Denver native Mark Hubbard qualifies for his third U.S. Open; short miss on final hole keeps Jim Knous — who made an ace on Monday — out of playoff; Coloradan Scott Vincent earned his spot last month
By Gary Baines – 6/2/2025
Denver native Mark Hubbard and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy were both born in May 1989. And this year, the two PGA Tour players will have something else in common a month after turning 36 years old: they’ll both be in the field for the U.S. Open.
McIlroy, who completed the career Grand Slam this spring at the Masters, won his U.S. Open in 2011 and has competed in the event 16 times.
Hubbard is in a much different boat. He has yet to win in 247 PGA Tour starts, and he usually has to go through qualifying if he hopes to compete in the U.S. Open.
And Hubbard, a Colorado Academy graduate who swept the CGA’s junior majors in 2007, successfully negotiated that path once again this spring. To be precise, he earned a U.S. Open berth for the third time in his career, having missed the cut in 2020 and placing 50th last year.
On a day that featured 10 U.S. Open final qualifying tournaments — each over 36 holes — Hubbard posted rounds of 64-70 for a 6-under-par total at Lanbton Golf & Country Club in Ontario Canada. With seven U.S. Open berths at stake there, Hubbard tied for fourth place out of 66 competitors and punched his ticket for the U.S. Open, which will be held June 12-15 at the storied Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club in Pennsylvania.
Hubbard was one of 24 players with strong Colorado connections who played in final qualifying. Colorado resident Scott Vincent qualified in Japan two weeks ago (see details below) and Hubbard will join him at Oakmont.
Jim Knous after his 4-foot par miss on the final hole of regulation in Columbus, Ohio, kept him out of a playoff for a U.S. Open spot.
One “local” who came close, but fell just short was Basalt native and former Colorado School of Mines golfer Jim Knous, a onetime PGA Tour player who now works for Ping. Knous could have joined a playoff for the final U.S. Open berth from a Columbus, Ohio qualifier, but missing a 4-foot par putt on his final hole kept him out. Knous went 68-72 and made a hole-in-one on the 219-yard fourth hole in the morning round.
Overall, it will be the sixth major championship for Hubbard, who’s earned $11.57 million in his PGA Tour career. In addition to his two previous U.S. Opens, he’s teed it up three times at the PGA Championship, with a best showing of 26th place last year.
That Hubbard qualified for the U.S. Open was no surprise given how he’s played lately on the PGA Tour. He’s posted two top-10s — a fifth place and a seventh — in the last month. He sits at No. 113 in the World Golf Rankings. For his career, Hubbard has recorded 16 PGA Tour top-10s.
In Canada on Monday, Hubbard racked up a dozen birdies and six bogeys. He shared the lead after round 1, when he carded eight birdies and two bogeys en route to his 64.
Monday’s 10 U.S. Open final qualifiers come two weeks after three other sites hosted similar events. On May 19, Scott Vincent, a Zimbabwe native who now resides in Colorado, qualified for his first U.S. Open — and second major championship — by tying for medalist honors in final qualifying in Japan.
With the top three finishers out of a field of 43 in Japan earning berths into the U.S. Open,Vincent posted consecutive rounds of 5-under-par 67 to tie Japan’s Yuta Sugiura for the top spot. Over 36 holes, the former LIV golfer made an eagle, 11 birdies and three birdies.
Vincent’s lone major championship appearance to date came at the 2022 British Open, where he missed the cut. Vincent tied for 16th in the 2021 Olympics, representing Zimbabwe. This year, he’s competed primarily in Asia, where in the past he’s recorded three victories on the Japan Golf Tour and one on the Asian Tour.
Vincent and Hubbard won’t be the only players with strong Colorado ties teeing it up at the U.S. Open next week. Also in the field will be Denver native and part-time Coloradan Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023.
Colin Prater of Colorado Springs, who last year became one of the rare Colorado amateurs to qualify for the U.S. Open in the 21st century, elected not to enter qualifying this year. Prater advanced through both local and final qualifying in 2024.
Here are the results for players with strong Colorado ties in 2025 U.S. Open final qualifying:
JUNE 2
Ontario, Canada (Top 7 Players Qualify for U.S. Open)
Qualified for U.S. Open
4. Denver native Mark Hubbard 64-70–134
Failed to Qualify
Former CU golfer Jeremy Paul 68-DNF
Columbus, Ohio (Top 6 Players Qualify for U.S. Open)
Failed to Qualify
11. Former Colorado School of Mines golfer Jim Knous 68-72–140
38. Amateur and former DU golfer Charlie Soule, Denver 74-73–147
Summit, N.J. (Top 4 Players Qualify for U.S. Open)
Failed to Qualify
17. Amateur Collin Engelhardt, Castle Rock 72-70–142
17. Former Golden resident Andy Svoboda 70-72–142
71. Reid Howey, Littleton 76-80—156
Durham, N.C. (Top 7 Players Qualify for U.S. Open)
Failed to Qualify
37. Former Air Force Academy golfer Tom Whitney 74-70—144
37. Former Air Force Academy golfer Kyle Westmoreland 76-68–144
54. Amateur Zach Gomez, Westminster 79-79–157
West Palm Beach, Fla. (Top 4 Players Qualify for U.S. Open)
Failed to Qualify
Amateur Benjamin Simpson, Golden 77-DNF
Springfield, Ohio (Top 4 Players Qualify for U.S. Open)
Failed to Qualify
18. Former CU golfer Derek Fribbs, Aurora 74-65—139
31. CSU golfer Charlie Tucker, Castle Pines 74-69–143
Rockville, Md. (Top 4 Players Qualify for U.S. Open)
Failed to Qualify
30. Jason Preeo, Littleton 75-73–148
CU associate head coach Derek Tolan, Boulder 79-DNF
Valencia, Calif. (Top 4 Players Qualify for U.S. Open)
Failed to Qualify
33. CU golfer and amateur Ty Holbrook 73-74–147
36. CU golfer Brandon Knight 71-77–148
75. Amateur Finn Olson, Lone Tree 79-82–161
Walla Walla, Wash. (Top 2 Players Qualify for U.S. Open)
Failed to Qualify
17. CU golfer Hunter Swanson, Superior 73-73—146
18. Amateur Gage Messingham, Arvada 71-76–147
MAY 19
Shiga Prefecture, Japan (Top 3 Players Qualify for U.S. Open)
Qualified for U.S. Open
T1. Colorado resident Scott Vincent 67-67–134
Surrey, England May 19 (Top 8 Players Qualify for U.S. Open)
Failed to Qualified
Former CU golfer Yannik Paul 72-DNF
Dallas May 19 (Top 7 Players Qualify for U.S. Open)
Failed to Qualify
52. Former CSU golfer Gunnar Broin 65-81–146
58. Former western Colorado resident Brandon Bingaman 72-76–148
For all the scores from final qualifying, 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