At 11 sites across the country Monday, more than 900 players will compete for 63 slots in the 2011 U.S. Open in sectional qualifying, golf’s version of the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament.
In an elitist sport, the U.S. Open is the most democratic of all competitions. Consider the eclectic field in one of the largest qualifying sites — Woodmont Country Club in Rockville.
Among the participants will be 54-year-old Champions Tour member Fred Funk and 18-year-old Bo Lustig, who graduated from Belle Vernon Area High in Pennsylvania on Friday.
PGA Tour veterans Bob Estes and Brad Faxon are in the field. So are several dozen Nationwide Tour players who competed this weekend in the Prince George’s County Open. And there are struggling mini-tour players such as Brent Martin of LaPlata, Md., and Will Coleman of Kensington.
There will be the son of a major championship winner (Guy Boros, whose dad, Julius, captured the PGA) and the son of a club pro (Jeff Williams, whose dad, Lyle, is the longtime pro at Woodmont).
There will be a college golf coach, Chris Baloga (Loyola University), and several college players, including Matt Brown (Furman), Zac Blair (BYU), Stephen Bosdosh (Maryland) and Brad Miller (Richmond).
There will be a former phenom, Ty Tryon, who qualified for the tour at age 18, and mid-amateurs such as Scott Shingler (Haymarket), Gary Carpenter (Crofton) and Charles Woodward (Smithsburg, Md.), a SoftSpikes salesman. And local club pros such as John O’Leary (Pleasant Valley Golf Club), Dave Hutsell (Elkridge Club in Baltimore) and John Lyberger (Congressional).
