US Open Local Qualifier Scores

[TUGolfer06]

Local qualifying just wrapped up just a few minutes ago at the CC of Scranton. The weather was extremely cold and wet. Much different than the 90 degrees we had for the qualifier in 2017 when the greens were at a 13+. As it was, scores were extremely high as the course maintained its difficulty despite the greens not having their usual fire. Two straight qualifiers without a single player breaking par...

Those that made the cut. Three were local guys.

+1

+2

+3x2

+4x3

https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/1957046

[TUGolfer06]

> @tgard227 said:

> I've always wondered about how some people enter into the US Open local qualifier in good conscious. I was checking out the local qualifying scores at some sites around me and there were multiple scores of 90 or worse including one score of 100. I think I checked about 5 qualifiers out of curiosity after looking at my local one and the one in St. Louis. I understand that we all have bad rounds or that life happens but some of these scored are just ouch bad. I just don't understand why someone would want to subject themselves to that kind of misery. Has anyone played in a local qualifying event and been paired with someone that you know/strongly suspected was fudging some scores to artificially keep their handicap low?

 

How about the guys that flat out quit? Of the 78 entrants we had for our qualifier, 27 of them "WD'd" and another 3 were no shows. That's a 38% attrition rate. To go through the hassle of traveling to a certain course only to give up is just as bad, if not worse, than those guys that sign there card with a 100+ imo.

[Obee]

> @jll62 said:

> > @gioguy21 said:

> > > @jll62 said:

> > > A guy at my site shot 107 (+35) yesterday. As I like to say, "The USGA thanks you for your donation."

> >

> > what'd you shoot?

>

> 72 (E), missed by 3. Considering I only hit 8 greens, I was quite pleased to post what I did. LOL

 

Where'd you play???

[lowheel]

> @tgard227 said:

> I've always wondered about how some people enter into the US Open local qualifier in good conscious. I was checking out the local qualifying scores at some sites around me and there were multiple scores of 90 or worse including one score of 100. I think I checked about 5 qualifiers out of curiosity after looking at my local one and the one in St. Louis. I understand that we all have bad rounds or that life happens but some of these scored are just ouch bad. I just don't understand why someone would want to subject themselves to that kind of misery. Has anyone played in a local qualifying event and been paired with someone that you know/strongly suspected was fudging some scores to artificially keep their handicap low?

 

I’ve played in a bunch of them and it happens for a multitude of reasons. I was paired with a middle aged man one year in the Pennsylvania section and he walked up to me before teeing off and said sorry in advance I’m just scratching this off my bucket list. I wanted to see what it feels like. He proceeded to shoot 87. He never slowed us down and apologized a few times. He was nervous as heck and hippy on the greens and around them.He basically said he would never get to play the course we played on in tournament condition no less. I don’t question people’s motivations. Tournament golf and qualifiers are different animals and add 5-6-7 shots to people’s worse scores.

[lowheel]

> @jll62 said:

> > @gioguy21 said:

> > > @jll62 said:

> > > A guy at my site shot 107 (+35) yesterday. As I like to say, "The USGA thanks you for your donation."

> >

> > what'd you shoot?

>

> 72 (E), missed by 3. Considering I only hit 8 greens, I was quite pleased to post what I did. LOL

 

 

Congrats, that’s great scrambling!

[jamiefox1012]

i caddy'd in a qualifier last week. there were a few people who very obviously did not belong there(were talking triple digit scores). not sure how the usga handles it but they were well aware of the situation. course was a 74/140 par 71, 7150 yds. and the wind was whipping. the field was 75 players with the top 4 advancing. 2 guys broke par at -4 and -2, then another 2 players at even par 71. the other 71 players shot over par

[Ashley Schaeffer]

> @Obee said:

> > @MidwestGolfBum said:

> > > @bladehunter said:

> > > It’s hard to say. I’ve examined state am rounds and you constantly see 89-71 or 85-66 type things. I think I even saw a 98-74.

> > >

> > > Sure. Some hacks will enter. But. Sometimes it’s just a guy who implodes while on display. Can happen to anyone.

> > >

> > > I personally don’t get the big deal. Sure. I like to draft off a great player as much as anyone. But you’re deficient yourself if you blame your 77 on a guy shooting 85 plus. You do you and you’ll be fine. Those rounds aren’t fast paced anyway.

> >

> > I've been that person before. Shot 86-68 in a state mid-am. Sure, not a USGA event, but still tournament golf. It happens sometimes, you just move past it.

