University of Kansas senior golfer Gunnar Broin placed third out of 16 amateurs and tied for 70th at the 124th annual U.S. Open, which concluded Sunday at Pinehurst (North Carolina) Resort.
Broin, a native of Shorewood, Minnesota, shot a final-round 2-over-par 72 on Sunday, along with earlier rounds of 75, 68 and 81. He was one of 16 amateurs to qualify for the U.S. Open. Only three amateur golfers made the cut after 36 holes.
Neal Shipley was a low amateur with a four-round total of 6-over-par 286. He had rounds of 70, 73, 71, 72. Amateur Luke Clanton, a junior at Florida State, finished at 8-over-par 288. He had rounds of 76, 69, 69, 74.
The overall winner was Bryson DeChambeau, who finished with a 6-under 274. He outlasted runner-up Rory McIlroy, who finished at 5-under 275.
Shipley became the second player in the last 25 years to earn low amateur honors at the Masters and US Open in the same year, joining Viktor Hovland in 2019. He played three years at James Madison and two at Ohio State.
According to pgatour.com, others who finished as an amateur at the Masters and US Open since 1990 include Phil Mickelson (1991) and Matt Kuchar (1998). The list includes golf greats Jack Nicklaus and Ken Venturi.
Shipley and Clanton were in the same group on Sunday. It was the second time in the last 40 years (Rickie Fowler and Derek Fathauer, 2008 at Torrey Pines) that two amateurs paired up on a US Open Sunday.
According to PGAtour,com, “seven years later, Fowler and Fathauer met again in the final group on a Sunday, at PLAYERS 2015, where Fowler achieved a dramatic victory. Maybe in a few years, Shipley and Clanton will also meet again on the game’s biggest stage.”
Broin’s tournament highlight was a 2-under 68 in the second round. It was the sixth best round of the day. Broin had three birdies in his last five holes of the Second Round.
Broin accomplished a lot just by making it to the field at the Open. In total there were 9,522 entries to go through two qualifying stages to play Pinehurst. He is eligible to play a super senior season at KU if he decides to return.
Former KU golfer Gary Woodland, the 2019 Open champion, missed the cut. He had rounds of 72 and 78 for 10 over par. The cut was 5 over par. Ludvig Aberg led the tournament after two days with rounds of 66-69, good for 1-under 135.
Broin competed in all 13 events last season for KU. He finished inside the top 20 twice, including a top-10 finish (Fighting Irish Classic, tied, seventh). He posted four rounds in the 60s with a scoring average of 72.59.
His low round of 67 came in the second round of the Ka’anapali Classic (Oct. 26-28). He shot under par in seven rounds and was Kansas’ top individual player in two events.
He qualified for the US Open on June 3 through final qualifying in Columbus, Ohio. He needed a tiebreaker to advance.
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