Richy Werenski during sectional qualifying for the 2018 U.S. Open at The Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Fla. on Monday, June 4, 2018. (Copyright USGA/Scott A. Miller)
THE FLATS – Three former Yellow Jackets get through the “longest day in golf” to join Chesson Hadley and Matt Kuchar in the U.S. Open … Kuchar has another strong performance at the Memorial Tournament … This and more in this week’s edition of the Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.
Chesson Hadley and Matt Kuchar, already exempt by virtue of their place in the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking, will have a lot of Yellow Jacket company when they arrive in Southampton, N.Y., next week for the 118th U.S. Open Championship. Three more former Tech stars on the PGA Tour – Roberto Castro, Ollie Schniederjans and Richy Werenski – endured what is known as the “longest day in golf,” each making it through a 36-hole sectional qualifier Monday to help fill the last half of the field – 78 players – at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
Schniederjans and Werenski, both in their second full year on the PGA Tour, left nothing to chance. Schniederjans tied for 10th place among 120 golfers with a 6-under-par total of 138 to grab one of 14 spots available in Columbus, Ohio, while Werenski fired a 4-under-par 140 to finish second and take one of the three positions available in the 48-player field at The Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Fla. For Castro, the longest day lasted an extra hole, which he birdied to win a 2-for-1 playoff to grab the third and final position in the 43-player field in Roswell, Ga. Castro, playing on the Web.com Tour this year and in good position to earn back his PGA Tour card, tied for third after posting a 1-under-par 143 score at Ansley Golf Club-Settindown Creek.
The sixth Tech representative in the U.S. Open is junior-to-be Tyler Strafaci, who prevailed in a 6-for-1 playoff to secure the last spot at The Bear’s Club, which is just an hour away from his hometown of Davie, Fla. He becomes the first amateur from Tech to play in the U.S. Open since Bryce Molder in 2001, who remained an amateur following his senior year to play for the USA team in the Walker Cup. Molder was the low amateur and tied for 30th place at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla.
Other Tech pro golfers came up short in Monday’s qualifying. Stewart Cink missed qualifying by one stroke in Columbus, Ohio, Cameron Tringale missed the cut in Jupiter, Fla., J.T. Griffin, Troy Matteson and Vincent Whaley failed to quality in Memphis. Rising Tech junior Andy Ogletree missed by two shots in Roswell, Ga.
