Players looking to earn a golden ticket to the U.S Open will be glued to results of various tours on Sunday.
Six spots have been set aside among the 156-man field next week, with players inside the top 60 of the world rankings Monday (not otherwise eligible) punching their ticket to Pinehurst No. 2. One of those spots will be claimed by Kevin Na, who moved up to No. 40 in the world after a runner-up finish last week at the Memorial Tournament.
The first potential addition to the field at Pinehurst is Koumei Oda, who began the week at No. 67 in the world. Oda will begin the final round of the PGA Championship Nissin on the Japan Golf Tour in a tie for second, and could move inside the top 60 with a victory. Oda has never before played in the U.S. Open.
Another player in the mix is Bernd Wiesberger, who is No. 69 and will begin the final round of the Lyoness Open on the European Tour alone in second place, two shots behind leader Joost Luiten. Wiesberger, who like Oda has never played in the season’s second major, will likely earn a spot in the field at Pinehurst with a solo second-place finish or better in Austria.
At the PGA Tour stop in Memphis, Chesson Hadley is the most likely to play his way into the U.S. Open with a strong Sunday effort at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Hadley, who won earlier this year at the Puerto Rico Open, is No. 66 in the world and likely needs a top-four finish at TPC Southwind. Through 10 holes of the third round, Hadley is tied for 16th, nine shots behind leader Ben Crane and three shots off a tie for fourth.
The group of U.S. Open alternates waiting in the wings includes Cameron Tringale, who was first alternate from the difficult regional in Columbus, Ohio, and amateur Cameron Wilson, who was first alternate from the sectional in Purchase, N.Y., after claiming the NCAA individual title last month for Stanford.