Very Close Call

Coloradan Thayer Plewe very narrowly misses qualifying for U.S. Open after playing his final 3 holes in 3 over par; he was one of many players with Colorado ties who teed it up in 36-hole final qualifiers on Monday

By Gary Baines 

Denver native Wyndham Clark looked like he would have some company, from a Colorado perspective, at the U.S. Open that will be played June 18-21 at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y.

The Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, of course, is exempt for 10 years after winning the U.S. Open in 2023.

But for the longest time — after 8 p.m. (MT) on Monday — it appeared that left-hander Thayer Plewe, who grew up in the southwestern Colorado town of Cortez and graduated from Montezuma-Cortez High School, would lock up one of four available U.S. Open berths at a final qualifying site in Sacramento, Calif. After all, he was inside the top four with a shot to spare with three holes left in the 36-hole Monday that has been referred to — in some cases incessantly — as “Golf’s Longest Day”.

Alas, the 2022 Class 3A boys state high school individual champion went double bogey-bogey on his 34th and 35th holes of the day — after having made just one bogey up to that point. That dropped him behind the player in the fourth position, University of South Carolina golfer Marek Fleming, from Tomball, Texas.

And Plewe failed convert a 12-foot birdie attempt on his final hole, leaving him tied for fifth place at a site where the top four landed U.S. Open spots.

The 21-year-old, an amateur who recently was named the Mountain West Conference men’s golf freshman of the year while playing for the University of New Mexico, had been bidding to join the few, the proud list of Colorado amateurs who have punched their tickets to the U.S. Open over the last two decades. That list includes the likes of Colin Prater (2024) and Steve Irwin (2011).

Plewe ended up with rounds of 67-72 for a 3-under-par total at Del Paso Country Club, where Taylor Montgomery of Las Vegas (69-66) was the medalist. Montgomery is the son of Monte Montgomery, who grew up in Grand Junction and won a state high school individual title there. Monte also captured the Grand Junction-based Rocky Mountain Open title three times — in 1992, ’97 and 2013.

In all, Plewe was one of 18 more players with significant Colorado ties who had their chance to join Clark at the U.S. Open — in their case through the last 10 final qualifying tournaments, which took place on Monday.

And Plewe wasn’t the only Coloradan very much in the mix for a U.S. Open berth down the stretch in tournaments on the West Coast. Amateur Reese Knox of Peyton, a sophomore at Boise State last season, was in contention in Creswell, Ore.

Knox was in the running for a spot until double bogeying his 36th hole of the day, a par-5, where he strayed well off the fairway. As it turned out, he needed to birdie that hole to join a playoff for the final U.S. Open berth. Instead, scores of 70 and 74 left him with an even-par total, good for ninth place in Oregon, where two U.S. Open berths were at stake.

Elsewhere, Andrew Svoboda, a former Golden resident, finished sixth in Purchase, N.Y., where the top four qualified. Svoboda (72-70) earned the second alternate spot.

Two out-of-state players who have won prominent events in Colorado qualified for the U.S. Open on Monday.

Neal Shipley, winner of the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Ascendant Presented by Blue, was co-medalist with Zac Blair at the Springfield, Ohio site. Shipley went 67-65 for an 8-under-par total. He was low amateur at the 2024 U.S. Open (26th place overall) after finishing runner-up in the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club.

And William Mouw, winner of the 2022 Trans-Miss at Denver Country Club, prevailed in a playoff in Toronto, also punching his ticket to the U.S. Open. He went 68-66 for a 6-under total there, then made birdie in the playoff.

Monday’s tournaments were the second stage of the two-stage qualifying process for the U.S. Open.

Here is the complete list of players with strong Colorado ties who were scheduled to compete in U.S. Open final qualifying on Monday — and those who played in final qualifiers in May:

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (June 8; Top 4 Qualify)

Failed to Qualify

5. Thayer Plewe, Cortez 67-72–139

48. DU golfer Zander Grant 71-76–147

52. Parker Shaw, Denver 73-75–148

58. Jimmy Makloski, Pueblo 77-73–150

CRESWELL, ORE. (June 8; Top 2 Qualify)

Failed to Qualify

9. Reese Knox, Peyton 70-74–144

44. Tyler Long, Evergreen 78-78–156

48. Geoff Keffer, Lakewood 80-79–159

49. Matthew Wells, Aspen 79-81—160

PURCHASE, N.Y. (June 8; Top 4 Qualify)

Failed to Qualify

6. Former Golden resident Andrew Svoboda 72-70—142 (second alternate)

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO (June 8; Top 5 Qualify)

Failed to Qualify

45. Colin Engelhardt, Castle Rock 77-66—143

GASTONIA, N.C. (June 8; Top 5 Qualify)

Failed to Qualify

Former CU golfer Jeremy Paul 67-DNF

Former Air Force Academy golfer Tom Whitney 70-DNF

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA. (June 8; Top 4 Qualify)

Failed to Qualify

41. Bo Wardynski, Berthoud 76-75–151

46. University of Northern Colorado golfer Cooper Tate 76-79–155

WESTERVILLE, OHIO (June 8; Top 4 Qualify)

Failed to Qualify

43. Michael Rosman, Aurora 75-73—148

48. Riley Andrews, Castle Rock 78-77—155

ROCKVILLE, MD. (June 8 Top 4 Qualify)

Failed to Qualify

70. Elijah Johnson, Denver 81-83—164

TORONTO, CANADA (June 8; Top 6 Qualify)

Denver native Mark Hubbard WD

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