> >

> > You get some bad breaks that have scores go up quickly, you start pressing when you think you have to and those breaks compound, etc.

> >

> > I have seen plenty of guys who are legit +2 to 3ish caps blow up when it comes to a pace that is much slower than they are used to. It's really not a big deal, they are the ones who have to live with the score, not me.

>

> Pretty much every legitimate tournament player has shot a round in the mid-80's at one time or another. The 94's and 101's are entirely different, though, bud. LOL

 

Yes. Can we please extend it to “high-80s”, though? Lol.

 

[buckeyefl]

> @dalehead said:

> "Artificially keep their handicaps low"? You mean people actually do this?

 

Lots of people.

[Ashley Schaeffer]

> @buckeyefl said:

> > @dalehead said:

> > "Artificially keep their handicaps low"? You mean people actually do this?

>

> Lots of people.

The Ol' 7 Is a Scratch Routine:

--Breakfast ball on #4 becuase, "I didn't warm up".

--4.5-foot gimmies because, "I would've made it if took my time" AND/OR "pace of play".

--Free drop on lost balls because, "It was around here somewhere. Must've stayed in the tree".

--"I'm gonna move it off this tree root, guys [onto a tuft of grass with a clear line to the pin]".

--Can't post more than a double, so "I'm in my pocket, fellas".

 

A tale as old as time.

 

[ebrasmus21]

> @"Ashley Schaeffer" said:

> > @buckeyefl said:

> > > @dalehead said:

> > > "Artificially keep their handicaps low"? You mean people actually do this?

> >

> > Lots of people.

> The Ol' 7 Is a Scratch Routine:

> --Breakfast ball on #4 becuase, "I didn't warm up".

> --4.5-foot gimmies because, "I would've made it if took my time" AND/OR "pace of play".

> --Free drop on lost balls because, "It was around here somewhere. Must've stayed in the tree".

> --"I'm gonna move it off this tree root, guys [onto a tuft of grass with a clear line to the pin]".

> --Can't post more than a double, so "I'm in my pocket, fellas".

>

> A tale as old as time.

>

 

This was pretty funny. The last point though is well within the rules assuming one’s handicap qualifies.

[Ashley Schaeffer]

> @ebrasmus21 said:

> > @"Ashley Schaeffer" said:

> > > @buckeyefl said:

> > > > @dalehead said:

> > > > "Artificially keep their handicaps low"? You mean people actually do this?

> > >

> > > Lots of people.

> > The Ol' 7 Is a Scratch Routine:

> > --Breakfast ball on #4 becuase, "I didn't warm up".

> > --4.5-foot gimmies because, "I would've made it if took my time" AND/OR "pace of play".

> > --Free drop on lost balls because, "It was around here somewhere. Must've stayed in the tree".

> > --"I'm gonna move it off this tree root, guys [onto a tuft of grass with a clear line to the pin]".

> > --Can't post more than a double, so "I'm in my pocket, fellas".

> >

> > A tale as old as time.

> >

>

> This was pretty funny. The last point though is well within the rules assuming one’s handicap qualifies.

 

Totally. I guess I was talking about the things that don’t help a 7/scratch in an actual tournament.

 

 

[Hawkeye77]

I see these threads every year and enjoy the stories.

 

Having said that I obviously don’t pay enough attention. So it seems clear guys flat out lie about and can somehow verify these low handicaps. But are they not checked out when the USGA gets the applications? Are they just posting completely fake rounds to establish?

 

Wish I were good enough to play, and just for fun, but I can’t conceive of teeing it up in a tourney and knowing that within a hole or less guys would know I really don’t belong.

[Need4spd]

I can speak from experience here. I put up a 90 during US Am qualifying a couple years ago. Shot a 74 in my very next round, albeit on my home course. More important to me, I also shot 75 on that same course (Moon Valley CC where Annika shot her 59) a year later during Mid Am qualifying. I was four strokes out of a playoff that day, finished T-28, and while that’s no landmark achievement I won’t deny the fact that I went there looking for some kind of retribution. Shooting 90 while playing with a top high school amateur in Arizona and a kid who plays for Ohio State was absolutely humiliating. On the 11th tee box I told my buddy who was on my bag that I just wanted to stay out of their way. To their credit, they were both very professional and very courteous. Oh, and the high school kid I mentioned, I whooped him in US Am qualifying last year!

