But here's an interesting article about the process...
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Alternates Hoping To Make Most Of Second Chance
By David Shefter, USGA
Far Hills, N.J. – The path to the U.S. Open can be straight forward (full exemption) or have a little twist in it (local/sectional qualifying).
Then there’s the road taken by Andy Drohen. If the 36-year-old Granville, Mass., resident makes the field for the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, his odyssey to the Sandhills of North Carolina will look like a seismograph during a 6.5 temblor.
Let’s just say his route wouldn’t be all that direct.
Two weeks ago Drohen’s 2005 U.S. Open dream looked all but finished after a 71 at his local qualifier in Harvard, Mass., left him as the second alternate.
Being an alternate is akin to getting a parting gift from a game show – thanks for playing and enjoy your year’s supply of kettle corn.
Being able to play No. 18 at Pinehurst No. 2 during the U.S. Open is only a sectional step away. (John Mummert/USGA)
In fact, Drohen didn’t even want to participate in a playoff for the spot after tying fellow amateur Alex Snickenberger of Wellesley, Mass., at 71. He was enjoying lunch with qualifier Fran Quinn when the discussion came up about the meaningless value of having second, third and fourth alternates for the Open. Drohen suggested flipping a coin, but Snickenberger wanted to decide it on the course. Drohen won with a par.
Four days later, Drohen’s phone rang. It was Betsy Swain, the USGA’s director of championship administration. A spot in sectionals had opened up, but it came with a minor caveat: he would have to play in Surrey, England. This year was the first time the USGA conducted international qualifying for oversees golfers who were exempt from the local stage. One was held in Japan on May 30 and the England qualifier was scheduled for June 6.
Jim Hallet, the first alternate from the Harvard site had turned down the offer, hoping to land a spot closer to home. He eventually landed a spot in Rockville, Md, but he had to withdraw on June 3, thus giving the spot to Snickenberger, the third alternate from the Harvard site. At the time of the call, Drohen was next on the list.
Alternates from local qualifying can get into sectionals one of three ways: A player becomes fully exempt after entries close (i.e. top 50 on the Official World Ranking), a player withdraws from sectional qualifying (i.e. Hale Irwin or Scott Hoch) or a player who qualifies from local withdraws. In the case of the first two scenarios, the alternates are selected from a re-allotment list that’s calculated by simple math. The tougher the chance to qualify, the higher that site gets placed for the re-allotment. Or in other words, the local qualifier that offered 95 players for 10 spots would be ranked lower than the qualifier that was 40 for 1.
In the final example, the alternate from that local site replaces the player who withdraws.
In Drohen’s case, a player from the Surrey sectional who was exempt from local qualifying withdrew. On May 23 three players from that sectional became fully exempt off the Official World Ranking: Thomas Bjorn, Paul McGinley and Colin Montgomerie. As of June 3, 25 alternates had been given a qualifying mulligan into the sectionals.
“I told Betsy I would use the weekend to think about it,” said Drohen, who ironically had just gotten a passport because he was traveling to Canada on business May 31-June 3 and wanted one before the laws were eventually changed (U.S. citizens currently don’t need a passport to travel to Canada or Mexico).
Drohen started making phone calls to airlines and hotels. He had enough frequent-flyer miles to get an airline ticket to London and he cashed in hotel points to save on his room. He called Swain on Monday to accept the offer.
“It was England or nothing for me,” said Drohen, who estimates the excursion will cost him between $400 and $500. “It’s only one step away from the Open so I guess you’ve got to jump on it. The worse thing that can happen is I am going to Europe and playing a couple of rounds of golf.”
But nobody will fault Drohen if fatigue sets in. The week leading up to the qualifier included a six-hour drive from Boston to Montreal for business, followed by another six-hour drive to Toronto, followed by a 90-mile jaunt across the border to Buffalo where he boarded a plane on Friday to London (he changed planes in Philadelphia). He planned to get practice rounds in at Walton Heath Golf Club Saturday and Sunday. He won’t hire a caddie to save some money, but his younger brother Bill competed in the British Amateur last year at St. Andrews and he told him to rent a “trolley” (pull cart).
Nevertheless, Drohen sees it as an experience of a lifetime. Two years ago, he won the Massachusetts State Amateur at The Country Club where he once caddied while a student at Northeastern.
“I’m going to ride it and see what happens,” said Drohen. “I’ve got a little destiny thing going right now.”
A Second Chance
Drohen isn’t the only person who had to make last-minute travel plans. Brian Spiva, a 26-year-old pro from Casper, Wyo., was headed to the first tee for his final round of a pro-am in Riverton, Wyo., when his cell phone went off. He didn’t recognize the number so he turned it off and proceeded to play his round.
When he listened to the message some five hours later, it was Swain from the USGA. Spiva had a spot in the Columbus, Ohio, sectional (Charles Howell III became fully exempt) if he could make the necessary travel arrangements.
