RIDGEWAY, Ontario – Of the top 18 finishers at the U.S. Open Final Qualifying at Cherry Hill Club, 17 were card-carrying members of the PGA Tour who had played last week at the RBC Canadian Open. Then there was Michigan State rising senior Ashton McCulloch, the Canadian amateur champion, who crashed the party and earned the final of seven spots available at the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
Before he teed off in his morning round, McCulloch’s brother called to wish him luck and said he was going to mark the week of the Open as out of office so he could caddie for him.
McCulloch shot a 36-hole total of 8-under 134 to qualify for his first major championship. Last week, he played in the Canadian Open, too, and missed the cut, ranking dead last in Strokes Gained: Putting for the first two days. But it was an experienced he said he’ll never forget.
“I figured out it is my passion to play on the PGA Tour so I’m just excited to get back out there and play against the best again,” he said.
Cherry Hill Club, a Walter Travis course that is more than 100 years old, surrendered four 63’s on Monday, which tied the course record. Mark Hubbard just missed a 12-foot birdie putt at the last for 62.
Mark Hubbard missed breaking the course record by this much at 100-year-old Cherry Hill. Settled for a share of it with 63, medalist honors and a spot in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. pic.twitter.com/DcfeQjM6r1
— Adam Schupak (@AdamSchupak) June 3, 2024
But that was nearly the only putt that didn’t drop with a TaylorMade Spider putter he inserted in the bag just last month.
“It’s the last putter I ever thought I’d use,” he said. “But that’s the best I’ve putted in as long as I can remember. “I feel like I rolled it really well last week and I couldn’t read the greens at all. I got out here and this is an old-school course with lots of slope and I was so happy to be on a green where I could be confident it was going left.”
Hubbard is having a solid season on the Tour and hasn’t missed a cut this season.
“I was joking that if I qualify today does that count as another made cut?” said Hubbard, who qualified for the Open for the first time. (He got into Winged Foot during the COVID year.) “And if I don’t does that count as my first missed cut?”
He shot 64-63 to take medalist honors, three shots better than Canadian Adam Svensson.
Rico Hoey was alone in third after rounds of 68-63. Hoey has struggled as a PGA Tour rookie this season and missed his fourth consecutive cut last week at the RBC, where he battled a cold in addition to his game. He spent Saturday in bed and considered skipping the qualifier.
“Golf can be so dark. I was like I don’t know if I should or not, it’s going to be a joke, an embarrassment,” Hoey said. “I decided I owe it to myself to come out and play and I’m glad I did. These are the times that I’ll look back and say, you did it and you can keep rolling through those bad times.”
Hoey heated up on the front nine of his second round, playing the first six holes in six under and going out in 29.
“I made six threes in a row and said, ‘God, this might happen,’” said Hoey, who was a hard-luck loser last year at qualifying for the Open in L.A., not far from where he grew up.
He qualified for his first major and will compete at Pinehurst, where his former college coach, Chris Zambri, lives and works for the USGA.
Davis Thompson is heading to Pinehurst too. He shot the first 63 in the morning round at Cherry Hill and finished at 10 under. Greyson Sigg shot 64-69 to tie for fifth with Aaron Rai. The Englishman used a local member as a caddie, who guided him around to a 70 in the morning and then he got his bearings. He holed out a 9-iron from 138 yards at the fourth hole and finished with three birdies in his final four holes to tie the course record and seal the deal.
Rai played in the U.S. Open once before at Erin Hills in 2017. He’s been to Pinehurst once, competing in the U.S. Kids Worlds Championships at age 12.
“I have very fond memories of that,” he said. “That will be special to go back to a place where I played junior golf but this time going back for a major.”
Keith Mitchell missed a 10-foot birdie putt at 18 that would’ve forced a playoff with McCulloch, but he returned to 18 and made a 6-foot birdie to secure first-alternate status. Matt Wallace is the second alternate.
Sixty-seven players registered for the Cherry Hill site for the seven spots available.