Olson, Longbella Share Medalist Honors at U.S. Open Local Qualifying

NORTH OAKS, Minn. – Briefly stepping away from his full-time caddie duties Monday, Minnesotan Tate Olson birdied his final hole of the day at North Oaks Golf Club to earn a share of medalist honors with former University of Minnesota golfer Thomas Longbella to advance at U.S. Open Local Qualifying.

Olson and fellow professional Longbella both paced the field by carding a 2-under 69 Monday in cool and blustery conditions to earn top honors, looking to reach the 126^th U.S. Open, set to be played June 18-21 at Shinnecock Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.

“Tough conditions, but we knew it was going to be like that,” Olson said following his round Monday. “We went into it thinking we were going to take conservative lines, take advantage when we hit it close and not get too greedy.

“I struck the ball well—the long irons were great. The par-3s I was hitting into spots where I wasn’t going to stress, which is probably the hardest part about this place.”

The 26-year-old Cook, Minn., native played collegiate golf at the University of Jamestown in North Dakota before returning to coach his alma mater at North Woods High School.

In 2024 he took a caddie job at The Quarry in La Quinta, Calif., during the winter, and returns to the Twin Cities during the summer months to caddie at Spring Hill Golf Club.

“I don’t get a lot of time to play, but I get a lot of time to practice,” Olson said. “Caddying is great because I have a lot of regular members who will take me to play different places or take me to caddie for them at different places. The connections and networking from that is a lot of fun.

“I’ve been close a few times but never broken through in qualifying. I just started working with a coach for the first time ever this winter, so I’m feeling pretty good.”

Longbella, 28, of Chippewa Falls, Wis., carded eight consecutive birdies to begin his round Monday before an eagle at the ninth and a birdie at the first quickly moved him up the leaderboard to 3-under for the round.

After dropping shots at the second and fourth holes, Longbella took advantage of the par-5 ninth by converting his birdie chance to earn a share of medalist honors with a 69.

“It was a grindy day out there and hadn’t seen the course in a few years, so playing in those conditions, it forced me to play to the easy spots,” Longbella said. “If you look at my scorecard, I took advantage of the easy holes and made some good pars on the ones that were a little tougher.”

Since graduating from Minnesota in 2021, Longbella has 40 starts on the PGA Tour Americas, winning once in 2024 at the Kia Open in Ecuador.

But after splitting time between the PGA Tour Americas and Korn Ferry Tour in 2025, Longbella found himself without job security entering 2026.

“I lost my status last year and finished fourth at Q-school this spring, so it’s good to get my card back and have a place to play,” Longbella said. “The game has been trending in the right direction, so I’m excited.

“You know how golf is—it’s always closer than you might think and the more I can get out of my own way and enjoy playing golf, the results will be there.”

Also advancing from Monday’s field of 82 players was former Concordia University, St. Paul golfer Tommy Marker who birdied his final hole to finish in a share of third with Iowa State University’s Dianchao Wu at 1-under 70 to move through the first stage of qualifying for the first time.

“I have no expectations going into the next round, my goal was to just make ‘The Longest Day in Golf,’” the 22-year-old Marker said Monday. “It played tough and it’s so early in the season that you don’t know what to expect, but proud of how I played and didn’t try to do too much.

“I thought even par would be enough to get in, so making a birdie on the last hole was good insurance.”

Iowa’s Matthew Jennings posted a round of even par 71 to finish tied for fifth with fellow professional Brock Winter before Jennings prevailed with a birdie on the first playoff hole to claim the fifth and final qualifying spot.

Former Gopher Brock Winter carded an even par 71 Monday to finish as first alternate, while fellow past Gopher golfer Josh Persons claimed second alternate honors.

The 2026 U.S. Open marks the fifth time Shinnecock Hills Golf Club will host the U.S. Open and 10^th USGA championship. Opened in 1891, the William Flynn design can stretch to more than 7,400 yards, just shy of 3,000 yards longer when the club first hosted the championship in 1896.

The storied club has also played host to the U.S. Amateur (1896), U.S. Women’s Amateur (1900), U.S. Senior Amateur (1967) and the Walker Cup (1977).

Brooks Koepka claimed medalist honors most recently when the club hosted the 2018 U.S. Open, carding a final-round 68 to edge Englishman Tommy Fleetwood by one stroke at 1-over 281.

At the 2025 championship at historic Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, J.J. Spaun rebounded from a 40 during his opening nine holes on the final day by dropping a 65-foot putt on the final hole to earn a two-stroke victory over Robert MacIntyre.

Spaun’s 1-under 279 was the only score below par on one of the world’s most difficult layouts.