U.S. OPEN
U.S. Open Final Qualifying Storylines: Texas, England, Japan
The road to Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club and the 125th U.S. Open Championship hits the backstretch with the start of 36-hole final qualifying at three sites on May 19. Japan, England and Dallas, Texas will kick things off on Monday, with the remaining 10 qualifiers set to be contested on June 2. Here’s a look at some of the key players trying to play their way into the field (Note: The number of qualifying spots will be determined at the outset of play).
►Abraham Ancer, 34, of Mexico, competes on the LIV Golf League where he won in Hong Kong in 2024. He also was victorious on the PGA Tour in 2021, captured the 2018 Australian Open and was the gold medalist in the 2023 Pan American Games. He has made the 36-hole cut in three of his four U.S. Open starts. His best finish is a tie for 49th in 2019 at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
►Cameron Champ, 29, of Sacramento, Calif., has played in three U.S. Opens, with his best finish a tie for 32nd in 2017 at Erin Hills when he advanced through both stages of qualifying as an amateur. Champ has won three PGA Tour events and once on the Korn Ferry Tour. He was a member of the 2017 USA Walker Cup Team. His father, Jeff, was selected in the Major League Baseball Draft by the Baltimore Orioles.
►Pierceson Coody, 24, of Plano, Texas, is the grandson of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody, who competed in 18 U.S. Opens. He is playing on the PGA Tour this season after recording three wins on the Korn Ferry Tour. In 2021, he advanced to his lone U.S. Open through a 5-for-4 playoff in the Columbus, Ohio, final qualifier. He was a member of the victorious 2021 USA Walker Cup Team.
►Joel Dahmen, 37, of Clarkston, Wash., has competed in four U.S. Opens, with his best finish a tie for 10th in 2022. He advanced to The Country Club that year through the Columbus, Ohio, final qualifier and was featured in Full Swing, a Netflix documentary series. Dahmen has won once on the PGA Tour and twice on PGA Tour Canada.
►Sergio Garcia, 45, of Spain, has competed in 25 consecutive U.S. Opens and posted five top 10s, with his best result a tie for third in 2005. Last year, Garcia was added to field as the first alternate from the Dallas final qualifier. He went on to tie for 12th at Pinehurst No. 2. Garcia has won 11 PGA Tour titles, including the 2017 Masters. Garcia, who posted his second LIV Golf League victory in March, owns 16 DP World Tour victories and has been a member of six winning European Ryder Cup Teams.
►Devin Gee, 39, of Oakmont, Pa., is the head professional at Oakmont Country Club. He became the club’s eighth professional in 2017, following Bob Ford. He is no stranger to the qualifying process and competed in the final stage in 2016, the last time Oakmont hosted the U.S. Open. Gee played as a collegian at Methodist, a NCAA Division III program.
►Branden Grace, 36, of South Africa, has played in 10 U.S. Opens and owns three top-10 finishes. He tied for fourth in 2015 at Chambers Bay and tied for fifth in 2016 at Oakmont Country Club. He has won twice on the PGA Tour, once on LIV Golf League and posted nine DP World Tour victories. He carded a 62 (8 under par) in The Open Championship in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, the lowest round recorded in a major championship. The score has since been equaled four times.
►Charley Hoffman, 48, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., has competed in nine U.S. Opens, with his best finish is eighth in 2017 at Erin Hills. Hoffman has recorded two top-10s on the PGA Tour this season. He owns four PGA Tour wins, including the 2016 Valero Texas Open. A member of the winning 2017 U.S. Presidents Cup Team, Hoffman has also won on the Korn Ferry Tour and Gateway Tour. He was a member of UNLV’s 1998 NCAA championship squad.
►Ryan Moore, 42, of Las Vegas, Nev., has competed in 10 U.S. Opens but has not played since 2016 at Oakmont. His best finish is a tie for 10th at Bethpage State Park in 2009. Moore, a five-time PGA Tour winner, won the 2004 U.S. Amateur and the 2002 and 2004 U.S. Amateur Public Links titles and is one of five golfers to win the NCAA Championship and U.S. Amateur in the same year (2004). He is also one of five male golfers to win multiple USGA titles in the same year, joining Bob Jones, Chick Evans, Jay Sigel and Colt Knost. He was a member of the 2003 USA Walker Cup Team.
