DALLAS – Patrick Reed withdrew from qualifying for the US Open on Monday to end his streak of playing every major since the 2014 Masters. Sergio García made two big mistakes late that cost him advance to his 25th US Open United consecutively.
Garcia, who topped the 36-hole qualifier last year, was on the verge of landing one of 11 spots at the Dallas Athletic Club until he made double bogey on the par-5 16th of the Gold course. He finished with two pars for a 71 and was forced into a seven-man playoff for six spots.
Everyone else made par or birdie. Garcia bogeyed the first hole on the Gold course and had to settle for the first alternative, keeping his hopes alive of being at Pinehurst No. 2 on June 13-16.
US Open final qualifying results, sites for Pinehurst No. 2
There are 13 final qualifying sites for players to reach the US Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
They both play in LIV Golf, which does not get points in the world ranking. Reed has no other avenue to earn a spot at Pinehurst. The USGA said that when a player withdraws from a qualifier, he cannot enter another one at a later date.
Reed did well enough at the Masters (tied for 12th) to crack the top 100 in the world, and the PGA Championship gave him an invite to play last week at Valhalla.
The US Open ranked in the top 60 in the world according to this week’s rankings. Reed is ranked 92nd; he would have needed third place in Valhalla to make the top 60, and finished tied for 53rd.
The Dallas qualifier, the first of 11 in North America, featured nine LIV Golf players. Eugenio Chacarra was the only one who managed to pass. He will play his first major.
The other 10 qualifiers are on June 3.
Monday was another step toward filling the field for the June 15-18 US Open with 52 players added to the 156-man field: 21 from the world’s top 60 and 23 of them through 36-hole playoffs in Dallas, Japan and England.
Justin Rose, whose 10-year exemption to win the U.S. Open at Merion expired last year, tied for sixth at the PGA Championship and moved up 12 spots to 56th to avoid qualifying. Among those left out of the top 60 was Adam Scott.
Billy Horschel, who won in the Dominican Republic, Valspar Championship winner Peter Malnati and Mackenzie Hughes were among five players leading the PGA Tour’s FedExCup standings who were not yet eligible for the US Open and who were added to the field. The US Open exempted three other Race to Dubai players from the European circuit: two from last year who did not qualify and this year’s leading player had not yet done so.
Ryo Ishikawa led the three qualifiers in Japan, while the nine players who qualified in England included Robert Rock and Matteo Manassero.