Five U.S. Open Cinderellas to keep an eye on

BROOKLINE, Mass. – There were 9,265 entries accepted for this year’s U.S. Open at The Country Club.

Some players earned spots in the field through various exemption categories based on FedExCup finish, the Official World Golf Ranking, victories at prestigious events, etc.

Others earned their spot through the unique meritocracy of qualifying. The enduring beauty of the U.S. Open is that any player with a 1.4 handicap or better can make the field for this major championship.

In 2005, Jason Gore earned a spot in Sunday’s final group at Pinehurst No. 2 as a near-anonymous journeyman pro. Ten years ago, Beau Hossler held the solo lead Friday at Olympic Club as a rising high school senior.

Who could author a similar story this week? Here’s five potential Cinderellas at The Country Club.

ERIK BARNES

A 36-hole U.S. Open qualifier didn’t faze the eighth-year Korn Ferry Tour pro. Barnes, 34, knows what it means to work a double shift.

During pro golf’s hiatus in the spring of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Barnes took a job at a Publix supermarket as a Grocery Replenishment Specialist (stocking shelves) to support his family – wife Ashleigh and two young sons, Jaxton and Tucker.

Five days a week, the Indiana native woke up at 3 a.m. He worked from 4 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the grocery store, then headed to the golf course to practice.

“Could I have filed for unemployment and got what I’m making at Publix? Yeah, probably,” Barnes said at the time. “But I needed to take action and do it right now.”

Playing on conditional status at the time, Barnes made a quick impact once the hiatus was lifted, recording back-to-back top-15 finishes to boost his spot in the Priority Ranking and play a full season. He has played the best golf of his career in 2022, making 14 of 15 cuts to begin the Korn Ferry Tour campaign and secure his first TOUR card for next season. This week, he gets a sneak preview of life on golf’s biggest stage.

FRAN QUINN

Fran Quinn has been grinding as a pro golfer for three decades. He’s won four times on the Korn Ferry Tour but also traversed the globe, including stops in Africa and Asia, in search of places to play. Just 71 of his starts as a pro have been on the PGA TOUR.

His 72nd may be the most memorable of them all, however. The 57-year-old’s endurance and perseverance will pay off this week, with a moment that he will never forget in front of friends and family. The Massachusetts native will be the first man to tee off of No. 10 Thursday (fellow Massachusetts native Michael Thorbjornsen, an amateur who made the cut in the 2019 U.S. Open, will do the honors off of No. 1).

Quinn, 57, hadn’t attempted U.S. Open Final Qualifying since 2015 but the opportunity to compete this week in his home state was too good to pass up. Making the field may have been a longshot but he had to try. With the encouragement of his son Owen, and The Country Club’s location just 40 minutes from his hometown of Holden, Massachusetts, he sent in his application.

The four-time Korn Ferry Tour winner advanced through both Local and Final Qualifying, punctuated with a birdie on the second extra hole of an 8-for-3 playoff at the Purchase, New York, site to secure his first U.S. Open berth since 2014.

In his most recent U.S. Open appearance, at Pinehurst No. 2, Quinn generated buzz with an opening-round 68 that placed him T2 at day’s end. With Owen on the bag, he made the cut and enjoyed a memorable Father’s Day walk. It would have marked a sufficient farewell to the major championship arena.

Now he has upped the ante, with a moment he only could have dreamed of.

KEITH GREENE

Golf Channel was on hand for the Jupiter, Florida, site of Final Qualifying, and when the broadcast cut to an interview with Keith Greene, many fans didn’t think much of it.

But as Greene became teary-eyed upon explaining what this opportunity meant to him, he instantly gained legions of new fans. Kevin Kisner even tweeted at Greene with interest in setting up a practice round.

Greene, 29, played collegiately at Eastern Florida State College and Lynn University and has competed on various mini-tours with limited success. He has made 12 career starts across PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Latinoamerica, with just one made cut to show. The seventh-year pro has yet to make a PGA TOUR or Korn Ferry Tour start.

On his TOUR profile, Greene notes a favorite quote is “hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.”

Perhaps channeling that spirit, the Florida native has earned the right to tee it up against the world’s best this week.

“I’ve just believed so much in myself … it’s just been hard, man,” Greene said upon qualifying, his voice breaking. “The family’s there, though. I’m just trying to do what I can out here, and I know I’ve got it. Competition’s so good, but I know I can do it.”

Professional golf is incredibly deep. This week, Greene will aim to prove that.

ISAIAH SALINDA

Salinda’s parents worked long hours for decades to give their son every chance to chase his dreams. His dad Antonio has spent three-plus decades in the postal service in San Francisco, and his mom Debbie is a longtime nurse.

Salinda played collegiately at Stanford, helping the Cardinal to the 2020 NCAA title, and he advanced through PGA TOUR Canada Q-School in March 2020 -- just before the COVID-19 pandemic hiatus. Without a place to play for a while, his timeline was delayed.

He finished T21 at PGA TOUR Canada’s Royal Beach Victoria Open the day before competing at 36-hole Final Qualifying in Bend, Oregon, where he carded 8 under to earn one of three available spots.

Salinda competed in the 2019 Walker Cup and was a second-team All-American as a senior. Now he’ll tee it up in his first major championship.

CHRIS GOTTERUP

After a disappointing exit in the NCAA Championship quarterfinals, Gotterup wouldn’t have been blamed for taking a few days to relax before commencing his professional career.

But the New Jersey native – who played a fifth year for Oklahoma after four years at Rutgers – recalibrated mentally and traversed from the NCAA Championships in Phoenix to attempt U.S. Open Final Qualifying in Purchase, New York.

The recent Haskins Award winner (recognizing the United States’ top collegiate golfer) didn’t miss a beat, carding 3 under at a pair of demanding courses to earn his first major championship start.

Gotterup, 22, finished No. 7 on the 2022 PGA TOUR University Ranking presented by Velocity Global. He’s expected to get a handful of PGA TOUR starts this summer, as well (he missed the cut last week in the RBC Canadian Open). He’s already finished in the top 10 in a PGA TOUR event, the Puerto Rico Open, this year.

He has seen what success looks like at various levels. Now he’ll put it to the test at the highest level.