RIDGEWAY, Ontario — One day after caddying at the RBC Canadian Open for Erik van Rooyen, Alex Gaugert is back in action at U.S. Open Final Qualifying. Only this time he’s competing in the 36-hole qualifier, not toting a bag.
“He missed a couple short putts but made a couple bombs,” said Gaugert’s brother, Austin, who carried a Sunday bag for his brother. “He hit a tee shot on the par-5 on the back nine and said I was right, so, he’s not a Tour player yet.”
Alex, who played competitively at University of Minnesota and Monday qualified for the 3M Open last summer, shot 4-under 67 in the first of two rounds on Monday at Cherry Hill Club, which was good for T-10. Sixty-six players were expected to compete for seven spots into the U.S. Open, which begins next Thursday at Pinehurst Resort’s No. 2 Course in North Carolina.
Gaugert shot 69 and was co-medalist at local qualifying at the Country Club of Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on May 6. He told Golfweek on Saturday that he had only played nine holes since the local qualifier.
“For some reason, the less I play, the better I score,” he said.
Gaugert’s boss, van Rooyen, already has secured a spot in the field so Gaugert will be there no matter. Austin caddies on the PGA Tour for Ryan Moore and Alex said his brother likely would caddie for Van Rooyen if he were to qualify for Pinehurst, or he might just withdraw.
“I just want to see what happens,” he said Saturday.
On a warm sunny day at the Walter Travis layout, PGA Tour pros were at the top of the leaderboard. Davis Thompson birdied half the holes and shot 8-under 63, one better than Greyson Sigg and Mark Hubbard after the first round. Canadian Adam Svensson and Scotland’s Martin Laird shot 65 along with reigning Canadian Amateur champ Ashton McCulloch.
