin, won the 1970 U.S. Open and competed at Oakmont in 1973.

►In addition to sons and grandsons, the brotherhood is on full display in the third week of qualifying. Jack Cantlay, 21, of Los Alamitos, Calif., is the younger sibling of Patrick Cantlay, the 2020-21 PGA Tour Player of the Year who tied for third in last year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. A junior on the Long Beach State University team, Jack will play in the La Quinta, Calif., qualifier on May 6. Nick Cantlay, a 29-year-old who has competed on PGA Tour Canada, will attempt local qualifying one week later at Ironwood Country Club’s South Course, in Palm Desert, Calif.

Gipper Finau, 34, is one year younger than six-time PGA Tour winner Tony Finau, who closed with a 67 to tie Cantlay for third in last year’s U.S. Open. Gipper will travel 40 miles south from his home to play in the Highland, Utah, qualifier on May 5. Haymes Snedeker, a lawyer and a partner in a commercial construction business, is the brother of nine-time PGA Tour winner Brandt Snedeker. Haymes is entered in the Pensacola, Fla., qualifier on May 5. Ryan McCarthy is the older brother of Denny McCarthy, who tied for seventh in the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club. Ryan is one of 131 entrants in the Silver Spring, Md., qualifier on May 5. Andrew Copp has scored more than 100 career goals in the National Hockey League and is currently playing for the Detroit Red Wings. But his brother, Tyler Copp, gave up his stick for a 3-wood and went on to play golf at Mercer University. The 27-year-old from Ann Arbor, Mich., will stay in his home state at Eagle Eye Golf Club on May 5.

►Three amateurs are proof that there is another competitive sport in your life once your professional career is complete. Danny Woodhead, 40, of Elkhorn, Neb., who played 10 seasons in the National Football League, advanced from U.S. Open local qualifying in 2022 to the final stage. The retired running back once hauled in a touchdown pass from Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLVI for the New England Patriots. Woodhead, will play his qualifier on his home course, Omaha (Neb.) Country Club, on May 7. Tyler Clippard, 40, of Tampa, Fla., was a two-time Major League Baseball All-Star who pitched for 11 teams, including two stints with the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals, prior to his retirement in 2023. Clippard is entered in local qualifying for the second consecutive year and will play on May 6 at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, in Orlando, 85 miles from his home.

Aaron Hicks, 35, of Scottsdale, Ariz., played for four MLB teams, including seven seasons as a Yankee outfielder. Hicks, who will attempt to qualify at Phoenix Country Club on May 5, is married to Cheyenne Woods, a competitor in five U.S. Women’s Opens and the niece of nine-time USGA champion Tiger Woods. Drew Olson, 42, of San Francisco, Calif., played for three National Football League teams as an undrafted free agent out of UCLA and had a brief stay in NFL Europe with the Amsterdam Admirals. The All-Pac-10 performer passed for more than 8,500 yards and 67 touchdowns for the Bruins. His local qualifier is slated for May 6 at The Club at Ruby Hill, in Pleasanton, Calif.

►Andrew Svoboda, 45, of Oak Brook, Ill., has successfully qualified through both the local and final stages in three of his six U.S. Open starts, including last year at Pinehurst No. 2. He is the head professional at Butler National Golf Club. Svoboda and Happy Gilmore are among the 72 golfers entered in the Schererville, Ind., qualifier on May 5. Gilmore, whose given name is Landon, is a freshman at Ball State University where he has recorded two top-5 finishes in 2024-25. Dan Ellis, a 35-year-old sales representative for a golf apparel company, will attempt to qualify on May 5 at South Bend (Ind.) Country Club, which will serve as a local site for the 49th time since 1961. He caddied for James Piot (advanced through local on April 21) when he won the 2021 U.S. Amateur title at Oakmont. At the time, Ellis was a college assistant at Michigan State.

Parker Edens, 34, of Brookings, S.D., is in his fourth season as head coach at South Dakota State University. He is among the hopefuls in the Fort Collins, Colo., qualifier on May 6. Ricky Barnes, the 2002 U.S. Amateur champion who tied for second in the 2009 U.S. Open, still plays golf as a professional. But his focus has shifted to real estate and business development. Barnes, 44, of Stockton Calif., will qualify on May 5 at Phoenix (Ariz.) Country Club. Christian Cavaliere began his run in New Jersey through two qualifying stages to the 2023 U.S. Open. He will start this year’s trek in the same state on May 8 at Knickerbocker Country Club. The 27-year-old from Katonah, N.Y., founded a golf accessories company.

►The next generation also has eyes on playing at Oakmont. Cameron Kuchar, 17, of Jupiter, Fla., is the son of 1997 U.S. Amateur champion Matt Kuchar, a nine-time PGA Tour winner who has played in 21 U.S. Opens. Cameron, who advanced to final qualifying two years ago, is in the Wellington, Fla., qualifier on May 5, while Matt is locally exempt. Luke Poulter, 20, will attempt qualifying 2½ hours north in Gainesville on May 8. A sophomore on the University of Florida golf team, Luke is the son of 16-time U.S. Open competitor and European Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter. Tim Herron, who has made 11 Open starts, has a pair of sons in the Albuquerque, N.M., qualifier on May 6. Carson Herron, 22, is a senior on the University of New Mexico team, while P.J. Herron, 19, is in his first year playing at New Mexico Junior College. Should either qualify, it would make four generations of Herron golfers to play in the U.S. Open, as Tim’s father and grandfather both qualified.

John Daly II is the 21-year-old son of two-time major champion John Daly, who competed in 13 U.S. Opens. John II, who has posted three top-10 finishes as a junior on the University of Arkansas team in 2024-25, will play in the Wichita, Kan., qualifier on May 5. Sean Maruyama, 24, is the son of Shigeki Maruyama, who tied for fourth in the 2004 U.S. Open and is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his first-round 58 in final qualifying at Woodmont Country Club’s South Course, in Rockville, Md. Sean, a former UCLA golfer, is in the Palm Desert, Calif., qualifier on May 5.

NOTE: Golf Channel will provide wall-to-wall coverage of Golf’s Longest Day, Monday, June 2.

Brian DePasquale is the USGA’s senior manager for communications. Email him at bdepasquale@usga.org.