The USGA, organizer of the US Open, the third Grand Slam to be played next week in Boston, held the last 11 qualifying tournaments in the United States and Canada on Monday. And two of the notable golfers who won’t play it because they didn’t get the exemption at those, in Florida and Ohio, will be Rickie Fowler and Rafa Cabrera.
Rickie Fowler and Rafa Cabrera
Fowler played 36 holes in Jupiter (Florida) and was left without a place by a stroke. Seventy players competed in this preview for four places. Ryan Gerard, Scotsman Sean Jacklin, Keith Greene and Brazilian fan Fred Biondi booked places for The Country Club.
Fowler was tied for fifth at 2 under (73 and 67 for 140). It is the second consecutive year that Fowler will not play the US Open. The longtime fan favourite, now No. 145 in the world, is yet to achieve a major and last won on the PGA Tour in February 2019.
Others who did not qualify in Florida included PGA Tour players Matthias Schwab, Matthew Wolff and Kevin Tway. Qualifying in Columbus, Ohio, which featured the highest proportion of players on the PGA Tour and the highest number of slots (13) up for grabs, was delayed more than once due to lightning.
And in it the canary Rafa Cabrera competed, who also did not get a place for Boston. Rafa signed rounds of 69 and 75 shots, for 144. It is the first US Open that Maspalomas has missed since 2016. The US Open was precisely the first Grand Slam he played in his career, in 2010 at Pebble Beach.
In this Columbus preview, Lanto Griffin and Chan Kim tied for first place. Among those classified are also Davis Riley, Danny Lee, Denny McCarthy, Joel Dahmen or Andrew Putnam. But in nearby Springfield, Ohio, eight players got their waivers, including PGA Tour players Brian Stuard, Beau Hossler, Troy Merritt and Bo Hoag, plus amateurs Maxwell Moldovan and Belgium’s Adrien Dumont de Chassart.
Retired NFL quarterback Danny Woodhead, attempting to qualify as an amateur, missed the cut after hitting 10 over par, 14 shots off his head.
