Constable, Matthew and Holmgren Among Five Through U.S. Open Local Qualifying

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By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org


  ROSEVILLE, Minn. – Prior to his appearance at the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, former University of Minnesota golfer Donald Constable said advancing from local qualifying can be tricky because it’s never clear what a golfer will need to shoot to move on.

Constable quickly erased all doubt Monday as he carded a 6-under par 66 in breezy conditions to earn medalist honors at Midland Hills Country Club, hoping for a chance to return to the national championship.

A field of 82 players comprised the field Monday with five qualifying positions available to this year’s championship, which will be played June 15-18 at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis.

Constable will head to the second stage of qualifying along with Sam Matthew who carded a 4-under par 68 and by Iowan Mitch Tucker, who fired a 1-under par 71. Shooting even par 72 Monday, Will Holmgren and Jeff Kringen survived a five-way playoff to earn the final two qualifying positions.

Playing in the first group Monday, Constable stumbled early with a bogey at the second but answered with a string of three birdies over the next four holes. Falling back to 1-under with a bogey at the seventh, Constable again rebounded with a birdie at the eighth and would turn at 2-under.

Unable to convert par at the par-5 10th, Constable found his footing by sinking a pair of birdies at the 14th and 15th holes before dropping an eagle putt from 25 feet at the 17th to jump to 5-under. Rolling in birdie on the final hole, Constable finished the day two shots ahead of the field at 6-under par 66.

Opening the 2014 championship at Pinehurst with an 83, Constable posted a respectable 73 during the second round to miss the cut by 11 shots. Constable won the 2009 Minnesota Golf Association Players’ Championship before adding the 2011 State Amateur title to his resume.

In similar fashion, Sam Matthew claimed the 2013 State Amateur at age 20 and added the MGA Players’ Championship to his credit two years later in his final tournament as an amateur.

A former member of Midland Hills, Matthew used every bit of that course knowledge to his benefit as he rolled in three birdies on the front nine before adding two birdies with a lone bogey on the back to finish second at 68.

“The course has changed a lot since we were members here; they’ve taken like 400 trees so it definitely opened up driver a lot,” Matthew said following his round Monday. “On [No. 6], I ripped it down the left and there used to be a big pine over there.”

Matthew, Roseville, Minn., started quickly with a masterful punch shot to within three feet after finding trees at the second. A 320-yard drive set up a 9-iron from 160 yards at the par-5 fifth where he two-putted for birdie before sinking his third birdie of the round at the eighth to turn at 3-under.

Sticking his approach to two feet at the 10th, Matthew tapped in for birdie to get to 4-under before taking bogey at the par-3 16th. He would lip-out his eagle chance at the 17th for his fifth birdie of the round to finish at 68.

“The whole game was pretty good today,” he said. “I hit the driver well on the front—missed a few but hit them in the right spots.”

Matthew moved to Arizona over the winter, working at a golf club for the playing privileges to work on his game rather than competing. Playing on the Dakotas Tour for most of last season, Matthew amassed nearly $4,500 in six events and will return again this year, while competing in as many Monday qualifiers as possible.

Matthew advanced through local qualifying a year ago in his first attempt and qualified for the 2014 U.S. Amateur Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club.

Wrapping up his sophomore season at North Dakota State University a week ago, Will Holmgren hung on despite a bogey on the final hole Monday before making birdie on the first playoff hole to earn a spot in sectional qualifying.

“I’ve been hitting the ball really well coming into today. I had a really good college season and I’ve been playing with the most confidence I’ve ever had,” Holmgren said after qualifying Monday. “I was expecting to play well today—I didn’t play as well as I would’ve wanted, but then I was given another chance.”

Holmgren, Corcoran, Minn., turned at 1-under with three birdies and two bogeys on the front before rolling in a birdie chance at the 10th. He fell back to even after bogeys at the 12th and 14th holes before missing a pair of 10-foot birdie putts at the 15th and 16th.

With a tap-in for birdie after narrowly sinking his eagle putt at the 17th, Holmgren’s par putt from four feet on the final hole wouldn’t fall and he finished in a five-way tie for the final two qualifying spots.

Holmgren blistered his tee shot on the first playoff hole, finding the rough behind the green before chipping to three feet and converted birdie to advance to the next stage of qualifying.

“It was exciting—I had a little adrenaline going,” Holmgren said of his birdie in the playoff. “I missed it short right earlier and put probably the best swing all day and got up in a good spot for a simple chip and was able to make birdie."

Holmgren said he missed qualifying for the U.S. Amateur two straight years and never felt his game was good enough to attempt qualifying for the U.S. Open until this season.

“I’m very excited—I want to enjoy this and then get back to the grind. I’ve got a few things to tweak and work on, but I expect to play well,” he said.

Kringen, Long Lake, Minn., grabbed the final qualifying spot Monday after making birdie on the second playoff hole. Kringen turned at 2-under following back-to-back birdies at the fifth and sixth holes before dropping a shot with a bogey at the eighth. Rolling in birdie at the ninth,

Kringen built momentum heading to the final nine but would card three bogeys over a sixth-hole stretch to fall to 1-over for the day. He recovered by making birdie at the par-5 17th to get back to even and finish in a five-way tie at 72.

University of Minnesota golfer Riley Johnson carded a round of 72 Monday and would finish as first alternate, while former Gopher golfer and defending Minnesota State Open champion, Ben Greve, finished as second alternate.