 

So why did I implode? I’ve looked back on that round a thousand times since then and it’s really hard for me to wrap my head around. The whole thing just kind of snowballed. I missed a 10 footer on the first and made bogey. Knocked it to a foot on the par-3 second hole for a birdie. No big deal, right? Hit a horrendous tee shot on the third, bladed a lob wedge over the green from the dirt and made a bogey. From there I’d say it was all downhill. The 9th hole was my lowest point, I won’t even go into it because you would have had to be there.

 

At the end of the day I think the root cause was the self imposed pressure. I’m in my 30’s so this tournament was not going to define me in any way. I had (and still do) a day job waiting for me the following day. However, it was the first qualifier I had played in since 2012 and I was definitely nervous. Two other things which didn’t help matters, I was dealing with moderate neck pain off and on that summer due to what I believe were the C-Tapers I was playing at the time. My neck was killing me that morning. The second thing, my buddy was the worst caddy you could effing imagine. And yes, of course I’ve told him that! I had to call him over to the bunker from across the green to rake the damn thing on the first hole while I putted for par. He continued doing stuff that annoyed me throughout the day (didn’t clean clubs which I’m neurotic about it regardless of the circumstances, clubs in wrong places in my bag, etcetera), and in return, I guess you could say I embarrassed the heck out of him by shooting a friggin 90. LMAO

 

Point is, it just happens. It’s really hard to explain. More than anything else I think it’s the pressure, self imposed or not, that gets to people, and it makes them do really weird stuff. I questioned whether or not I should, but I played in both the US Am qualifier and Mid Am qualifier last year as I mentioned and played very respectably in both. In spite of it all, I still don’t think there is anything quite like tournament golf.

 

[Golfer4Life]

> @jll62 said:

> A guy at my site shot 107 (+35) yesterday. As I like to say, "The USGA thanks you for your donation."

 

Out of curiosity, and lack of USGA protocol knowledge, but how a guy who shoots a 107 gets in a USGA qualifier? Thanks!

 

[Need4spd]

> @Golfer4Life said:

> > @jll62 said:

> > A guy at my site shot 107 (+35) yesterday. As I like to say, "The USGA thanks you for your donation."

>

> Out of curiosity, and lack of USGA protocol knowledge, but how a guy who shoots a 107 gets in a USGA qualifier? Thanks!

>

 

All you have to do is have a bonafide USGA handicap of a certain index depending on the championship. It’s pretty simple.

[mjen43]

US Open local qualifying is pretty casual. Really not a big deal for hacks to show up and test their luck, as that’s kind of the expectation and everyone knows what they’re signing up for. Each local site may only have 1 or 2 guys with a >0% shot of qualifying for the Open, _at best._ Virtually everyone there is just hoping it’s their lucky day, and would be thrilled with just getting through to sectionals so the mentalities of the local college kids or struggling mini tour “pros” and the vanity 15 cappers aren’t really that much different.

 

Obviously, sectionals is a different story, but nobody who can’t play is getting there anyways.

[tgard227]

> @mjen43 said:

> US Open local qualifying is pretty casual. Really not a big deal for hacks to show up and test their luck, as that’s kind of the expectation and everyone knows what they’re signing up for. Each local site may only have 1 or 2 guys with a >0% shot of qualifying for the Open, _at best._ Virtually everyone there is just hoping it’s their lucky day, and would be thrilled with just getting through to sectionals so the mentalities of the local college kids or struggling mini tour “pros” and the vanity 15 cappers aren’t much different.

>

> Obviously, sectionals is a different story, but nobody who can’t play is getting there anyways.

 

Man, there is a huge difference between the mentalities of struggling mini tour pros and 15 handicap golfers in these qualifiers. The difference is one is under the 1.4 handicap requirement and the other, obviously, isn't. I've never been paired with a guy who literally is a 15 in one of these events(as opposed to a guy who is clearly just struggling) but I would be embarrassed for him if he were in my group.

[3whacker]

Tony Romo shot 74....missed it by about 8 shots

[grm24]

Fox golf announcer Shane Bacon shot a 68 and qualified for the US Open sectionals. He is a +2.5 index. Former mini tour player. He was originally going to have Max Homa caddie for him. That changed after Homa won the Wells Fargo. Bacon carried his own bag. He is trying to get his amateur status back. Well done.

 

https://www.golf.com/news/2019/05/14/shane-bacon-qualifies-us-open-sectional/

 

[mjen43]

> @Hawkeye77 said:

> I see these threads every year and enjoy the stories.

>

> Having said that I obviously don’t pay enough attention. So it seems clear guys flat out lie about and can somehow verify these low handicaps. But are they not checked out when the USGA gets the applications? Are they just posting completely fake rounds to establish?