►Taylor Moore, 31, of Edmond, Okla., has played in two U.S. Opens (2023, 2024) and was fully exempt from qualifying each time. He won the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship in 2023 and has recorded victories on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Canada. A two-time Oklahoma state high school champion, Moore was the co-medalist in the 2014 U.S. Amateur Championship.
►Carlos Ortiz, 34, of Mexico, played in his fourth U.S. Open in 2023 after advancing from the Boynton Beach, Fla., final qualifier. He won the PGA Tour’s Houston Open in 2020 when he defeated 2016 U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson and 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Hideki Matsuyama by two strokes. Ortiz, who played as a collegian at North Texas, recorded his first LIV Golf League victory in 2024.
►Scott Piercy, 46, of Las Vegas, Nev., tied for second with Jim Furyk and Shane Lowry behind champion Dustin Johnson in the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont. Piercy, an eight-time U.S. Open competitor, has won four times on the PGA Tour, including the 2012 RBC Canadian Open, and twice on the Korn Ferry Tour. He played college golf at San Diego State before turning professional in 2001.
►Raymond ReBell, 14, of Maryville, Tenn., advanced from a 5-for-2 playoff when he birdied the second extra hole in the Knoxville, Tenn., local qualifier on April 22, where he carded a 69 at Three Ridges Golf Course. ReBell was a 2025 finalist in Drive, Chip & Putt’s 14-15 division, finishing fourth at Augusta National Golf Club. ReBell enjoyed success on the Sneds Tour where he won two junior tournaments last year and four events in 2023.
►Caleb Surratt, 21, of Charlotte, N.C., is attempting to qualify for his first U.S. Open. He turned professional last year when he joined the LIV Golf League. Surratt was chosen the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year and first team All-SEC as a member of the University of Tennessee golf team in 2022-23. A member of the victorious 2023 USA Walker Cup Team, Surratt advanced to the Round of 32 in the 2021 U.S. Amateur contested at Oakmont. He also was the U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up in 2022.
►Brendon Todd, 39, of Athens, Ga., played in his sixth U.S. Open in 2024 after advancing through the Columbus, Ohio final qualifier. Todd, who was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., but grew up in North Carolina, tied for 17th in 2014 at Pinehurst No. 2 and was alone in second place following 36 holes. He has won three PGA Tour titles, including both the Bermuda Championship and Mayakoba Golf Classic in 2019. Todd owns two Korn Ferry Tour titles and was an All-American at the University of Georgia.
►Rafa Cabrera Bello, 40, of Spain, has competed in eight U.S. Opens and made the 36-hole cut in seven. His best finish is a tie for 23rd in 2020. He has won four times on the DP World Tour and twice on the European Challenge Tour. He tied for fifth in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil while representing his country. His sister, Emma, competes on the Ladies European Tour.
►Robert Dinwiddie, 42, of England, has played in two U.S. Opens but is hoping to return to the championship for the first time in 14 years. He advanced through the Walton Heath qualifier in 2008 and tied for 36th at Torrey Pines. Dinwiddie is attempting to advance through two stages this year after earning medalist honors with a 67 in the Darien, Conn., local qualifier on May 1.
►Ross Fisher, 44, of England, finished fifth in the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park (Black Course). He made his sixth championship appearance in 2023 when he advanced from the England final qualifier. Fisher has won five DP World Tour events, including the 2009 Volvo World Match Play at Wentworth. He was a member of the winning 2010 European Ryder Cup Team.
►Alex Fitzpatrick, 26, of England, hopes to return to Oakmont Country Club where he advanced to the Round of 32 in the 2021 U.S. Amateur. His brother, Matt, won the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club, in Brookline, Mass., and is already exempt into the Oakmont field. Alex, who won on the Challenge Tour two years ago, caddied for his brother at age 14 when Matt won the 2013 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club, and is a two-time Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cupper. He was a standout collegian at Wake Forest.
►Sam Horsfield, 28, of England, has played in four U.S. Opens and 15 USGA championships. Horsfield, who competes on the LIV Golf League, own three victories on the DP World Tour, including the 2022 Soudal Classic in Belgium. Horsfield was chosen first-team All-American and SEC Freshman of the Year in 2016 while playing at the University of Florida.
