U.S. Open Final Qualifying Takes Place June 8

ELMSFORD, N.Y. (June 5, 2026) – The MGA will conduct final qualifying for the 126th U.S. Open Championship on Monday, June 8. The field of 79 players will compete over 36 holes of play – one round at Century Country Club and one round at Golf Club of Purchase, both in Purchase, N.Y. – as they aim to advance to Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, June 18-21. The final number of qualifying positions available will be announced the morning of June 8.

The field includes 43 professionals, 33 amateurs, and three applicants for reinstatement, and includes a strong contingent of players with Met Area experience and success including MGA champions and MGA Player of the Year honorees.

Together, Century and Golf Club of Purchase are one of 10 sites that host final qualifying on Monday. Nine take place across the United States, plus one in Canada. Final qualifying has already taken place in England and Dallas, Texas on May 18 and in Japan on May 25. The number of qualifying spots for each qualifier is determined by the size and strength of the field.

Century and nearby Old Oaks Country Club traditionally host final qualifying on a three-year rotating basis with Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, N.J. This year, Golf Club of Purchase serves as Century’s co-host for the first time, stepping in as Old Oaks underwent renovations late last season after hosting the Met Amateur.

The two courses will present contrasting layouts, with Century being a classic parkland golf course designed by C.H. Alison and Harry Colt in 1926, while Purchase opened in 1996 and was designed by Jack Nicholas. The course carves through woodlands while also featuring wetlands, brooks, and stone outcroppings.

MGA Champions in the Field:
Daniel Balin – 2012 Met Open
Mike Ballo, Jr. – 2009, 2010 Ike
Christian Cavaliere* – 2016 Met Junior
Jack Chung – 2024 Met Junior, 2024 Carter Cup
Michael Graboyes – 2018 Ike
Brent Ito – 2014 Boys’
Dawson Jones – 2019 Ike, 2014 Met Junior
Michael Miller* – 2011 Met Amateur, 2010 Met Junior
Dylan Newman – 2023 Met Open
Cody Paladino – 2023 Farrell
David Pastore* – 2025 Met Open; 2014 Ike; 2014 Met Amateur; 2010 Carter Cup; 2009, 2006 Met Junior
Ben Polland – 2015 Met Open
Grant Sturgeon – 2014 Met Open
Andrew Svoboda* – 2021, 2018, 2003 Met Open; 2004 Met Amateur; 1997 Met Junior
Bradford Tilley* – 2022 Met Amateur, 2022 Farrell, 2019 MGA Mid-Amateur, 2003 Ike
* Denotes past MGA Player of the Year, with James Nicholas also having received the honor in 2017. Additonally, Jack Chung was MGA Junior Player of the Year in 2024.

Advancing through the Met Area
Several players in the field have advanced to the U.S. Open through the Met Area before, with Rob Oppenheim and Jim Renner advancing from Purchase in the past when it was Century and Old Oaks.
Christian Cavaliere (a) – 2023
Max Greyserman – 2024
Benjamin James – 2025 (a), 2024 (a)
Mike Miller – 2018, 2016
James Nicholas – 2025
Rob Oppenheim – 2019*, 2016, 2014*
Jim Renner – 2014*
Andrew Svoboda – 2024, 2023, 2006

Aiming to Return to Shinnecock
Advancing through final qualifying in 2018 sent two-time MGA Player of the Year Mike Miller to Shinnecock Hills for a home-area U.S. Open. Miller has won the Westchester Open each of the last two years and has logged three Korn Ferry Tour starts this season.

Making Another Major?
Old Westbury Golf and Country Club head professional Chris Gabriele and past Met Open champ Ben Polland – now director of golf at Shooting Star in Jackson, Wyo. – will aim to advance to their second professional major of the year after competing in the PGA Championship at Aronimink.

Notables:
Shane Bacon – Bacon, a golf broadcaster for CBS and the Korn Ferry Tour, advanced locally through Great River Golf Club. In 2023, Bacon qualified for the U.S. Amateur. In the same year, he logged a top-10 in the Ike at Brooklawn and won the team title with Brad Tilley, who is also in the field.
Jeronimo Esteve – A bout with cancer elevated Esteve’s love for the game and propelled him to winning the amateur championships of Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the Caribbean, plus multiple top-10 finishes in the Latin America Amateur Championship.
Benjamin James – James recently completed his collegiate career at University of Virginia, and finished atop the PGA TOUR University standings to earn his PGA TOUR card. He is now competing as a professional.
Michael McCoy – McCoy, 63, won the 2025 U.S. Senior Amateur and is the lone player to have won that championship and the U.S. Mid-Amateur (2013) in their career. He competed on the Walker Cup team in 2015, and was captain in 2023.
Sean Quinlivan – Quinlivan, who hails from Ireland, is the fourth head professional in Shinnecock Hills’ history, taking the post in January of 2022.
Kevin Roy – Roy has made 13 starts on the PGA TOUR this year, making 10 cuts with a season’s best tie for third at the Myrtle Beach Classic in early May. Roy attended Long Beach State where he was a standout alongside Xander Schauffele.
Clancy Waugh – Competed collegiately at Wake Forest and SMU. Has played professionally in recent years and finished 11th and T9th in the Met Open in the last two years. He’s the son of former PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh and son-in-law of current USGA President Kevin Hammer. He’s currently in the process of regaining his amateur status.

Coverage

Multiple scoring updates for the morning 18, followed by live, hole-by-hole scoring the final 18 holes in the afternoon.
Coverage on MGA social media – Facebook, Instagram, X: @mga1897
Additional web updates on mgagolf.org