>

> Wish I were good enough to play, and just for fun, but I can’t conceive of teeing it up in a tourney and knowing that within a hole or less guys would know I really don’t belong.

 

If you really want to play in one you should do it. Virtually every single person at a local US Open qualifier doesn’t belong, that’s why it’s fun. The odds of you making the US Open versus the local high school or college kid, or mini tour “pro” who should really get a job is virtually the same (~0%), and everybody there knows that, so you might as well do it if you want to.

 

If you are a man of honor though and couldn’t possibly imagine fudging a handicap to get in (which is what half the field does), that’s respectable, too, though.

[grm24]

> @Need4spd said:

> > @Golfer4Life said:

> > > @jll62 said:

> > > A guy at my site shot 107 (+35) yesterday. As I like to say, "The USGA thanks you for your donation."

> >

> > Out of curiosity, and lack of USGA protocol knowledge, but how a guy who shoots a 107 gets in a USGA qualifier? Thanks!

> >

>

> All you have to do is have a bonafide USGA handicap of a certain index depending on the championship. It’s pretty simple.

 

Or on the entry form simply declare yourself as a professional and the index requirement is irrelevant.

[lowheel]

> @Hawkeye77 said:

> I see these threads every year and enjoy the stories.

>

> Having said that I obviously don’t pay enough attention. So it seems clear guys flat out lie about and can somehow verify these low handicaps. But are they not checked out when the USGA gets the applications? Are they just posting completely fake rounds to establish?

>

> Wish I were good enough to play, and just for fun, but I can’t conceive of teeing it up in a tourney and knowing that within a hole or less guys would know I really don’t belong.

 

If youre doing it for the experience and to see how your game responds to pressure its fine.you just need to keep up and not slow the other players down. Some guys never play fast greens and out of tougher rough so it can blow up quick. Alot of my students `lie`about their handicaps in a sense by not putting 3-4-5 footers during their rounds a few times. it adds up. 78s/79s become 74s and 73s quick. It simply doesnt hold up to scrutiny when it matters. its weird to watch honestly

[grm24]

> @lowheel said:

> > @tgard227 said:

> > I've always wondered about how some people enter into the US Open local qualifier in good conscious. I was checking out the local qualifying scores at some sites around me and there were multiple scores of 90 or worse including one score of 100. I think I checked about 5 qualifiers out of curiosity after looking at my local one and the one in St. Louis. I understand that we all have bad rounds or that life happens but some of these scored are just ouch bad. I just don't understand why someone would want to subject themselves to that kind of misery. Has anyone played in a local qualifying event and been paired with someone that you know/strongly suspected was fudging some scores to artificially keep their handicap low?

>

> I’ve played in a bunch of them and it happens for a multitude of reasons. **I was paired with a middle aged man one year in the Pennsylvania section** and he walked up to me before teeing off and said sorry in advance I’m just scratching this off my bucket list. I wanted to see what it feels like. He proceeded to shoot 87. He never slowed us down and apologized a few times. He was nervous as heck and hippy on the greens and around them.He basically said he would never get to play the course we played on in tournament condition no less. I don’t question people’s motivations. Tournament golf and qualifiers are different animals and add 5-6-7 shots to people’s worse scores.

 

Low..... What PA PGA Section did that take place? Tri-State, Mid Atlantic or Philly? I live in the Tri-State PGA Section (suburban Pittsburgh).

[mjen43]

> @tgard227 said:

> > @mjen43 said:

> > US Open local qualifying is pretty casual. Really not a big deal for hacks to show up and test their luck, as that’s kind of the expectation and everyone knows what they’re signing up for. Each local site may only have 1 or 2 guys with a >0% shot of qualifying for the Open, _at best._ Virtually everyone there is just hoping it’s their lucky day, and would be thrilled with just getting through to sectionals so the mentalities of the local college kids or struggling mini tour “pros” and the vanity 15 cappers aren’t much different.

> >

> > Obviously, sectionals is a different story, but nobody who can’t play is getting there anyways.

>

> Man, there is a huge difference between the mentalities of struggling mini tour pros and 15 handicap golfers in these qualifiers. The difference is one is under the 1.4 handicap requirement and the other, obviously, isn't. I've never been paired with a guy who literally is a 15 in one of these events(as opposed to a guy who is clearly just struggling) but I would be embarrassed for him if he were in my group.

 

Obviously there are differences in mentalities, as the “pros” at these events have played tournament golf since they were kids and the vanity caps giving it a go have their stress levels through the roof and don’t know how to deal with it, but even the “pros” are still hoping it’s their lucky day, just like the hacks.

