The USGA has accepted 3,001 entries for the 42nd U.S. Senior Open Championship, to be played June 23-26, 2022 at Saucon Valley Country Club (Old Course) in Bethlehem, Pa.
Last year 35 amateurs competed at Omaha (Neb.) Country Club, with four -- William Mitchell, Todd White, Mark Strickland and Mike McCoy -- making the cut and playing all 72 holes. Mitchell was the low amateur with a T46 finish.
A total of 20 amateurs have advanced through qualifying and are headed to the championship proper. Highlights include:
May 31
At Council Fire Club in Chattanooga, Tenn., two amateurs claimed the two available qualifying spots and are headed to Saucon Valley.
David Noll (Dalton, Ga.) and
Davis Boland (Louisville, Ky.) carded 68 and 69, respectively. Noll rattled off four birdies in his final seven holes to earn medalist honors while Boland went 2 under on his back nine to avoid what would have been a sizable playoff at 71.
Tim Hogarth medaled for the second consecutive year, this time shooting 66 at Goose Creek Golf Club in Jurupa Valley, Calif. It will be the fifth U.S. Open since 2017 for Hogarth, who was the stroke play medalist at last year's U.S. Senior Amateur.
May 26
Robert Funk (Canyon Lake, Calif.) qualified for his fourth U.S. Senior Open in six years, shooting a 3-under 69 at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M., to share medalist honors. Funk has made it to the weekend of two U.S. Senior Opens and was the low amateur (and the only amateur to make the cut) in 2017.
May 25
Miles McConnell (Tampa, Fla.), who won the Golfweek Player-of-the-Year Classic earlier this year, was the medalist by two shots at TPC Treviso Bay in Naples, Florida. The 55-year-old McConnell shot a 3-under 69 to earn his first trip to the U.S. Senior Open.
May 24
Last fall,
Bryan Hoops (Tempe, Ariz.) was very close to turning professional and qualifying for the PGA Tour Champions. But he fell short in
final qualifying, remained an amateur, and has now qualified for his first U.S. Senior Open. Hoops shot a bogey-free 67 at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix to earn medalist honors by one shot.
May 23
Todd White (R) with pro Gustav Ulrich (Spartanburg, S.C.) is heading to the U.S. Senior Open for the second straight year after shooting 1-under 69 at the Quixote Club in Sumter, South Carolina. The 54-year-old made three birdies and two bogeys and narrowly avoided what would have been a 3-for-1 playoff. Last year at Omaha Country Club, White was one of four amateurs to make the cut at the championship, finishing T56 as the second-low amateur.
Four players shot 2-under 70 at Golden Ocala (Fla.) Golf & Equestrian Club, but with only two spots available, a 4-for-2 playoff was needed.
Jon Veneziano (Mount Dora, Fla.) was the first to emerge from the playoff and advance to his first U.S. Senior Open.
May 18
Matt Sughrue and Eddie Hargett Amateurs took both spots at River Landing Country Club’s River Course in Wallace, North Carolina. Jones Cup champion
Matt Sughrue (Arlington, Va.) shot a 5-under 67 to clear the field by two shots.
Eddie Hargett (Blythewood, S.C.) had to go overtime to take the other spot, making birdie on the first playoff hole to advance after a round of 3-under 69.
May 16
Joel B. Johnson (R) after playoff win (Hugo, Minn.) took the final qualifying spot at Dellwood (Minn.) Country Club, shooting 74 and then parring the third playoff hole to advance.
“This is great because you get to play with all the big guys—the guys you watch on TV all the time,” said Johnson, who qualified for his first USGA championship since the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur. “It’s going to be fun to get down there and see where your game is compared to those guys."
Ned Zachar (Bedford, N.Y.) is going to his first U.S. Senior Open since 2018 after making birdies on two of his last three holes to post a 2-under 68 at Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale, New York. "I had a very good feeling coming into the day about the golf course because I came out here on Wednesday to look around and I loved it," said Zachar.
How about this for a start --
Tony Soerries (Montgomery, Texas) birdied his first five holes at Golfcrest Country Club in Pearland, Texas. From there, he was able to play even-par golf and post a 67 that earned him medalist honors in a field that included several former PGA Tour pros including Australian Mark Hensby, who also qualified.
May 12
Jack Hall (R) with pro Andrew Johnson (Savannah, Ga.) shot a 5-under 67 to take one of two spots available at Wynlakes Golf & Country Club in Montgomery, Alabama. The 64-year-old Hall, who won the Gasparilla Senior earlier this spring, last made the championship in 2018.
May 11
Mike Karney (Crystal Lake, Ill.) shot a 2-under 69 to share medalist honors at Biltmore Country Club in North Barrington, Illinois.
May 10
At the age of 68,
Pat O'Donnell is off to his third U.S. Senior Open. The six-time Oregon Senior Amateur champion and soon-to-be Pacific Northwest Golf Hall-of-Famer shot a 1-over 72 at Waverly Golf Club in Portland, Ore., and survived a 3-for-2 playoff. The 2013 U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up (to Doug Hanzel), O'Donnell previously played in the U.S. Senior Open in 2012 and 2014.
At Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Ga.,
Jack Larkin Sr. posted a bogey-free, 5-under 67 to qualify on the number and advance to his first U.S. Senior Open since 2018.
May 2
William Ayres and Mark Sanchez (NCGA photo) Amateurs took both spots available at Sequoyah Country Club in Oakland, California.
William Ayres (San Jose, Calif.) and
Mark Sanchez (Kentfield, Calif.) both shot rounds of even-par 70 to share medalist honors.
What's Next
The first round of the 42nd U.S. Senior Open tees off on Thursday, June 23 at Saucon Valley Country Club (Old Course) in Bethlehem, Pa.