Wake Forest Athletics
Cortland Lowe Qualifies For US Open
6/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
June 8, 2009
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Cortland Lowe used a stellar 9-under 62 in the opening round to cruise to medalist honors at the US Open Sectional Qualifier at the NCR Country Club in Dayton, Ohio on Monday.
Lowe made nine birdies and no bogeys in the opening round and had a three-shot lead heading to the afternoon round. Some people say the toughest thing to do in golf is follow a low round with another low round but Lowe was able to do just that as he carded a 3-under 68 and ran away with medalist honors.
Lowe's 12-under 130 total was four shots better than Clark Klaasen and six shots clear of Cameron Yancey and Vaughn Snyder. All four players qualified for the 2009 US Open at Bethpage State Park on June 18-21.
After finishing his two stellar rounds, Lowe jokingly said, "If coach Haas can qualify to play at Bethpage, I knew I could do it." He was referring to 2002 when Bethpage last hosted the US Open and Wake Forest men's golf coach Jerry Haas made it through both local and sectional qualifying to play in the Open.
The last Deacon to play in a US Open was Jay Haas in 2006 at Winged Foot. He made the cut and went on to finish tied for 37th.
This is the first season Lowe has tried his hand at professional golf. He decided to focus on golf this winter and jump-started his career by Monday qualifying for the PGA Tour's Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in February.
In other sectional qualifying action, current Deacon Brendan Gielow had a tough day in Columbus, Ohio, carding rounds of 74-76 at Brookside Country Club and the Lakes Club. The conditions were perfect for scoring on Monday in Ohio as it took 9-under 135 to get one of the 16 qualifying spots.
Former Deacons Webb Simpson and Bill Haas also both found themselves on the wrong side of the number in Columbus. Simpson opened with a round of 1-under 71 and followed that with a 5-under 67 to tie for 30th. Haas carded rounds of 69-72 and finished in a tie for 50th.
Billy Andrade has struggled a bit this year but turned in two good rounds today at Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Ga. Andrade shot rounds of 71-67 to finish at 6-under par but only three players made it out of that qualifier and Matt Kucher and Matt Nagy each posted 10-under par while Georgia Tech standout Cameron Tringale finished at 9-under to snag the final spot.
Future Deacon Evan Beck, who will don the black and gold this fall, carded solid rounds of 72-73 at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., on Monday. Beck finished tied for 35th in the 70 player field.
Players Mentioned
