NC Golf Roundup - June 5th
Time for your weekly golf updates with that Old North State seasoning. After all, we are the home to the 2024 U.S. Open and the United States Golf Association recently opened the USGA Golf House in Pinehurst (check it out!).
For those of us within an hour of the North Carolina Sandhills, we can already feel US 15-501 backing up for miles. There will be plenty of Pinehurst & U.S. Open content coming over the next 10 days - don’t you worry. But now, let’s take a look at how the local guys did last weekend out on Tour. I’m defining local as either current residents of North Carolina or those originally from North Carolina who are out on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, or Korn Ferry Tour. Also, for this week, I’ll include all of those NC natives taking their swing at Golf’s Longest Day.
PGA TOUR RESULTS:
Tournament: RBC Canadian Open - Hamilton Golf & Country Club (ON, Canada)
Winner: Robert MacIntyre (not from North Carolina)
Akshay Bhatia (Wake Forest, NC) - Finished T60 (+1 / 281)
Trace Crowe* (Charlotte, NC) - Finished T27 (-5 / 275)
Ben Griffin (Chapel Hill, NC) - Finished Solo 2nd (-15 / 265)
Chesson Hadley (Raleigh, NC) - Finished T51 (-1 / 279)
Mackenzie Hughes (Charlotte, NC) - Finished T7 (-10 / 270)
Andrew Novak (Raleigh, NC) - Finished T14 (-8 / 272)
*Denotes PGA Tour Q-School Qualifier/Rookie
KORN FERRY TOUR RESULTS:
Tournament: UNC Health Championship - Raleigh Country Club (Raleigh, NC)
Winner: Kaito Onishi (not from North Carolina)
William McGirt (Fairmont, NC) - MC (+5 / 145)
Grayson Murray (Raleigh, NC) - There was a touching tribute made by Raleigh Country Club, John McConnell and the Carolina Hurricanes. Watch the tribute here.
U.S. Open Qualifying:
The state of North Carolina, while hosting the main event at Pinehurst No. 2 next week, was also home to a final qualifying site - Duke University Golf Club. This is a public course that winds through the Duke Forest in Durham, North Carolina. While you’ll pay more than a standard public track, you’ll also get a whole lot more from this course than many local munis. It is a fantastic layout. I’ve played here a few times and it can be absolutely brutal. I cannot imagine playing this when it is set up for a U.S. Open Qualifier. 7 U.S. Open spots were up for grabs for 84 entrants. Frankie Capan, III, of North Oaks, MN (not North Carolina) walked away with medalist honors with a -6 / 134 total over 36 holes. Three North Carolinians claimed spots: Chesson Hadley (-4 / 136), Webb Simpson (-4 / 136), and Carter Jenkins (-3 / 137). The last spot went to one of the hottest names on Korn Ferry, Harry Higgs (-3 / 137). Other notables from North Carolina who did not break through at Duke GC include: Bill Haas (74 / DNF), Alex Smalley (72 / DNF), Harold Varner, III (+1 / 141), and Doc Redman (E / 140).
We’ll have our roundup from the June 06th - 09th tournaments out next Tuesday morning…then we’ll be in full-blown U.S. Open prep mode!