For Spiva, this was a welcomed reprieve. On May 23 at his local qualifier in Riverton, he was 3 under par through six holes. But a pull-hook off the tee at No. 12 led to a double bogey and a score of 71, three shots off the total he needed to get the one precious qualifying spot. A couple of days later, he shot a 62 at a course in Casper, so he knew his game was good enough to advance.
“That’s just golf,” said Spiva.
So Swain’s message offered renewed hope. He found a last-minute deal with airfare to Columbus and three nights’ accommodations for under $500. Spiva made the 280-mile drive to Denver June 3 for a quick lesson with his swing coach before leaving for Ohio.
Since Columbus is a designated tour site, a total of 20 spots are available from the field of 144. Those are better odds than the 18-for-1 Spiva faced in Riverton.
“A one in seven chance, you’ll take that anywhere,” said Spiva, who spent the last two winters working on a cruise ship as the director of golf. “I’ve got a little tougher field in Columbus than Riverton, but it’s all about making putts.
“I want to thank Charles Howell for playing well.”
This will be Spiva’s second trip to sectionals. He competed in 2002 in Denver and failed to qualify. And he hopes to make the most of his second chance.
“I was going to take a couple of days off and just relax and work on some projects around the house,” said Spiva. “But when I got that phone call the days off kind of went out the window.”
Brotherly Love
Wes Cupp was planning on going to Rockville, Md., anyway. His older brother, Josh, had been the medalist at the Syracuse, N.Y., local qualifier and he planned on caddieing for him. Wes Cupp was the first alternate from the site, earning the spot in a playoff. He had been an alternate before, but never received a phone call. This time, however, his luck paid off as he was told Syracuse (38 players for 2 spots) might be at the top of the re-allotment list. Sure enough, the call came from the USGA last week.
Cupp was now going to join his brother in Rockville, but the situation had a twist. Because Rockville had so many entries, an alternate site in the area would be required for the overflow. Sixteen players would be shipped to Chevy Chase Club to play for one spot. Josh Cupp was one of those golfers. Wes Cupp, however, got into the Woodmont Country Club sectional where 156 players are vying for 22 spots.
“He’s a little bitter at me,” said Wes Cupp. “I’m the alternate and I have a better percentage [of qualifying]. He’s got to play with Tommy Tolles and [current PGA Tour pro] Sean O’Hair. But hey, the Open is tough. They don’t exempt too many players. That’s why it is the Open.”
Wes Cupp couldn’t help but offer a brotherly jab, albeit tongue in cheek.
“But I’ve kidded him,” Wes continued. “I told him I’ve already checked out my courtesy car for the Open.”
Wes Cupp, 25, said he’s tried to qualify for the Open since he turned 18. He currently is the CEO of Rome (N.Y.) Country Club, which is located about an hour northeast of Syracuse in central New York. Josh Cupp just accepted the women’s head coaching position at the University of San Francisco. He was the men’s coach at American University, but the school decided to drop its men’s golf program at the end of the 2004-05 season. He plans to head to the West Coast at the end of June.
Wes Cupp played at American, so the trip to Rockville will be a homecoming of sorts. The school is some 20 minutes from Woodmont C.C.
“Last year, I got through [local] as well and played in Rockville, but we just played the North Course [at Woodmont],” said Wes Cupp. “This year we’re playing the North and South [courses]. It will be fun. It could be a really good Monday night” if both players qualify.
Homecoming Or Texas Heat
Robert Leopold, a 20-year-old sophomore at Rollins College in Orlando, Fla., faced a tough dilemma. Should he go to McKinney, Texas, and play for two spots or head for his homeland and compete for nine spots? That’s the choice the USGA gave Leopold, who is spending his summer working at a golf course in Warwick, R.I.
Adding to this twist is Leopold’s parents live in Surrey, the location of the sectional qualifier at Walton Heath.
Leopold picked Texas, mainly for economics and logistics. The airline ticket to Texas was $335 compared to $770; he had already planned a visit home in late June.
“I didn’t need to make a second trip,” said Leopold, who had been struggling with his game until he earned first-alternate status at the Rumford, R.I., local qualifier at Wannamoisset Country Club. “It would have been a great experience to play with the [European] Tour players. But at the same time, the five-hour time difference and the fact I would have to leave on such short notice would have been tough.”
Leopold wasn’t informed of his situation until Monday (May 30), but he didn’t get in touch with the USGA until Tuesday. He purchased his airline ticket on Wednesday.
“It’s been a rush and everything is going 100 miles an hour,” said Leopold. “It all happened really quickly.”
Then again, nothing comes easy for an alternate.
David Shefter is a staff writer for the USGA. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.
http://www.usopen.com/news/alternates.html
