Miles Russell was among two 17-year-olds who earned a spot in the U.S. Open on Monday. Still to be determined was whether Russell brings his caddie from the 36-hole qualifier — the son of three-time champion Tiger Woods — to Shinnecock Hills next week.
Russell, the No. 10 amateur in the world, survived a bogey on the first playoff hole and grabbed the fourth and final spot from the Florida qualifier. Charlie Woods is one of his close friends who has
the same commercial agent and is following Russell to Florida State.
“It kept it so light,” Russell said. “It's the first time I've had a buddy on the bag. I really like it, not talking much golf, just having a good time.”
Russell smiled when asked if he would have Woods at Shinnecock Hills, saying only, “We'll see what he's doing. To be determined.”
The medalist from the Florida qualifier was Giuseppe Puebla, who ranks second behind Russell in the American Junior Golf Association ranking.
They were among 715 players at 10 sites from coast-to-coast and into Canada, all of them vying for 43 spots available for the 126th U.S. Open.
Previous qualifiers were held in England, Japan and Dallas.
Vaughn Harber, who just finished his sophomore year at Ohio State, played his final five holes at The Lakes in 5-under par — including an eagle — and then advanced in the 4-for-3 playoff in one of the two Ohio qualifiers. Jackson Van Paris birdied his last two holes to qualify without extra holes.
That qualifier also produced the first player from Iceland to play in the U.S. Open, Arni Sveinsson, who plays for LSU.
In the other Ohio qualifier, Billy Horschel found a happy note in an otherwise tough season when he was among five who made it through. Tony Finau missed out by two shots and will not be at the U.S. Open for the first time since 2017.
Here's how the other qualifiers looked (a-amateur):
QUALIFIERS: Neal Shipley, Zac Blair, Dylan Wu, Billy Horschel, Nick Hardy.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Brandt Snedeker, Tony Finau, Cam Davis.
DIVOTS: Shipley, who finished his college career at nearby Ohio State, has missed the cut in nine of his 12 starts in his rookie year on the PGA Tour. ... Snedeker was the first alternate.
QUALIFIERS: a-Giuseppe Puebla, Ben Silverman, a-Ryder Cowan, a-Miles Russell.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Matt Kuchar, Matthieu Pavon, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Luke Clanton, Luke Poulter.
NOTEWORTHY: Three of the four qualifiers are amateurs. ... Kuchar hasn't played in any major since the 2024 U.S. Open.
QUALIFIERS: Emiliano Grillo, Alejandro Tosti, Marcelo Rozo, William Mouw, John Parry, Max McGreevy.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Max Homa, Matt Wallace, Garrick Higgo, Seamus Power.
NOTEWORTHY: The final three spots were determined by an eight-man playoff. ... Homa missed out in a playoff for the second straight year in U.S. Open qualifying.
QUALIFIERS: Jackson Suber, Ben Kohles, a-Logan Reilly, Jake Sollon.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Blades Brown, Michael Thorbjornsen, Karl Vilips.
NOTEWORTHY: Sollon earned the final spot in a playoff over Bryan Lee. He was scheduled to leave for Bogota, Colombia, for a PGA Tour Americas event. ... Kohles was coming off a victory Sunday on the Korn Ferry Tour.
QUALIFIERS: Davis Thompson, J.B. Holmes, a-Vaughn Harber, a-Arni Sveinsson.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Lucas Glover, Jhonattan Vegas, Bud Cauley, Austin Eckroat, Denny McCarthy, Erik van Rooyen.
NOTEWORTHY: Sam Udovich bogeyed his last two holes and was the odd man out in a 4-for-3 playoff. He will be the first alternate. ... What used to be the main qualifier for PGA Tour players only had a 51-man field.
QUALIFIERS: a-Jackson Ormond, Carl Yuan, Jackson Van Paris, Brandon Wu, Cole Hammer.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Aaron Wise, Ryo Ishikawa, Bill Haas, Troy Merritt.
NOTEWORTHY: Ormond, an 18-year-old who will play at Florida next year, birdied five of his last seven holes for a 63 to go from outside the number to be the medalist. ... Haas, the son of Jay Haas, had his son caddying for him.
QUALIFIERS: Kevin Roy, Max Greyserman, Ben James, James Nicholas.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Matt Jones.
NOTEWORTHY: James makes his pro debut this week in the Canadian Open. He finished atop the PGA Tour University ranking. ... Roy makes his U.S. Open debut in his native New York.
QUALIFIERS: Chris Kirk, Jake Peacock, Keith Mitchell, Robbie Higgins, a-Chase Keys.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Jason Dufner, Patton Kizzire.
NOTEWORTHY: Keys birdied the last hole in near darkness to avoid a 3-for-1 playoff for the final spot. ... Potgieter can still get in the U.S. Open if he wins the Canadian Open this week, which would give him two PGA Tour victories since the last U.S. Open.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
