Meet the Qualifiers

‍Blast From the Past 

‍Ryo Ishikawa- his career might be one of the most underappreciated careers in golf. His lack of success in the few years on the PGA Tour makes it easy to forget his incredible accomplishments. He won his first Japan Tour event at age 15, became the youngest player to reach the top 100 and top 50 in OWGR, and won NINE times as a teenager. All of this was done with the weight of a golf-crazed nation following his every step. He is still just 32-years-old and has 18(!!) career Japan Tour wins. This will be his second U.S. Open in a row; he made the cut and finished 63rd last year at LACC. 

‍Matteo Manassero- The 31-year-old Italian has come back from the depths of pro golf. In 2010, Manassero became the youngest winner in Euro Tour history and soon after was as high as 25th in OWGR. Two years later, he made just six of 22 cuts on the European Tour and soon was out of pro golf. He slowly started to come back and in 2020, won twice on the Alps Tour, a European mini-tour. Last year, he won twice on the Challenge Tour and then in March, won for the first time in nearly 12 years on the European Tour. 

‍Robert Rock- The two-time European Tour winner (and undisputed winner of "Best Lettuce" in the world) stopped playing full-time in 2022. This was the last year he was exempt into final qualifying, so he gave it one more shot and got through. It will be his first U.S. Open. It comes nearly 12 years after his last win in Abu Dhabi, where he beat a young fella named Rory McIlroy by one. 

‍AM-bitious 

‍Neal Shipley- The 2023 U.S. Am runner-up has his Master's degree from Ohio State and earned his Americas Tour card through Q-school earlier this month. In his final event as an amateur, he will take on Pinehurst No 2. Shipley made the cut at the Masters earlier this year and led OSU in scoring average with a 71.35. 

‍Colin Prater- The 29-year-old science teacher and golf coach is one of the best stories at the U.S. Open. He was a D2 four-time all-American but decided teaching was the best route forward. Prater also coaches the golf teams at his high school and still finds time to dominate Colorado Amateur golf. Prater has one child and has won the Colorado Amateur twice, the Colorado match play once, and made the cut at the Colorado Open. He also qualified for the U.S. Amateur this year, making it to match play before losing. 

‍Braden Valdes- Valdes had the best season scoring average in the history of Auburn University. He helped the Tigers to an NCAA title and was named an All-American. He is currently ranked 23rd in the World Amateur Rankings (WAR). 

‍Wells Williams- How good was the Vanderbilt lineup? It's so good that Williams, currently ranked 42nd in WAR, wasn't a consistent part of the starting five. Williams played just five events, averaging 71.59. 

Ashton McCulloch- Go Green! The fellow Sparty won the Canadian Amateur in 2023 and played well towards the end of this year's college season. In his last six events, the native of Ontario, Canada finished in the top 7 in five of them. Currently ranked 232nd in WAR. 

‍Omar Morales- The UCLA Bruin will play in his second U.S. Open. The native of Mexico finished runner-up in the Latin Amateur and is currently ranked 29th in WAR. 

‍Ben James- The Virginia Cavalier just finished his sophomore year and was named an All-American for the second time. His 70.31 scoring average was the best in school history, and James is currently ranked 5th in WAR. 

‍Bryan Kim- The 19-year-old Freshman at Duke is in the field based on his 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur win last year. At the time, he was ranked as the third best junior in the country. His first year in Chapel Hill was solid yet unspectacular. He is currently 211th in WAR. 

‍Parker Bell: The Florida Gator got up and down from nearly 100 yards on the 36th hole of qualifying to get into a playoff, which he won. He averaged 72.1 this season for Florida and is currently ranked 141st in WAR.

‍Jackson Buchanan- The University of Illinois continues to produce top talent. Buchanan, ranked 30th in WAR, had two wins this season and was named Big Ten Player of the Year. 

‍Gunnar Broin: The native of Minnesota is why qualifying is the best. Broin doesn't have a win at the University of Kansas and is currently ranked 477th in WAR, but that didn't prevent him from earning a spot at Pinehurst. Broin becomes the first active Jayhawk to play in the U.S. Open. 

