Nine former HotelPlanner Tour players made it safely through U.S. Open Final Qualifying on Monday and can now look forward to teeing it up in the third men’s Major Championship of the year at Oakmont Country Club next month.
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who topped the Road to Mallorca Rankings in 2024, continued his remarkable rise by topping the leaderboard at Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas.
The Dane fired rounds of 66-65 to end the day on the 11 under par to book his place in what will be his second Major outing after making his debut in last week’s US PGA Championship.
While Neergaard-Petersen was impressing stateside, Final Qualifying also took place at Walton Heath in Surrey, with all eight players that progressed at the end of the marathon two-round day, having once played on the HotelPlanner Tour.
Englishman Jordan Smith, who graduated to the DP World Tour in 2016, carded rounds of 64-70 to reach ten under par to top the leaderboard, and he will now make his third U.S. Open appearance.
Four-time DP World Tour winner Guido Migliozzi followed up his first round 68 with a five under 67 to finish on nine under par, and he will be targeting another strong performance at the U.S. Open after recording a tied fourth place in 2021 at Torrey Pines.
Frenchman Frederic Lacroix, who earned promotion in 2023, and Swede Joakim Lagergren, who won twice to book his return to Golf’s Global Tour last year, finished alongside Migliozzi on nine under.
Sam Bairstow is another of the class of 2023 set to tee it up at Oakmont, and having qualified for the 2024 U.S. Open through the same event at Walton Heath 12 months ago, repeated that feat after a crucial birdie at the 36th hole saw him move to eight under par and avoid the prospect of a play-off.
Extra holes were eventually required to decide the three remaining places and the two alternate spots. Six competitors finished on seven under par, with Ryder Cup Vice Captain Edoardo Molinari, who also came through qualifying at Walton Heath last year, South African Jacques Kruyswijk and Italian Andrea Pavan – who both won on the HotelPlanner Tour in 2023 - earning their spot in the U.S. Open field after two extra holes.
