The Race to the U.S. Open: New Jersey

The course

Canoe Brook is a 36-hole facility. The qualifier will be played on the 6,700-yard par-70 South Course and the 7,100-yard par-72 North Course. The North course was built in 1901 and the South in 1924, but both have gone under numerous renovations. The most recent was done by renowned architect Rees Jones. Canoe Brook has hosted final qualifying numerous times, along with being the host of the 2013 New Jersey Amateur. 

‍Players in the field: 67

‍Spots available: Unknown, best guess is around five

‍Most decorated players in the field

There are some future stars in the field, so we are going to highlight some of them in this section.

‍• Caleb Surratt: Where do you begin? Surratt just finished his freshman year at Tennessee where he won the individual SEC title and set the program’s all-time scoring average (69.58). He Monday-qualified for a Korn Ferry Tour event last week. It is only a matter of time until Surratt is on the PGA Tour. 

‍• Michael Thorbjornsen: Thorbjornsen just completed another great season for the Stanford Cardinal. He averaged just over 70 for the year, won multiple times and was named to multiple All-America teams. Thorbjornsen is the third-ranked amateur in the world. He played most of his junior golf in the Northeast, so he’s in familiar territory.

‍• Fletcher Babcock: It started with a picture a follower sent me. Bald, huge headphones, a heater and black socks with shorts. We learned that once his round starts Babcock has been known to put on a black bandana. This is the stuff legends are made of. He also has a ton of game; he won the Connecticut PGA Championship with a pair of 65s and was the medalist at local qualifying for the Open.

‍• Stewart Hagestad: The 32-year-old amateur has played in four U.S. Opens and two Masters. Last year at The Country Club, Hagestad made the cut, finishing 64th. In 2017 he was the low amateur at the Masters, finishing T36th. 

‍• Luke Sample: Sample is coming off a solid season at Duke, where he helped the Blue Devils advance to the NCAA championship tournament. He is a two-time winner of the Met Open, a prominent event in the Northeast that features professionals and amateurs. 

‍PGA Tour winners in the field 

Jim Herman

‍Storylines 

‍• Andy Pope: If there is a U.S. Open qualifier and Pope is in the field, he is more than likely to be in contention. Pope has qualified for the Open five times since 2015.

‍• Jim Renner: Renner, a longtime grinder, has played 76 events on the PGA Tour and nearly 100 on the Korn Ferry Tour, but injuries have often sidetracked his progress. He said earlier this year he was retiring from pro golf, but now he has a chance to get into the U.S. Open. He played in his only major in the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. 

‍• Raymond Floyd Jr.: The 48-year-old son of three-time major champion Ray Floyd will attempt to make first major. Ray Jr. briefly pursued a career in professional golf before regaining his amateur status more than 10 years ago. 

‍Notables

Harrison Endycott, Berry Henson, Jamie Lovemark, Brandon Matthews, Ryan McCormick, James Nicholas, Matt Parziale, Cameron Tringale

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Link to leaderboard/tee times: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/3979883