PITTSBURGH _ The U.S. Open, built on the long-held premise that the tournament is available to everyone, will not be open at all.
And that means the dreams of hundreds of golfers in Western Pennsylvania, no matter how fleeting or whimsical, are put on hold for at least another year.
That's because the United States Golf Association announced last week it has decided to cancel qualifying for the 2020 U.S. Open, which had already been postponed from June until September, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's the first time since 1924 the USGA has done away with qualifying for golf's second-oldest championship, a stunning but not surprising move given all that has been happening in the world, not just in golf.
And it's not just the U.S. Open. All qualifiers for three other USGA championships _ the U.S. Women's Open, the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Women's Amateur _ have been canceled, as well. The USGA has not announced how players will be exempt into the respective tournaments.
"It's just a tough year for everyone," said Nathan Smith, a four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and three-time member of the U.S. Walker Cup team who has never competed in a U.S. Open despite 12 trips to sectional qualifiers. "It's disappointing."
Terry Teasdale, executive director of the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association that conducts local qualifiers for the USGA championships, said the decision by golf's governing body in the U.S. affects approximately 350 male and female golfers in the area. That includes approximately 120 golfers who would annually participate in qualifying for the U.S. Open.
The 18-local qualifier for the U.S. Open was scheduled for May 6 at Butler Country Club. The 36-hole sectional qualifier for the U.S. Women's Open was May 5 at Shannopin Country Club.
"We expected the women's and men's open qualifying to be conducted in the fall, but the longer it went on the less likely it looked," Teasdale said.
In a typical year, the USGA estimates that nearly half of the 156-player field at the U.S. Open comes from local and sectional qualifiers. This year, there will be none.
"Everything has to be spoken about within the construct of what's going on in the world, so it's no big deal," said eight-time West Penn Amateur and 2017 U.S. Senior Amateur champion Sean Knapp of Oakmont. "Hardly any players ever make it out of local and have a significant impact on the Open. But it's still very disappointing."
To be sure, it is not very often a player from Western Pennsylvania who has to go through local qualifying makes it to the U.S. Open.
The last player to do so was Rick Stimmel, who qualified for the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach after making it through a playoff in a local qualifier at Quicksilver Golf Club and a sectional qualifier at Butler CC. Mike Van Sickle of Kennedy eventually made it into the field of the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont as the fifth alternate after finishing as medalist in a local qualifier at the Club at Nevillewood and fourth in a sectional qualifier at Woodmont CC in Rockville, Md., one shot from the final qualifying spot.
"Every year we're getting a little older so those opportunities don't come around as much as they used to," said Stimmel, 52, who has participated in four sectional qualifiers. "It's another year of sitting on the couch watching time go by."
It is rare for a player who had to go through a sectional qualifier to win the U.S. Open. The last to do so was Steve Jones in 1996. It is even rarer for a player to win the U.S. Open after going through a local qualifier. The last player to do that was Orville Moody, won the 1969 U.S. Open at Champions Golf Club in Houston, his only PGA Tour victory.
"If you're like all of us, it's a measuring stick, it's a building block," said Knapp, who has never qualified for the U.S. Open despite nine trips to sectional qualifiers. "If you make it to the next level of sectional qualifying, you're going to play with a lot of good players, and that helps in your development as a tournament player. The last time I was at Woodmont, the guy in my group made it. It was exciting to see."