►Haotong Li, 29, of the People’s Republic of China, has competed in three U.S. Opens, with his best finish a tie for 16th in 2018 at Shinnecock Hills. He advanced to his first Open in 2017 after qualifying in England. Li won this year’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, his fourth DP World Tour victory. In 2014, he recorded three PGA Tour China victories within a two-month stretch.
►Richard Mansell, 30, of England, qualified for his second U.S. Open last year. He was co-medalist at Walton Heath with a 36-hole score of 10-under-par 134 (65-69). He won his first DP World Tour event on March 23, a one-stroke victory over Keita Nakajima in the Porsche Singapore Classic. He played as a collegian in the U.S. at Division II Nova Southeastern.
►Adrian Meronk, 32, of Poland, is hoping to play in his fourth U.S. Open. Meronk moved to the LIV Golf League in 2024 and won the Riyadh event in Saudi Arabia earlier this year. He has registered four DP World Tour wins and one European Challenge Tour victory. Meronk, who played at East Tennessee State, represented his country in three World Amateur Team Championships.
►Edoardo Molinari, 44, of Italy, played in his fifth U.S. Open in 2024 at Pinehurst No. 2 after advancing from the England final qualifier. His younger brother, Francesco, is also in this qualifying field. Edoardo, whose best finish in the U.S. Open is a tie for 35th in 2021, won the 2005 U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club. He has registered three DP World Tour and five Challenge Tour victories.
►Francesco Molinari, 42, of Italy, has played in 14 U.S. Opens. His best result is a tie for 13th in 2021 at Torrey Pines’ South Course. He recorded the 53rd known hole-in-one (No. 9, 194 yards) in U.S. Open history to make the 36-hole cut last year at Pinehurst No. 2. Molinari became the first Italian to win a major when he carded a bogey-free 69 in the final round to capture the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie. He owns three PGA Tour victories and has won six DP World Tour events.
►Yannik Paul, 31, of Germany, aims to qualify for his second U.S. Open after playing in 2022 at The Country Club, in Brookline, Mass. He won the Mallorca Golf Open in that same year, his lone DP World Tour victory. His twin brother, Jeremy, is scheduled to play in the Canadian final qualifier on June 2. Jeremy is competing on the PGA Tour after winning his first Korn Ferry Tour event last year.
►Kazuki Higa, 30, of Japan, owns six Japan Golf Tour victories, including one major, the 2022 BMW JGT Championship Mori Building Cup. Except for the U.S. Open, he has played in the other three major championships. Higa has also recorded victories on the Japan Challenge Tour and Asian Developmental Tour.
►Ryo Ishikawa, 33, of Japan, has competed in eight U.S. Opens, with his best finish a tie for 30th in 2011 at Congressional Country Club. He owns 20 Japan Golf Tour victories, including last year’s Japan Players Championship. Ishikawa, who won on the Japanese tour at age 15 as an amateur, captured the 2019 Japan PGA and two Golf Nippon Series JT Cups (2015, 2019). He turned professional in 2008.
►Jazz Janewattananond, 29, of Thailand, played in the 2020 U.S. Open when the 144-player field was all-exempt due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He won the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2019 and has seven victories on that circuit. Janewattananond also was victorious on the Japan Golf Tour when he captured the 2019 SMBC Singapore Open.
►Satoshi Kodaira, 35, of Japan, has competed in three U.S. Opens, with his best finish a tie for 46th in 2017 at Erin Hills. He won the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage in 2018 with a birdie on the third playoff hole. Kodaira has won seven Japan Golf Tour events, including three majors. He represented his country in the 2010 World Amateur Team Championship and turned professional that same year.
►Jinichiro Kozuma, 30, of Japan, has been a member of the Japan Golf Tour since 2012 but is also a LIV Golf League member. He competed in the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club, in Brookline, Mass. He won for the third time on the Japan Golf Tour last year, when he defeated Yuwa Kosaihira in a playoff to claim the Sansan KBC Augusta.
►Ryutaro Nagano, 37, of Japan, tied for 20th in his lone U.S. Open start in 2023. He posted scores of 67 and 68 in the second and third rounds, respectively. He qualified with a 36-hole score of 133 in the Japan final qualifier at Ibaraki Golf Club. Nagano reached the final of the 2005 Japan Amateur as a high school sophomore. He was a torch bearer for the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
© 2023 United States Golf Association. All Rights Reserved.