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Four Sectional Hopefuls Earn Ticket To Olympia Fields
By David Shefter, USGA
Purchase, N.Y. - The beauty of U.S. Open qualifying is a journeyman professional can compete on a level playing field with successful PGA Tour stars. Resumes are not required. Just tee it up and let the golf do the talking.
So as a light drizzle began to fall late in the afternoon on June 3, Cortney Brisson, a 30-year-old North Carolinian who has bounced around several mini-tours, found himself standing at the first tee of Old Oaks Country Club facing 28-year-old J.J. Henry from Fairfield, Conn., who has amassed $365,275 on the PGA Tour in 2003.
The stakes were extremely high: the fourth and final qualifying spot from the 72-player sectional field. Each had finished with a 36-hole total of 142 (1 over par). Brisson had rounds of 72 and 70 at Century Country Club and Old Oaks, respectively, with Henry shooting identical scores, but his 70 came at Century.
Already in the Open field from the site was medalist Fredrik Jacobson of Sweden (138), who ranks 13th on the European PGA Tour's Order of Merit, and John Maginnes and Geoffrey Sisk, both of whom carded 140s.
A small crowd of spectators also braved the elements to watch the two-man playoff and it's a good bet most of them thought Henry would prevail. A tour player vs. a struggling professional: the odds were definitely in favor of Henry. And when Henry ripped his tee shot some 50 yards past Brisson on the 388-yard hole, it appeared that form would hold true.
Well, Brisson managed to hit his approach inside of Henry's and both parred the hole. But at the par-5 second, Henry's tee shot sailed right and could not be found. Officials believed the ball caromed off a tree and over a stone fence. Suddenly, Brisson was in the driver's seat and his routine par eliminated Henry and put him into the U.S. Open field.
Brisson will join 155 others at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club June 12-15. However, he might be one of the longest of longshots to survive local and sectional qualifying.
"I'm just a country guy," said an emotional Brisson, who resides in Wallace, a small town just outside of Wilmington. "I don't even know how I am going to cope with going to the U.S. Open. I will probably shoot 95-95, but I won't even care."
Brisson had been to sectionals on two previous occasions. This year, on the advice of fellow North Carolinian Maginnes, he decided not to attend the qualifier in Maryland. He wanted to take his wife, Tracie, on a vacation. Even if he didn't qualify, he figured he could use the trip as a good excuse to play two solid golf courses and visit New York.
"This is just unbelievable," Brisson said with his Carolina drawl. "Right now, I can't even explain my emotion."
For 10 years, Brisson, who learned the game from Raymond Floyd's father, L.B. Floyd, bounced around several minor-league golf circuits. He played the Hooters Tour for three years. He played in South America. He even played one season on the Nationwide Tour. He missed the finals of PGA Tour Qualifying School last fall by two strokes.
"This year, I am playing nowhere," he said. "I'm married and sitting on the couch getting fat.
"(But) I'm a good golfer. I have just never had a break. L.B. has always told me I was a great ball-striker. I have friends on the (PGA Tour) that have told me my swing is good enough. I just haven't managed my game well enough."
Sisk can relate to the frustrations of not breaking through. The 38-year-old from Marshfield, Mass., has tried to qualify for three PGA and four Nationwide tour events this year and hasn't made it into a single tournament. Sisk, however, did enjoy a year on the PGA Tour in 1999 and played the Nationwide Tour in 1997, '98 and 2000. He's also qualified for two U.S. Opens (1995 and '99), making the cut and finishing 30th at Pinehurst.
So Sisk arrived at sectionals feeling good about his game, hoping that this would be the breakthrough qualifier. Through 23 holes, his situation looked bleak and his emotions took over. "I just lost it," said Sisk. "I hit a bad drive on 10 (at Old Oaks) and made a bogey. I bogeyed 11 and 14."
Fortunately for Sisk, his game never deserted him. He finished his afternoon round with seven birdies to just one bogey, carding a 67. It was the low round of the sectional. And about an hour after posting his score, his U.S. Open ticket had been punched.
"Maybe I just needed a temper tantrum," he admitted.
A year ago, John Maginnes was left literally in the dark at Century Country Club. As part of the playoff for the last four spots, Maginnes and Richie Parker were dueling for what they thought was the first alternate spot. With the sun virtually gone from the horizon, Maginnes, 35, drained a birdie putt. Later that evening, it was discovered that one more additional spot should have been given to the Purchase site. Instead of 22 qualifiers, a total of 23 had been awarded. USGA officials eventually tracked down Maginnes the next day at the Golf Club of Purchase to give him the good news. He would go on to make the cut at Bethpage.
The prior year, Maginnes had survived a 9-for-2 playoff in Ohio to qualify for the U.S. Open at Southern Hills.
So as Maginnes stood watching the scoreboard on the Old Oaks C.C. terrace, he was preparing for the worst. "Hey, my work's done," said the Greensboro, N.C., native after posting a 140 (72-68). "Would I have rather shot 136 and be on my fourth beer right now? Absolutely."
As it turned out, Maginnes could have hit the bar after signing his card. This year, he would not need extra holes to qualify.
"It's all part of the deal," said Maginnes, who has struggled on the PGA Tour this year, making just six cuts in 12 events ($92,259). "It's the U.S. Open. It's the hardest friggin' golf tournament on the planet. But it's unlike anything else that we experience (on tour). I have played in three Opens and in my office I have something on the wall from each one."
Fredrik Jacobson, 28, was supposed to play in the Purchase sectional last year, but at the last minute he withdrew. He felt his game was not sharp enough at that time. But 2003 has been a different story. He already has two wins on the European Tour (Hong Kong and Portuguese Open) and he placed 10th at the Wales Open prior to his journey to New York. The Swede did not arrive on site until Monday, giving him enough time to walk the courses and get in some minimal chipping and putting.
"The greens at Century were almost twice as fast as they were in Wales," said Jacobson, who has competed in four British Opens, making the cut in 1998. "I was a little worried about being burned out, but I have been playing well the last few weeks. I would not have come all this way if I didn't think I had a chance of making it."
Jacobson posted just one bogey over 36 holes and was the only competitor to break 140.
"Usually I don't hit that many fairways so that's why I don't think the U.S. Open is the ideal tournament for me," said Jacobson. "But you hear so much about it (over in Europe). Everybody talks about it. At least I'll get to find out for myself if I can compete."
Popular New Jersey pro Jim McGovern was in contention to qualify before taking a quadruple-bogey eight at the 18th hole at Century, his final hole of the sectional. He finished at 148. . Other notables who failed to qualify included 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion George Zahringer, 2002 Mid-Am runner-up Jerry Courville Jr., 1995 U.S. Amateur runner-up George "Buddy" Marucci, eight-time U.S. Open qualifier Darrell Kestner and PGA Tour player Scott Dunlap.
David Shefter is a writer for the USGA. E-mail him at dshefter@usga.org with questions or comments.
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