“We’ve been out there with Roberto a few times. You want to know what all the holes are like,” he said. “It’s not going to be a surprise to me …
“Once you get through local you get a first, second and third choice. Memphis filled up and so they sent me to Atlanta. It worked out very well, because two days after the qualifier I’m in the Dogwood [Invitational at the Druid Hills Country Club in Atlanta]. I can go back to my apartment.”
The Memphis qualifier at the Ridgeway Country Club and Colonial Country Club will be stacked with active PGA Tour professionals because it precedes the PGA Tour’s FedEx St. Jude Classic in the same area, and every pro wants to play in the U.S. Open, which will be contested June 14-17 at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.
Two former Jackets have already qualified for the field. Matt Kuchar is in by virtue of having qualified for last season’s Tour Championship and because he was in top 60 of the World Golf Rankings as of May 21. Chesson Hadley made it by being ranked No. 60 on May 21 on the strength of six top-10 finishes this season.
Several other former Jackets will join Ogletree and Strafaci in trying to qualify.
Stewart Cink and Ollie Schniederjans are in the field this weekend with Kuchar and Hadley at The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, outside of Columbus.
They’ll both try at Monday’s qualifier at the Brookside Golf and Country Club in Columbus, while J.T. Griffin will play at Memphis following his weekend playing in the Rex Hospital Open on the Web.com Tour.
Much as Castro will join Ogletree at Settindown, Cameron Tringale will be at The Bear’s Club near Strafaci. Nicholas Thompson also will try his sticks at the Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.
Strafaci and Ogletree will be busy this summer no matter what happens in their qualifiers. They’ve been busy since the Jackets finished sixth in the Raleigh NCAA regional a few weeks ago to end the team’s season.
“I’ve been working out a lot in the weight room, getting my body back to where it was in the offseason,” said Strafaci. “I’ve been working on my wedges, pretty much distance control.”
Like his teammate, Ogletree has spent a lot of time back home.
“I’ve just tried to enjoy some time with family,” Ogletree said. “The courses [in Mississippi] are good. Obviously the Golf Club [of Georgia], East Lake and the [practice] range [in Atlanta] are good, but I felt like I needed to spend time with my family.”
The young Jackets are about to get busy with Strafaci’s older brother, Trent, 25, caddying for him all summer.
Just days after the U.S. Open qualifiers, Ogletree will join Tech several teammates at the Dogwood June 6-9.
A week later, he’ll play in the Monroe Invitational in Pittsford, N.Y. and then the Northeast Amateur June 19-23 outside of Providence, R.I., the Players Amateur outside of Hilton Head July 10-15, a U.S. Amateur qualifier in Macon, the Western Amateur July 30-Aug. 4 outside of Chicago, and perhaps the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, Calif., Aug. 13-19 before returning for fall semester.
Strafaci will play the Sunnehanna Amateur June 13-16 in Johnstown, Pa., the Northeast, the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst (N.C.) June 25-29, the Players, the Porter Cup July 18-21 at the Niagara Falls (N.Y.) Country Club, a U.S. Amateur qualifier and perhaps the U.S. Amateur.
They’ll both squeeze out a little more time with their families, too. Strafaci, for example, will join his clan later this summer at a lake house in Minnesota. Then, he’ll crank it up again for the Jackets.
“Right now I’m just trying to play as may good tournaments as I can,” Strafaci said. “I don’t think there’s really a high level amateur event that I’m not playing in [just] because I’m tired. I’m trying to play in as many good tournaments as I can.”
