Four advance from U.S. Open Local Qualifying at Glen Oaks CC
(From left) Josh Bousman (73), Brandon Bauman (73), Lucas Scherf (74) & Jack Dumas (74) advance from U.S. Open Championship Local Qualifying hosted by Glen Oaks Country Club on May 1.
Brutal.
To put it lightly Glen Oaks Country Club played tough for the field on Monday, during U.S. Open Local Qualifying. Strong, gusting winds (30-40+ mph), cooler temperatures and championship course conditions left many scratching their head after their round and several just glad to have ‘weathered’ the day.
Professionals Josh Bousman (Clinton) and Brandon Bauman (Las Vegas) fared the best, posting 73 (+2) to share medalist honors and advance to Final Qualifying. Both players were successful in keeping the big number off the scorecard, as each had only one score higher than double bogey and added five birdies to the mix, on a day that sent scores sailing.
“This was one of the hardest rounds of golf I have ever played,” Bauman said. “I tried to pick a spot on the driving range to get a feel for the wind. No matter what direction the wind was, you had to take it flat out one shot at a time. I practically had to start it out of bounds on #12, in order to hit the fairway. You had to make a few birdies to have a chance on Monday. There’s no way you could par all 18 holes, you were going to make a bogey here and there.”
Bousman closed out his day with three straight birdies (on holes #7-9), which he commented were holes he thought he could attack.
“It was a grind out there,” Bousman said. “There weren’t any holes you could just put it in neutral. I switched golf balls (on Monday) to keep my spin down into the greens. I knew #7, #8 and #9 were my best chances to make birdie, so I was just trying to get to that stretch with a chance. I wasn’t trying to think too far ahead. I actually left my eagle putt on my last hole just short. I had a lot of birdie opportunities and tried to stay below the hole as much as I could, so I could be aggressive on the greens. I didn’t have any three-putts on the day.”
Rounding out the final two of four qualifying spots included a pair of Drake University golfers, Lucas Scherf and Jack Dumas, who both posted 74 (+3). Scherf collected four birdies in his round, while Dumas found pars to be his friend – making 10 total on the day.
Earning 1st Alternate on Monday was Tracy Vest (Iowa City) by way of a four-hole playoff that began with five total players who posted 75 (+4). Sam Meuret (Waukee) earned 2nd Alternate.