The Race to the U.S. Open: Georgia

Host course

About 50 miles north of Atlanta is the Bob Cupp-designed, Hawk’s Ridge Golf Course. Among celebrated Cupp courses are Shoal Creek Club, Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, Liberty National and Desert Highlands. Hawk’s Ridge last hosted a final qualifying stage for the U.S. Open in 2019, and Ollie Schniederjans took medalist honors. 

‍Players in the field:  45

‍Qualifying spots: Not confirmed. When the last sectional qualifier was held here in 2019, it was 67 players for four spots. 

‍Most decorated player in the field

‍• Bill Haas: The six-time PGA Tour winner was the 2011 FedEx Cup Champion. It’s impossible to forget Haas’ $11 million shot from the water left of the 17th green at East Lake. Haas has $31 million in career earnings and has made 25 cuts in 35 major appearances. His best finish at the U.S. Open was a T-5 in 2017 at Erin Hills. 

‍PGA Tour winners in the field

Bill Haas

Patton Kizzire

Ted Potter Jr.

‍Storylines

‍• Gordon Sargent: Sargent just completed his sophomore year at Vanderbilt as the top-ranked college player in the country and the second-ranked amateur in the world. As the defending NCAA individual champion, he received a special invitation to the Masters in April and was one of three finalists for the Ben Hogan Award as the top college golfer in the country. 

‍• Andy Ogletree: Speaking of remarkable amateur careers, the 2019 U.S. Amateur champion is looking to build on his USGA resume. Ogletree captured headlines after being suspended by the PGA Tour when he chose to play in a LIV golf event in 2022. He has made the most of his recent opportunities and found the winner’s circle on the Asian Tour. 

‍• Christo Lamprecht: Georgia Tech’s 6-foot-8 leader is the sixth-ranked college player in the country and the eighth-ranked amateur in the world. Lamprecht’s Yellow Jackets finished second to the Florida Gators this week at the NCAA championship.

‍• David Ford: Ford earned first-team All-America honors as a North Carolina sophomore and led his team to the top seed in stroke play and the semifinals in match play at the NCAA Championship. The Tar Heel had a 69.89 scoring average this year, the second-lowest in the program’s history. 

‍• Ollie Schniederjans: Schniederjans took medalist honors at this site in 2019, locking up a tee time at Pebble Beach. There were great hopes for Schniederjans back then. After spending 41 weeks as the top-ranked amateur in the country, he won on the Korn Ferry Tour as a fledgling pro. Schniederjans was in contention regularly on the PGA Tour between 2016 and 2018, but his body and game deteriorated in subsequent seasons. He had hip surgery in 2022 and returned to the Korn Ferry Tour this season for a single event, where he missed the cut. 

‍Notables

Roberto Castro, David Skinns

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