U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying | The Longest Day in Golf

Players at the U.S. Open sectional qualifier at Meadow Springs Country Club in Richland, WA were greeted by temperatures in the mid-50s and winds blowing 15 to 20 mph as they prepared for “the longest day in golf”. The field of 45 players included PGA tour player Maverick McNealy (#107 on the World Golf Ranking), John Catlin, a three-time winner on the European Tour (#85 on the World Golf Ranking) and 47-year-old journeyman pro Steve Allan from Australia. The field also included college stars and pros from the developmental tours. These 45 players would be playing for two spots in the U.S. Open and two alternate spots.

Meadow Springs Country Club played to 6860 yards and is not the type of course where players are routinely hitting driver off the tee as tee shots had to be placed in small landing areas. The greens were extremely fast and difficult to read with subtle breaks.

Matt Marshall(l) and Maverick McNeal(r) warm up prior to the first round of sectional qualifying at Meadow Springs Country Club in Richland, WA.

Players struggled to keep warm as they finished their preparations for the round and made their way to the first and tenth tees to begin their rounds. We followed McNealy, who was partnered with Andrew Putnam from University Place, WA, a player on the PGA Tour (World Golf Ranking of 154) and Isaiah Salinda from South San Francisco, CA. They were the third group off the 10th tee at 7:37 am. The wind was still blowing hard and it was cold. All three players struggled on their first hole (the 10th), a 540-yard par-5 with a downhill tee shot where players hit less than driver to avoid a creek that crossed the fairway. All three made bogey.

[View the photo gallery from U.S. Open sectional qualifying at Meadow Springs Country Club]

On their third hole, Putnam’s approach shot ballooned into the wind and he wound up in a front bunker a good 20-yards short of the pin. Salinda’s shot from roughly the same yardage and lie flew the green and was well beyond the green, almost in the yard of one of the many houses that line the fairways at Meadow Springs. These results were proof of the challenging conditions that the wind was causing. Both players wound up with a bogey on the hole. McNealy’s drive on the 13th found the water and he could do no better than a double bogey 6 and his troubles continued on the next hole, a par-3 measuring 166 yards when he found a fried egg lie in the front bunker. Playing away from the flag, his explosion could not hold the green and he had to make an up-and-down to save bogey.

The three players continued to struggle until Putnam made the first birdie of the group at the par-3 17th hole (their 8th hole).  Both Putnam and McNealy birdied the next hole to finish their front nine. McNealy and Salinda shot 39 while Putnam posted a 1-over-par 37.

Maverick McNealy examines his fried egg lie in the bunker on #13 (his 4th hole). He had to play his shot away from the flag.

Meanwhile, in other groups playing the front nine, RJ Manke, from Lakewood, WA, a senior at Pepperdine, scorched the front nine posting a 4-under 32, and his Pepperdine teammate, junior Joe Highsmith, shot a 2-under 34 tied with Blake Hathcoat. Steve Allan turned in 36, even par.

Conditions improved slightly on the back nine as our featured group made the turn. Putnam made his third birdie in a row (he posted 2-3-4) to fight back to even par, but he quickly handed one stroke back with a bogey on the next hole. McNealy birdied the 3rd hole (his 12th) and Salinda birdied the 4th hole before giving it right back at the 5th with a bogey. His up-and-down day continued as he finished birdie, birdie, bogey and posted a 74 for the first round. McNealy finished with a 76 while Putnam finished steadily to post a 73.

As the players settled into a hurried lunch before the afternoon round, the leader board read:

Joe Highsmith 69

RJ Manke 69

Blake Hathcoat 70

Andrew Von Lossow 70

Steve Allan 72

John Catlin, and the other two players in his group, were assessed 3-stroke penalties for missing four pace-of-play checkpoints. One of the missed checkpoints was waived due to a 15-minute ruling the group required. The three remaining missed checkpoints resulted in a warning, a one-stroke penalty, and a two-stroke penalty. These were added to his and his playing partner’s cards at the end of the round on holes 4 and 9. One player, Bryan Harris, was disqualified after he signed his scorecard without adding the penalty strokes and then chose not to add them or change his card before leaving the scoring area. With the penalty strokes, Catlin posted a 74 for the morning round.

| “Go Cougs!”

For the afternoon round we chose a new featured group that included Joe Highsmith, a member of the national champion Pepperdine golf team, Nicklaus Chiam, a member of the Washington State University golf team by way of Singapore and Junho Won from the Republic of Korea. Chiam was one of the few players without a caddie and wore a perpetual smile while returning every “Go Cougs!” shouted from the decks and yards of the houses along the course. Richland is deep in Washington State University Cougar country. This group also started on the back nine and conditions had improved quite a bit from the morning round. The wind had died down and the cloud cover had lifted enough to let some sunshine in.

