The good times continue to roll for some of the players who competed in last week’s NCAA Championship.
Cory Whitsett (graduating senior) and Robby Shelton (rising sophomore), who helped lead Alabama to back-to-back national titles May 28 at Prairie Dunes, were among the seven amateurs who advanced through U.S. Open sectional qualifying on Monday. They will join Matt Fitzpatrick and Oliver Goss, who earned their spots at Pinehurst by virtue of their performance at the 2013 U.S. Amateur.
The other amateurs who will compete in next week’s Open: LSU graduating senior Smylie Kaufman, Illinois rising senior Brian Campbell, Stanford rising sophomore Maverick McNealy and Will Grimmer, the 17-year-old high-school senior who last year shot 59 in a competition at Pinehurst No. 1.
Ten amateurs played the Open last year at Merion, while there were eight and 13, respectively, in 2012 and ’11.