HOPKINS, Minn. – In just his second year of eligibility, 51-year-old Jesse Larson used a pair of late birdies to post an even par 70 Tuesday at Oak Ridge Country Club to earn a share of medalist honors with Troy Johnson and Jesse Bull and advance from the first stage of qualifying for the 2026 U.S. Senior Open.
Larson came up five strokes short during his first attempt a season ago at Bearpath Golf and Country Club, but solidified his place at the next stage with a strong performance in difficult conditions, hoping to reach his sixth USGA championship in July.
“Fun to get back out there in competition,” Larson said Tuesday. “I played really solid today, drove it great and was never in any trouble. Kind of an easy round considering the conditions. Any time you can drive the ball really well, it takes away a lot of stress.”
Playing his first 10 holes in 1-over, Larson got some help from his putter in cool conditions Tuesday, sinking his birdie chance from 12 feet at the fourth, followed by a birdie from eight feet at the fifth to reach 1-under.
Despite missing a short par putt at the seventh, Larson earned his spot and co-medalist honors with his even par 70.
“Have a good gameplan off the tee, for me, that tends to alleviate most of the concern. It’s a weapon, really,” Larson said of his preparation moving forward. “I don’t have a lot of competitive rounds between now and then, so just try to get the wedges and approach game dialed in.”
Showing little signs of rust playing his first competitive round of the 2026 season, Johnson turned in a nearly flawless scorecard Tuesday with one birdie negated by one bogey to earn his spot in the next round of qualifying.
“Really haven’t played much this winter, but I do have a little net in my garage and hit some balls over the winter,” the 54-year-old Johnson said following his round Tuesday. “The weird thing is I found a little something in my swing that felt good, took it out here and had a really solid day.”
Rattling off 11 consecutive pars Tuesday, Johnson finally got a birdie look to drop at the 12th, rolling in his putt from three feet to dip into red figures before taking a bogey at the 16th to return to level par for the round.
“My business is doing well, and being in that 50 to 55 bracket, I haven’t really focused too much on my game over the last couple of years,” said Johnson, who is eligible to play in state senior events when he turns 55 in September. “Now I’ll put a little more emphasis on it and if I can hit the ball like I did today, I’ll be very happy.”
Bouncing back from a pair of bogeys during his opening nine Tuesday, Bull, the 2014 Minnesota Golf Association Amateur and 2023 MGA Mid-Amateur champion, tallied back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th to help him to a round of even par and advance to the second stage in his second attempt.
Final qualifying for the national championship will take place from May 18 to June 15 at 12 sites across the country before the 46th U.S. Senior Open is set to be played July 2-5 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio.
Last season, professional and Augsburg College men’s and women’s golf coach Eric Rolland outlasted Paul Schubring and fellow professional Bradley Lanning in a 3-for-1 playoff to earn the final qualifying position, where he’d go on to advance to the championship at The Broadmore in Colorado Springs, Colo., carding rounds of 74-79 to miss the cut by eight strokes.
On Tuesday, Rolland took the first step in returning to the championship for a second consecutive season by carding a round 1-over 71 to earn his spot in the second stage despite a pair of late bogeys, claiming a tie for fourth will fellow Minnesota PGA Section member Eric Chiles
Amateurs Eric Rislove and Joe O’Brien each carded rounds of 2-over 72 Monday to earn their respective spots in the next stage of qualifying, finishing tied for sixth with Iowa professional Tracy Vest.
Finishing in a share of ninth place at 3-over 73, J.T. Johnson, Dale Ross, Greg Melhus and professional Derek Stendahl prevailed from a 5-for-4 playoff to earn the final four spots into the second and final round of qualifying beginning in two weeks.
Phil Ebner claimed first alternate honors Monday, while 2017 MGA Amateur champion Dave Carothers finished as second alternate.
In July, the 110-year-old Donald Ross designed Scioto Country Club, where golf legend Jack Nicklaus learned the game, will host its third U.S. Senior Open Championship.
The club previously hosted the U.S. Open (1926, Bobby Jones), the Ryder Cup (1931, USA), the PGA Championship (1950, Chandler Harper) and the U.S. Amateur (1968, Bruce Fleisher).
Most recently, Gene Sauers carded a final-round 69 at Scioto in 2016 to edge Miguel Angel Jiminez and Billy Mayfair to claim his only victory of his career on the PGA Tour Champions.