Nicklaus Chiam blasts out of tough lie in a bunker to four feet. He made the putt for a par that was met with cheers of “Go Cougs!” (photo credit: Larry Baush)

Highsmith, a friendly kid, and his caddie, worked together on every shot and you could tell that player and caddie were very comfortable together. Highsmith birdied the 11th hole (his 2nd), a 413 yard par-4 while RJ Manke birdied his second hole on the front nine to keep pace. Manke added two more birdies on holes 4 and 9 offset by a bogey on the 8th hole to turn in 35. Highsmith birdied the par-3 17th hole (his 8th) and made the turn in 34. McNealy showed some grit as he made the turn in 32 putting him at 2-under and three off Highsmith’s lead. Steve Allan made three birdies and no bogeys for a 33 and was at -3 for the day, just one-stroke off the lead.

Highsmith used a driving iron from the tee most of the day and used it on his 10th hole, the 1st hole at Meadow Springs, a 522-yard par-5. He blistered his drive down the right side of the fairway giving him a good look at the green. His second shot ended up right of the green in the thick rough. As a left-hander he was faced with a shot where the ball was below his feet. The chip came out hotter than he expected and ran across, and off, the green. He showed a lot of heart by pouring his next shot into the hole using his putter. He was now -3 for the round and -5 for the day.

Joe Highsmith chips long on the 1st hole (his 10th). He was able to make the comeback putt for a birdie to go 3-under for the second round. (photo credit: Larry Baush)

Playing two groups in front of Highsmith, Manke birdied his 11th hole (the 2nd hole) to go to 1-under for the round, 4-under for the day.  He followed up with a birdie two holes later to go to -5 for the day. Highsmith birdied the same hole (the 4th at Meadow Springs) to go to -6, one in front of Manke.  Allan birdied the 10th hole to go to 5-under. At this point things got real as the pressure of the moment began to weigh on the players. Highsmith bogeyed the 5th hole (his 14th) with a 3-putt to fall back to -5 while Manke secured three pars in a row remaining tied with Highsmith. Manke double bogeyed the 8th hole (his 17th) to fall two off the lead but birdied the drivable par 4, 289-yard 9th hole to get back to -5 for the day.

| “We just got a little ‘nervy’ on the back nine.”

Highsmith’s 3-putt on his 14th hole was the result of his first putt coming up woefully short and it was apparent that he was getting a little nervous on the greens.

“We putted great all day,” his caddie said after the round. “We just got a little ‘nervy’ on the back nine.”

Joe Highsmith putts on his 16th hole (7th hole at Meadow Springs Country Club) (photo credit: Larry Baush)

He continued to come up short on his first putts on the last four holes but managed to 2-putt each one and finished the round with a 69, 3-under for the round and 6-under for the day. The crowd gathered around the 18th green to watch Steve Allan finish. He was the only player on the course with a chance to crack the top two positions. He strung together pars from the 11th hole to the 15th hole and then added a birdie on the 16th hole, a 574-yard par 5 to go to 6-under, tied with Highsmith. He then bogied the par 3 17th hole and would have to par the 18th hole to get into a playoff with Manke.

Allan had his young teenage son, Joey, on his bag as caddie and the two watched as Allan’s approach shot landed over the green on the uphill 18th hole. He was faced with a difficult chip shot that had to carry about 5-yards to a downslope with not much green to work with. His chip ran about 10-feet past the hole, a putt he had to make to earn a spot in a playoff. If his chip had run out another foot, or two, the ball would have released down a slope and he would have been facing a 40-foot putt. Instead, he was able to stroke the 10-foot putt into the hole, and we were headed for a playoff.

There was also a playoff with four players, John Catlin, Matt Marshall, Blake Hathcoat and Chris Evans for one alternate spot. Players and spectators milled around the clubhouse and practice putting green as officials decided on the format of the playoff. It was decided that Allan and Manke would play the drivable par 4 9th hole while the playoff for the alternate spot would start on the par 3, 8th hole. We were one of the few to walk back down to the tee on the 9th hole as the green is situated in an amphitheater that most spectators found more inviting than taking the schlep to the tee.

Allan hit his tee shot with a one-handed finished and anxiously asked his son, “Where did that go?” His son explained that it went up the left side of fairway and was just left of the green. Manke’s drive ended up on the right side leaving him an uphill pitch over a bunker which he managed to get within 7-feet of the hole. Allan’s chip from the sticky rough left of the green came up short and he faced a putt of about 15-feet. Putting first, Allan confidently stroked in his putt and now all eyes were on Manke and his must-make 7-footer.  Manke’s putt slid by the right side and he would have to settle for the first alternate spot while Allan, the #1155 player on the World Golf Ranking punched his ticket to Torrey Pines.

It took four playoff holes, but John Catlin secured the second alternate spot by defeating Matt Marshall. Chris Evans was eliminated on the first playoff hole while Blake Hathcoat exited after the second playoff hole. Catlin and Marshall played the finishing 9th hole twice before settling the matter. Catlin’s 3-stroke penalty for slow play cost him a spot in the U.S. Open.

It was an exceptionally long day in challenging conditions, but we saw some great golf, especially under pressure. You could just feel the change in the pressure as the final nine holes played out. Highsmith and Allan were very impressive in how they handled the pressure. Follow Tour Backspin on social media as we update both players as they compete at Torrey Pines.

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