‍Luke Canton: Canton just put together the best season in Florida State University history. The All-American averaged 69.33, the lowest in FSU history, and won a record three events in a row. Canton is ranked 6th in WAR. 

‍Santiago De La Fuente- The Houston Cougar won the 2024 Latin Amateur. He played the Masters in April, missing the cut, but finished T46 at the PGA Tour's Mexico Open this year. Currently ranked 46th in WAR. 

‍Stewart Hagestad: The 33-year-old and lifelong Amateur will play in his fifth U.S. Open, earning an exemption by winning his third Mid-Am in 2023. The former USC Trojan finished T36 in the 2017 Masters and made the cut in the U.S. Open in 2022. 

Hiroshi Tai—The Georgia Tech star won the NCAA individual Championship earlier this month to earn a spot in the field. He also earned a spot in the 2025 Masters with the win. The Singapore native served 22 months in the Singapore Navy after High School before coming to Georgia Tech.  

‍Freshly Pro

‍Max Moldovan- Moldovan turned pro last Monday and played in the Memorial as a marker because there were an odd number of players in the field. The former Buckeye leaves Columbus with numerous records, including the lowest career scoring average and best single-season scoring average. This will be his third straight U.S. Open. He was bumped into the field when Adam Scott was added based on his top-60 world ranking. Moldovan then moved up to the first alternate from the Springfield site (Scott was the first alternate), and was added to the field on Monday. 

‍Frederik Kjettrup—The Danish native finished 8th on the PGA Tour U rankings and will play as a pro for the first time at Pinehurst. Kjettrup was named an All-American three times at Florida State. 

‍Korn Ferry dreamin'

‍Frankie Capan III- The ultra-talented Capan is currently 9th in points on KFT despite not having a win. He has made eight of 12 cuts and has four top-10s in his last six events, including a runner-up finish. 

‍Brian Campbell- The University of Illinois product was low Am in the 2015 U.S. Open and plays his first U.S. Open as a pro nine years later. He is 11th in points on the KFT and has made 11 of 13 cuts this year. Campbell has played in 23 career PGA Tour events. 

‍Sam Bennett- The 2022 U.S. Amateur Champion has made nine of 11 KFT cuts and sits 31st in points. The former Texas A&M star was in third place after 36 holes at the Masters in 2023. A third round 76 killed any chance of a win, but he recovered Sunday and finished T16. 

‍Carter Jenkins- The University of North Carolina's product has two top-10 finishes in eleven starts so far this season on KFT. He is currently 61st in points. Jenkins was childhood friends with Grayson Murray, who took his own life earlier this month. 

‍Jackson Suber: The Ole Miss product finds himself in a group with Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama after Suber replaced Jon Rahm, who withdrew with a foot injury. Suber is 44th in KFT points but has missed his last four cuts. 

‍Logan McAlister—The former University of Oklahoma product will have a familiar name on the bag: Joe LaCava Jr., the son of former Tiger Woods caddie Joe LaCave, has been with McAlister for over a year. McAllister is 89th in KFT points and has missed his last five consecutive cuts. 

‍Chris Naegel: The 41-year-old and Ole' Miss Alum currently sits 91st in KFT points. He has made four of eight cuts with two top-25s. In 2022, I watched Naegel make par on the 18th hole at The Country Club to make the cut. His family and friends went nuts. It was a very cool moment to watch live. Later that year, he finished T16 at the John Deere Classic. 

‍Chris Petefish—The former Georgia Tech standout has made just three of 13 cuts so far this year on KFT. But he looks to turn his season around in his first major. Last season on KFT, he finished 45th in points and had two runner-ups. 

Mini-tour Grinders

‍Joey Vrzich: The Pepperdine grad and former teammate of PGA Tour star Sahith Theegala has played on the Canadian Tour, Americas Tour, one event on KFT, and one on the PGA Tour. Now, he gets his shot at a major for the first time. In the first half of the Americas Tour this year, Vrzich made five of six cuts with one top-10. 