 

I wouldn’t really want to subject myself to the 5+ hour death march these guys put themselves through, but I understand why they do it. It really just comes down to It being a bucket list/dreamer type of thing to do. Everyone there knows and expects it, so it really isn’t that big of a deal.

[BearQ]

I both understand where op is coming from but also the doom/struggle of those poor guys.

 

I’ve played with clubs pros and caddied for them for 69-89 rounds and vice versa. Just an absolutely crazy game

 

A lot of these pathetic rounds are by decent players on the wrong day. It happens.

[OldTomMorris]

> @3whacker said:

> Tony Romo shot 74....missed it by about 8 shots

 

"Brodie Smith, a frisbee trick-shot artist turned amateur golfer, carded a 72." - golfchannel.com

[buckeyefl]

> @"Ashley Schaeffer" said:

> > @buckeyefl said:

> > > @dalehead said:

> > > "Artificially keep their handicaps low"? You mean people actually do this?

> >

> > Lots of people.

> The Ol' 7 Is a Scratch Routine:

> --Breakfast ball on #4 becuase, "I didn't warm up".

> --4.5-foot gimmies because, "I would've made it if took my time" AND/OR "pace of play".

> --Free drop on lost balls because, "It was around here somewhere. Must've stayed in the tree".

> --"I'm gonna move it off this tree root, guys [onto a tuft of grass with a clear line to the pin]".

> --Can't post more than a double, so "I'm in my pocket, fellas".

>

> A tale as old as time.

>

 

Indeed. Ive told a lot of people who were boasting about their handicaps or comparing our scores when Im following the rules while they are doing the above, "Lets go out and play by the rules and test that handicap." They never play by the rules and dont realize how quickly those strokes add up.

[Hawkeye77]

> @grm24 said:

> > @Need4spd said:

> > > @Golfer4Life said:

> > > > @jll62 said:

> > > > A guy at my site shot 107 (+35) yesterday. As I like to say, "The USGA thanks you for your donation."

> > >

> > > Out of curiosity, and lack of USGA protocol knowledge, but how a guy who shoots a 107 gets in a USGA qualifier? Thanks!

> > >

> >

> > All you have to do is have a bonafide USGA handicap of a certain index depending on the championship. It’s pretty simple.

>

> Or on the entry form simply declare yourself as a professional and the index requirement is irrelevant.

 

Of course! Sorry, wasn't thinking on the declaration.

 

 

[Hawkeye77]

> @mjen43 said:

> > @Hawkeye77 said:

> > I see these threads every year and enjoy the stories.

> >

> > Having said that I obviously don’t pay enough attention. So it seems clear guys flat out lie about and can somehow verify these low handicaps. But are they not checked out when the USGA gets the applications? Are they just posting completely fake rounds to establish?

> >

> > Wish I were good enough to play, and just for fun, but I can’t conceive of teeing it up in a tourney and knowing that within a hole or less guys would know I really don’t belong.

>

> If you really want to play in one you should do it. Virtually every single person at a local US Open qualifier doesn’t belong, that’s why it’s fun. The odds of you making the US Open versus the local high school or college kid, or mini tour “pro” who should really get a job is virtually the same (~0%), and everybody there knows that, so you might as well do it if you want to.

>

> If you are a man of honor though and couldn’t possibly imagine fudging a handicap to get in (which is what half the field does), that’s respectable, too, though.

 

I'd only do it if I legitimately met the handicap requirement. Maybe the USGA will create a Senior 6-10 cap, lol.

[jll62]

> @Need4spd said:

> > @Golfer4Life said:

> > > @jll62 said:

> > > A guy at my site shot 107 (+35) yesterday. As I like to say, "The USGA thanks you for your donation."

> >

> > Out of curiosity, and lack of USGA protocol knowledge, but how a guy who shoots a 107 gets in a USGA qualifier? Thanks!

> >

>

> All you have to do is have a bonafide USGA handicap of a certain index depending on the championship. It’s pretty simple.

 

Exactly. Normally when you look at the scores posted for these type of players on GHIN, you see a lot of recent entries to get that handicap low enough. I saw one guy here in MN who posted 15 rounds in April and then he was +27 before he WD at a different site.

 

Most of the guys in these things can play. I think 3/4 of the field at my qualifier shot 75 or better (73.4/141 course rating), but there are always outliers who just want to try it one time to say they did. I don't have a problem with it, I just hope I never get paired with one because I don't want to be thinking about pace of play issues.