18 more players with strong Colorado ties set to tee it up in U.S. Open final qualifying on June 8; among those is Collin Engelhardt, who recently shot a 59 at Pradera
By Gary Baines
It’s certainly a long shot, but far from impossible.
Being a golfer from Colorado who makes it through both stages of U.S. Open qualifying and competes in the national championship requires overcoming big-time odds.
But it has certainly has been done. To give some examples from the 21st century, there’s Derek Tolan and Ben Portie (2002), Tom Glissmeyer (2003), Dustin White (2006), Jason Allen (2007), Jason Preeo (2010), Steve Irwin (2011) and Colin Prater (2024).
Will anyone meeting that criteria qualify for the 2026 U.S. Open and tee it up at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y., June 18-21?
We’ll soon find out as the majority of 36-hole U.S. Open final qualifying takes place on Monday, June 8. Three final qualifiers already have been held — one each in Dallas, England and Japan, and so far, all nine players with strong Colorado ties competing there have fallen short of qualifying. Four were high-level tour players, while the other five had advanced to final qualifying after going through the local stage (see the list below).
That leaves 18 golfers with significant Colorado connections that will tee it up on June 8 at one of the 10 final qualifying sites — nine in the U.S. and one in Toronto, Canada. A great majority of those 18 advanced through local qualifying, but among the tour players involved are Denver native Mark Hubbard (PGA Tour), former University of Colorado golfer Jeremy Paul (PGA Tour/Korn Ferry Tour) and former Air Force Academy player Tom Whitney (Korn Ferry Tour).
Also teeing it up on Monday will be Collin Engelhardt of Castle Rock, the medalist in U.S. Open local qualifying at Collindale Golf Course. According to The Club at Pradera Facebook page, Engelhardt over the weekend shot a 13-under-par 59 at Pradera, posting a 10-under 26 on the back nine. On the final nine, he made three eagles, four birdies and two pars. He had three birdies and six pars on the front nine.
Here is the complete list of players with strong Colorado ties who are scheduled to compete in U.S. Open final qualifying on June 8 — and those who played in final qualifiers in May:
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (June 8)
DU golfer Zander Grant
Jimmy Makloski, Pueblo
Thayer Plewe, Cortez
Parker Shaw, Denver
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA. (June 8)
University of Northern Colorado golfer Cooper Tate
Bo Wardynski, Berthoud
PURCHASE, N.Y. (June 8)
Former Golden resident Andrew Svoboda
GASTONIA, N.C. (June 8)
Former CU golfer Jeremy Paul
Former Air Force Academy golfer Tom Whitney
TORONTO, CANADA (June 8)
Denver native Mark Hubbard
CRESWELL, ORE. (June 8)
Geoff Keffer, Lakewood
Reese Knox, Peyton
Tyler Long, Evergreen
Matthew Wells, Aspen
SPRINGFIELD, OHIO (June 8)
Colin Engelhardt, Castle Rock
ROCKVILLE, MD. (June 8)
Elijah Johnson, Denver
WESTERVILLE, OHIO (June 8)
Riley Andrews, Castle Rock
Michael Rosman, Aurora
DALLAS (May 18; Top 9 Qualify)
Failed to Qualify
21. Part-time Colorado resident Scott Vincent 70-71–141
69. Charlie Doyle, Colorado Springs 79-71–150
84. Jean-Paul Cleveland, Denver 71-83–154
93. Ash Edwards, Boulder 80-78–158
93. Cody Thompson, Fort Collins 79-79—158
98. Thomas Herholtz, Colorado Springs 75-84–159
Former Air Force Academy golfer Kyle Westmoreland 72-DNF
SURREY, ENGLAND (May 18; Top 7 Qualify)
Failed to Qualify
46. Davis Bryant, Aurora 70-72–142
Former CU golfer Yannik Paul 71-DNF
For all the U.S. Open qualifying results, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com