Around the Green

Storylines From U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying At Northwood

Northwood Club in Dallas is one of 10 U.S. sites that will host U.S. Open sectional qualifying on Monday, June 8. Below are some of the more interesting storylines from Northwood.

Sectional qualifying, conducted over 36 holes, will be held Monday, June 8. The 2015 U.S. Open Championship will be held at Chambers Bay, in University Place, Wash., on June 18-21.
 

• Jason Allred of Scottsdale, Ariz., won the 1997 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship by defeating Trevor Immelman. Allred is attempting to qualify for his third U.S. Open. He achieved the feat in 2006 and 2010.
• Brad Dalke, 17, of Hobart, Okla., is the youngest of seven children and comes from an athletic family. His mother, Kay (Pryor), played on the first University of Oklahoma women’s golf team. His father, Bill, was a linebacker on Oklahoma’s 1975 national championship team. His grandfather, Ken (Pryor), played on the school’s basketball and baseball teams. Dalke, who will attend Oklahoma in the fall, won the 2014 Class 2A state high school championship.
• Bob Estes, 49, has played in 15 U.S. Opens. Estes, who has four PGA Tour victories, tied for 11th in 2005, his best finish, at Pinehurst No. 2. He owns top-10 finishes in the other three major professional championships (Masters, British Open, PGA).
• Jake Greenspoon recently completed his freshman season at the University of Texas-Arlington. He shot a 70 in the U.S. Open local qualifier held in Houston, Texas. His twin sister, Lauren, was the starting setter on the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga volleyball team.
• Hunter Haas, of Southlake, Texas, won the 1999 U.S. Amateur Public Links and was a member the 1999 USA Walker Cup Team. Haas, who was a semifinalist in the 1999 U.S. Amateur, has won four times on the Web.com Tour and played in two U.S. Opens.
• Cole Hammer, 15, of Houston, Texas, is a freshman on the Kincaid School golf team. He earned All-Southwest Preparatory Conference recognition this spring and helped his squad tie for eighth at the conference championship. Hammer plans to attend the University of Texas in 2018.
• Peter Kindstrom, of McHenry, Ill., had his large intestine removed in high school due to the inherited disorder familial polyposis. His father suffered from the same disease. Kindstrom went on to play at Carthage College, in Kenosha, Wis., and competes on the Adams Golf Pro Tour. His teacher is Homero Blancas, who tied for fourth in the 1972 U.S. Open.
• Max McGreevy, of Edmond, Okla., is a sophomore on the University of Oklahoma team and helped the Sooners make their fifth consecutive NCAA Championship appearance. McGreevy’s father, Brian, played as a collegian at Kansas, while his uncle, Tom, was a member of the Arizona State team. His uncle, Gary Freeman, was a football player at Kansas State.
• Brad Nurski, 36, of St. Joseph, Mo., is a conductor and switchman for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. He was the runner-up to champion Scott Harvey in the 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur. Nurski has won one state amateur and two state mid-amateur titles.
• Rod Pampling, 45, advanced to last year’s U.S. Open through the Columbus sectional qualifier with rounds of 73 and 65. The Australian has played in eight U.S. Opens with his best finish a tie for 14th in 2008. His wife, Angela, is a clinical psychologist.
• Zechariah Potter, of Andover, Kan., was an all-conference performer at Wichita State University and now plays on the Web.com Tour. His father, Mark, recently completed his 17th season as the head basketball coach at Division II Newman University. His sister, Chelsey, was an all-conference volleyball player at Newman.
• Marc Turnesa, of Jupiter, Fla., is the grandson of Mike Turnesa, one of seven brothers who played golf and tied for 26th at the 1946 U.S. Open. Marc has one victory on both the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour.
• Scott Verplank, 50, has played in 18 U.S. Opens. His best finish was a tie for seventh in 2007. Verplank, a diabetic who plays with an insulin pump, won the 1984 U.S. Amateur and has five PGA Tour wins. He will compete in his second U.S. Senior Open this year.

Storylines complied by Brian DePasquale, USGA