‍Michael McGowan- The 33-year-old Pinehurst native will hit the first shot of the U.S. Open in his hometown. The veteran of 51 LatinAmerican Tour events, 22 KFT, and 12 Canadian Tour, will now tee it up in his first major. 

‍Charles Reiter—With his 200 mph ball speed, he has become a darling of the mainstream media. The University of San Diego grad has won twice on the Asher Tour and will tee it up in his second U.S. Open. In 2011, he shot +11 and missed the cut. 

‍Otto Black: A long-time grinder, the University of Toledo graduate has played countless mini-tours worldwide. He has 31 career LatinoAmerica starts, one KFT start, and has won the Michigan Tournament of Champions. He lost in a playoff for the final spot in Columbus but got into the field as the first alternate from that site. 

‍John Chin: The 37-year-old held PGA Tour status in 2019 but failed to retain his card after making nine of 21 cuts and finishing 186th in points. His last season with status on KFT was in 2022 when he finished 144th in points in 22 starts. Since, he has played mini-tours and Monday Qs. He won his last start on the Asher Tour before making it through qualifying. 

‍Willie Mack III- The Flint native played on the KFT last season but lost his status after finishing 151st in points. At times, Mack has dominated the APGA Tour and has had multiple wins. This will be his eighth PGA Tour start and first major. 

‍Andrew Svoboda—The newly hired assistant pro at Butler National in Chicago hasn't worked much this year. He finished 2nd in the PGA Professional Championship to earn a spot in the PGA Championship. Then he qualified for the U.S. Open. The three-time KFT winner has played in five previous U.S. Opens, including last year. 

‍Asian Rising

‍Rikuya Hoshino- In February, Hoshino won his first European Tour event, which added to his six Japan Tour titles. The current 108th-ranked player in OWGR lost in a playoff to Joaquin Niemann at the Australian Open in 2023. Blood Type O.

‍Takumi Kanaya- The former number one-ranked Am in the world, which he held for 55 straight weeks, now has six Japan Tour wins. Kanaya made the cut at the 2019 Masters and is currently ranked 118th in OWGR. He is also Blood Type O. 

‍Taisei Shimizu: Shimizu won a 5-for-1 playoff at the Japan site to earn his first start in a major. Currently ranked 377th in OWGR, the 25-year-old has made six of seven cuts on the Japan Tour this season and sits eighth in Order of Merit. He is also Blood Type O (I'm sensing a trend). 

‍Riki Kawamoto—The 24-year-old was the biggest surprise to qualify out of Japan. He is currently ranked 564th in OWGR and hasn't had a top-10 so far this season. He does have two career victories on that Tour, both coming in 2022. In a surprise to no one, he is also Blood Type O.

The Rest of The World

Tom McKibbon- The northern Irishman turned pro when he was just 18 and earned his first start in a major at 21. Currently ranked 145th in OWGR, McKibbon won on the European Tour in 2023. His first pro victory came in the United States after winning a two-day Minor League Tour event.  His victory came over reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Eric Cole. 

‍Brandon Robinson-Thompson—The Englishman has grinded on mini-tours for years after a college career in the United States at the University of South Carolina-Aiken. Last season, he qualified for the Open Championship and made the cut. He also won on the Mena Tour, EuroPro Tour, and Challenge Tour. 

‍Richard Mansell—The Englishman has made ten of 11 cuts and has two top-10s on the European Tour so far this year. In 2022, Mansell qualified for the Open Championship and the U.S. Open. 

‍Casey Jarvis- The 20-year-old South African won on the Challenge Tour last year and earned European Tour status for this season. He sits 60th in points and has made 14 of 17 cuts with one top-10. Jarvis shot 59 on the Sunshine Tour at the age of 19. 

‍Sam Bairstow- The lefty is currently ranked 200th in OWGR. He finished runner-up to South African Aldrich Potgieter in the 2020 (British) Amateur Championship. Bairstown has eight top-25s on the European Tour this year after earning status via the Challenge Tour last season, where he had a win.