ELMSFORD, N.Y. (May 28, 2014) -  A field of 80 professionals and amateurs are one step closer to Pinehurst as they get set to compete in the Sectional Qualifying Round for the 114^th U.S. Open Championship at Old Oaks and Century Country Clubs in Purchase, N.Y., on Monday, June 2. Emerging from the 36-hole qualifier, conducted by the Metropolitan Golf Association, will be four players* (plus two alternates) who will move on to the final field at Pinehurst in two weeks.  Coming to Old Oaks and Century is an incredibly accomplished field of 54 professionals and 26 amateurs representing top competitors from the local, national and international community.

Related: Pairings and Starting Times | Local Qualifying Coverage

Headlining the field is two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen, an eight-time PGA TOUR winner. Janzen, 49, first won the U.S. Open in 1993 when he defeated Payne Stewart at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., to tie the 72-hole U.S. Open scoring record of 8-under par (Rory McIlroy broke that record in 2011). Five years later, he won his second Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, when he came back from a five-stroke deficit to win. Only past champions of the U.S. Open in the last 10 years are exempt into the championship, so Janzen will have to advance through Sectional Qualifying for his chance at a third title.

Leading the 26 amateurs in the field is recently crowned NCAA Individual champion Cameron Wilson of Rowayton, Conn., a seven-time MGA championship winner and 2009 MGA Player of the Year. Wilson has had success at Sectional Qualifying in the past; in 2012 he earned a spot in the field for the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club, and Monday is paired with Lee Janzen.  He is set to graduate from Stanford in a few weeks. Reigning MGA Player of Year Max Buckley of Rye, N.Y., will play in his fourth U.S. Open Sectional. After finishing an incredible 2013 season, Buckley was a co-medalist at the Local Qualifier at Whippoorwill. Buckley, 24, fell short in a playoff for an alternate position last year. Four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur winner Nathan Smith of Pittsburgh, Pa., also a three-time Walker Cup member, is another player to watch. The 2013 U.S. Mid-Am winner Michael McCoy of West Des Moines, Iowa, joins Smith at Old Oaks and Century.   

The PGA TOUR will be well represented in the Sectional. Jim Herman of Palm City, Fla. will attempt to qualify at Old Oaks and Century for the second consecutive year. Last year he took the final qualifying position and went on to make the cut at Merion. The 36-year-old former assistant pro at Trump National – Bedminster has played in three of the last four U.S. Opens – 2013, 2012, and 2010.

Another player familiar to both MGA events as well as playing on the national professional level is Kevin Foley, formerly of Somerset, N.J. Foley won the 2008 MGA Ike Championship and turned professional after graduating from Penn State in 2010. After working his way up to the web.com Tour, he won the Panama Claro Championship and finished 24^th on the money list to earn his 2014 PGA TOUR Card.  Other web.com winners in the field are Jon Curran of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Jamie Lovemark, also of Scottsdale, who trains locally at The Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Conn.

Amateur Gavin Hall, 19, of Pittsford, N.Y., was one of the co-medalists at Old Oaks and Century in 2013 and is back after missing the cut at Merion.  Brandon Matthews, an amateur from DuPont, Pa., caused quite the stir at last year’s Sectional when he made a near-impossible chip-in from behind the 18^th green to save par, but he ended up filling the first alternate position. The 2013 U.S. Amateur Quarterfinalist will be back for another chance at qualifying. 

Other top names to watch as they try to earn their way to golf’s greatest stage include: Bob Ford, the Head Professional at Oakmont Country Club and Seminole Golf Club and, at 60, is the oldest player in the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying field; Chris DeForest of Purcellville, Va., a former Met Area standout who now plays on various professional tours; Steve Scott, the Head Professional at Paramount Country Club in New City, N.Y. who famously came close to defeating Tiger Woods in the 1996 U.S. Amateur final; and former Met Amateur, Open and Senior Open champion Bill Britton, the Director of Golf Instruction at Trump National-Colts Neck, a 15-year PGA TOUR veteran who has found continued success at the Senior level.

Local professionals in the field include 2012 Met Open winner Danny Balin, an assistant at Burning Tree Country Club; Fresh Meadow’s Head Professional Matt Dobyns, who won the 2012 PGA Professional National Championship; 2013 MGA Senior Open winner Craig Thomas who just tied for Low Club Pro Honors at the Senior PGA Championship; and 2000 Met Open winner Mike Gilmore, the Head Professional at Winged Foot. Past U.S. Open qualifiers Alexandre Rocha, former NJ Open winner Brian Gaffney, and Trevor Murphy are also in the field.

The MGA is hosting just one of ten Sectional Qualifying Rounds held around the country on Monday, marking June 2 as “golf’s longest day.”  Other Met Area players playing in Sectional Qualifying at other sites include J.J. Henry from Fairfield, Conn.; Andrew Svoboda, a New Rochelle native and former Met Open winner who carded a 2^nd place finish at the PGA TOUR’s Zurich Classic several weeks ago; and former Met Open, Amateur, and Ike champion Johnson Wagner, a three time winner on the PGA Tour who still works with Old Oaks professional Bobby Heins.  All are schedule to compete at Colonial Country Club in Memphis, TN.  Past MGA Boys Champion Sunny Kim and Chris Scialo of New City, N.Y. are at Quail Valley Golf Club in Florida. 2013 Met Amateur winner Pat Wilson, now professional, got in the field at the last minute in Columbus, Ohio. He was an alternate in Egg Harbor, N.J. at the Local Qualifying site.

The format is 36-holes of stroke play, with players playing one round at Old Oaks and one round at Century. 

Live 9 and 18-hole scoring will be provided in the morning round, followed by live hole-by-hole scoring for every player in the second round.  Complete coverage including scoring from other locations can be found on www.mgagolf.org and on our mobile app, My MGA.

 

*The number of qualifying positions may be subject to change.