U.S. Open local qualifier heads to Parkersburg Country Club
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VIENNA -- Parkersburg Country Club is one site where visions of competing in the U.S. Open this summer in Los Angeles could materialize.
Next Monday, a field of 67 golfers compete in a U.S. Open Local Qualifier at Parkersburg Country Club seeking to earn one of four bids which move onto the Final Qualifying Stage.
The first tee times are set for 10 a.m. on both Tee No. 1 and Tee No. 10.
"There is nothing else like it - this is pretty cool to host as part of one of golf's majors," said PCC golf professional Adam Chesnut. "As long as I've been here, Parkersburg Country Club has not hosted a local qualifier for the U.S. Open. If it has, it's been few and far between. I'm excited to see what kind of players and names we get.
"Our course superintendent has this place ready to roll. He and his staff have it set up exactly how they want it."
Parkersburg Country Club has hosted USGA local qualifiers such as the Mid-Amateur and Senior Amateur. Monday's event tops the list.
"Parkersburg Country Club is obviously one of the best golf courses in the state of West Virginia," said Chris Slack, who became interim executive director for the WVGA several weeks ago. "We've done local qualifiers at the Pete Dye Golf Club for a very long time and it's been three or four years since we hosted one at Stonewall Resort. Last year, it was at The Pines.
"In my 12 years with the (WVGA) I don't remember us having one at Parkersburg Country Club. The whole layout there is awesome. What makes the course at Parkersburg stand out are the greens. They always have some of the best in the state. And the narrow fairways are definitely a test of championship golf."
Amateurs with a handicap not exceeding 1.4 are eligible to compete in local qualifiers. Last year's local qualifying sites witnessed 9,265 entries.
This year's total of 10,187 entries surpassed the previous record of 10,127 set in 2014.
Local qualifying runs from April 17-May 22 at 109 sites across 44 U.S. states and Canada. Dates for the Final Qualifying stage are May 16 in England, May 22 in Japan and Texas and June 5 in Canada and nine U.S. sites.
The U.S. Open Championship (June 15-18) returns to Los Angeles for the first time in 75 years. Ben Hogan won the title that year - the first of his four U.S. Open titles.
A couple of notable names representing West Virginia in Monday's field are Woody Woodward (Bridgeport) and Philip Reale (Hurricane).
"With our membership, getting to host a local qualifier it's pretty interesting," Chesnut said. "A lot of the membership are like 'Wow! We actually get to host a U.S. Open local qualifier.' There is a lot of excitement there.
"I would like to get more competitive myself so I could do that."
Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com