Headline: 2009 Massachusetts Open Champion Rob Oppenheim Claims Medalist Honors at U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying at Canoe Brook (Summit, NJ)
For Immediate Release: June 6, 2016
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| Rob Oppenheim was medalist at U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying held at Canoe Brook in Summit, NJ. |
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Norton, MA — The Bay State is proving itself this week as a true breeding ground for top golf talent.
One day after Hopkinton native and three-time MGA Junior Player of the Year Jon Curran finished second at the Memorial Tournament, another Massachusetts true bred secured medalist honors at U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying.
Rob Oppenheim, an Andover native who played many years out of Indian Ridge Country Club, earned a spot in the 2016 U.S. Open Championship field after finishing as co-medalist at the sectional qualifier which was held at Canoe Brook in Summit, New Jersey.
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U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying Quick Links:
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A total of six competitors - five professionals and one amateur - advanced in New Jersey and will join the other qualifiers who will help make up the final 156 Championship Proper field.
Oppenheim, who is enjoying his rookie season on the PGA TOUR, finished with a two-round score of 7-under par 137 to share the top spot with James Herman (Palm City, FL), a fellow PGA TOUR player who earlier this year won the 2016 Shell Houston Open title.
On this day, Oppenheim used a strong start – a 5-under par 67 – to propel himself into the Championship Proper. During that first 18 holes, Oppenheim had a stretch of golf where he made four straight birdies (on holes 6 through 9) and then an eagle on the 15th hole. He capped off his sectional qualifying performance in the afternoon with a solid 2-under par 70 round which featured three birdies and just one bogey.
At the age of 36, Oppenheim is especially excited about the opportunity to vie for a USGA Championship title. The 2009 Massachusetts Open Champion made national headlines last October when he earned his PGA TOUR card by a mere $101.
CLICK HERE to read one of the many accounts of that amazing story.
Other Bay Staters in the field at Canoe Brook included Troy Pare (Seekonk, MA), Andy Lesenski (Greenfield, MA) and Frank Dully, Jr. (Salem, MA) as well as amateurs Kevin Silva (New Bedford, MA), James Imai (Brookline, MA) and Matt Organisak (Sudbury, MA).
Two-time Massachusetts Amateur Champion and former PGA TOUR Champion James Driscoll (Wellesley,MA) came up three strokes shy of qualifying in Houston, Texas despite posting two straight scores of 2-under par 70.
Amateur Matthew Naumec (Wilbraham, MA) - the 2014 MGA Junior Player of the Year - advanced to sectional qualifying and competed on Monday at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, MD.
