Storylines for Week 2 of U.S. Open Local Qualifying

This is the second part in a weekly series on the path to the 126th U.S. Open Championship, which will be contested June 18-21, at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, in Southampton, N.Y. The two-stage process begins with 18-hole local qualifying, held at 109 sites in 43 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico. 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 18 and June 8.

► Eight amateur golfers show that an athlete’s competitive drive doesn’t disappear after a professional career, it just shifts to a new game.

Tony Romo, 46, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current lead NFL analyst for CBS, will tee it up in the Waco, Texas, local qualifier at Ridgewood Country Club on April 27. Romo qualified for the 2023 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Kiawah Island Club with partner and future Walker Cupper Tommy Morrison. Romo’s father, Ramiro, competed in the 2015 U.S. Senior Amateur.

New York Rangers captain J.T. Miller, 33, is scheduled to play in the May 4 qualifier at Chester Valley Golf Club, in Malvern, Pa.

Danny Woodhead, 41 of Elkhorn, Neb., played 10 seasons in the NFL and advanced from U.S. Open local qualifying in 2022. Woodhead will attempt to qualify at his home club, Omaha (Neb.) Country Club, on May 6. He competed in the 2021 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.

Drew Olson, 43, of San Francisco, Calif., played for three NFL teams as an undrafted free agent out of UCLA and had a brief stay in NFL Europe. The former All-Pac-10 performer passed for more than 8,500 yards and 67 touchdowns for the Bruins. His local qualifier is slated for May 4 at Stonebrae Country Club, in Hayward, Calif.

Aaron Hicks, 36, of Scottsdale, Ariz., played for four MLB teams, including seven seasons as a Yankee outfielder. Hicks, who will attempt to qualify at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix, Ariz., on May 11, is married to Cheyenne Woods, a competitor in five U.S. Women’s Opens and the niece of nine-time USGA champion Tiger Woods.

Tyler Clippard, 41, of Tampa, Fla., was a two-time MLB All-Star who pitched for 11 teams, including two stints with the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals, before he retired in 2023.Clippard, competing in local qualifying for a third consecutive year, will play at Avila Country Club in his hometown on May 4.

Mardy Fish, 44, is playing in the May 7 qualifier at Rancho La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, Calif. The former tennis star is a two-time winner of the American Century Championship and played in the 2022 3M Open on a sponsor exemption.

Shigetoshi Hasegawa, 57, played nine years in the MLB with the Seattle Mariners and Anaheim Angels. The former pitcher will compete in local qualifying on May 4 at Brentwood Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif.

► Siblings of PGA Tour pros will be teeing it up in local qualifiers starting in week 2.

Reed and Dean Greyserman are the younger brothers of PGA Tour professional Max Greyserman. Reed, 20, a sophomore at Princeton University, is scheduled to play in the local qualifier at Fairmont Country Club, in Chatham, N.J., on April 27. Dean, 22, a senior at Stanford University, is playing at Ruby Hill Golf Club in Pleasanton, Calif., on May 5.

Nick and Jack Cantlay, of Los Alamitos, Calif., are the younger siblings of Patrick Cantlay, who has finished inside the top 15 in four of the last five U.S. Opens, including a tie for third in 2024. Nick, 30, is scheduled to play at Andalusia Country Club. In La Quinta, Calif., on May 5. Jack, 22, is a senior on the Long Beach State University team, and will play in the Mission Viejo, Calif., qualifier on May 12.

Ryan McCarthy, 36, is the older brother of Denny McCarthy, who tied for seventh in the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club, in Brookline, Mass. Ryan is scheduled to play in the Ijamsville, Md., qualifier at The Club at P.B. Dye on May 11.

Gipper Finau, 35, is the younger brother of six-time PGA Tour winner Tony Finau. Gipper will travel to Mesquite, Nev., on May 13 for the local qualifier at Casablanca Golf Club.

► Maxwell Moldovan, 24, advanced to the U.S. Open on four consecutive occasions from the Springfield, Ohio, final qualifying site. The former Ohio State standout will start his 2026 trek on April 28 at Findlay (Ohio) Country Club. Fellow Buckeye Will Grimmer, 29, made it through both qualifying stages in 2018 before finishing 66th the last time the U.S. Open was at Shinnecock Hills. Grimmer will compete in the Liberty Township, Ohio qualifier on April 27 at Four Bridges Country Club.

James Piot, 2021 U.S. Amateur champion, and Austin Greaser, the runner-up in that championship, are both competing in the Findlay, Ohio local qualifier. Both played in the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club.

Jim Herman, 48, has qualified for six U.S. Opens and is a three-time PGA Tour winner. Andy Pope, 42, has competed in five U.S. Opens, all via both stages of qualifying. Herman, a former University of Cincinnati golfer, and Pope, a Xavier University alum, are teeing it up at the Medford, N.J. qualifier on April 27 at Medford Village Country Club.

► Southampton Golf Club, adjacent to Shinnecock Hills, is hosting a qualifier on April 28. It is one of two local sites in Week 2 that have competitors with USGA Executive Committee ties. Clancy Waugh, 31, is the son-in-law of USGA President Kevin Hammer and the son of former PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh.

Taylor Kuehn, 21, is the son of first-year USGA Executive Committee member Brenda Corrie Kuehn, who is a two-time USGA runner-up (2023 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur and the 1995 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur) and past USA Curtis Cup competitor. Taylor’s sister, Epson Tour member Rachel Kuehn, followed her mother’s footsteps by starring at Wake Forest and representing the USA on three Curtis Cup Teams. Taylor is a junior at Bucknell and is scheduled to play in the Country Club of York (Pa.) qualifier on April 30.

► Matt Vogt, a 35-year-old dentist from Indianapolis, qualified for last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont by advancing through both stages. A former Oakmont caddie, Vogt advanced from the Columbus, Ind., local qualifier before shooting 68-68 in final qualifying held at Wine Valley G.C. in Walla Walla, Wash. In 2026, Vogt will stay local again to play in the Carmel, Ind., qualifier at Crooked Stick Golf Club on April 28. Vogt and his caddie from Oakmont, Kevin O’Brien, are playing in the 11th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball in May at Desert Mountain Club. O’Brien failed to advance from his local qualifier on April 21.

Will Redmond is a senior manager of championship communications at the USGA. Email him at wredmond@usga.org.