Kuntz comes up short in quest for spot in U.S. Open

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This article was published 03/06/2024 (554 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On a day that began with major aspirations, Braxton Kuntz ultimately fell short in his quest to realize a lifelong dream.

The Winnipeg golfer teed it up Monday at Cherry Hill Club in Ridgway, Ont., needing a top-seven finish in a field of 66 players to secure a berth in the 124th U.S. Open later this month.

The 36-hole final qualifier required an exceptional effort from the 20-year-old in a competitive field that featured many longtime pros on the PGA Tour.

Kuntz, playing with Tour pro Justin Suh, gave himself an outside shot heading into the afternoon after an up-and-down even-par round in the opening 18. However, needing a low number in second half, the long-hitting lefty’s aggressive play produced too many errors and put him out of contention early on.

Kuntz ended at 6-over after rounds of 71 and 77, good for 39th.

“I think if I could’ve put myself a few under after the first round I wouldn’t have had to press as much, but I knew seven or eight under was probably going to be around what I needed to get to,” Kuntz said.

“I honestly got off to a really good start, I felt like, in the second round,” he continued. “And then I got sidetracked and (made) a couple of dumb mistakes, and a couple of bogeys later, I put myself out of it.”

There were ten qualifying events taking place around Canada and the U.S. on Monday.

Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, in the same field as Kuntz, fared a bit better than his Manitoba counterpart but still missed the mark by six shots after rounds of 71 and 69 to finish 2-under on the day.

There was also Brandon-product Austin Dobrescu, who came in at 8-over after scores of 73 and 77 at the course in southern Ontario.

Eric Hawerchuk, son of the legendary Winnipeg Jets forward Dale, was the province’s lone representative south of the border at Springfield Country Club in Ohio. Hawerchuk shot 73 and 75 to finish 8-over par.

Manitoba hasn’t had a representative in the U.S. Open since Adam Spiers teed it up in 2007 at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.

All wasn’t bad on a day Kuntz didn’t play his best golf. Proud of the opportunity he gave himself, he said he took several moments to soak up the company of elite golfers he played with.

“I think that really helped me keep a bit of a positive mindset out there. I mean, I was warming up on the range next to Adam Svensson, watching Stewart Cink hit a few shots — there were just so many notable players out there,” he said.

Kuntz, who recently completed his junior season at Ball State University, an NCAA Division 1 program, will now head home for the summer.

His next competition will come at the men’s amateur championship, held at Rossmere later this summer, when he will try to become the first Manitoban to win the title four years in a row.

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

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