June 09, 1998
Texas A&M junior Ryan Palmer made an eight-foot par putt on the third playoff hole of Monday's sectional qualifier to earn a spot in next week's U.S. Open Golf Championship at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
Palmer carded rounds of 74-70=144 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, tying for second place with Jamie Gomez (73-71=144), four strokes behind sectional winner Rene Rangel (68-72=140). Only two qualifying spots were available to the 29-player field, leading to a playoff between Palmer and Gomez.
Both players bogeyed the first playoff hole and parred the second. Gomez three-putted for bogey on the third hole and Palmer dropped in the eight-footer for par to grab the final qualifying spot. Palmer will be one of only a handful of amateur golfers in the field.
A total of 570 golfers around the country battled for 64 spots in nine sectional qualifiers on Monday. Former A&M golfer Shane Bertsch (1990-92) also qualified for the U.S. Open, tying for 20th at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.
Former A&M All-Americans Jeff Maggert (1985-86) and David Ogrin (1975-79) were exempt from qualifying and will also compete at the U.S. Open, which begins on Thursday, June 18. Both players earned exemptions by finishing in the top 15 of last year's U.S. Open at Congressional Golf Club in Bethesda, Md., where Maggert finished fourth at Ogrin tied for 10th.