Former Buckeye Armour qualifies for U.S. Open; Moldovan 1st alternate

Ryan Armour watches his shot on the on the 11th hole during the first round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands, Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Cromwell, Conn. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

by: Adam Conn

Posted: Jun 6, 2023 / 08:00 AM EDT

Updated: Jun 6, 2023 / 12:16 PM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The 123^rd U.S. Open concluded its regional qualifying rounds Monday and the year’s second major of the season will include a former Ohio State Buckeye.

Ryan Armour will be competing in his first U.S. Open tournament after firing six birdies over his final nine holes, shooting a 67-66—133 (-7) in the two-round qualifying event at the par-70 Lambton Golf & Country Club in Toronto on Monday.

It will be Armour’s first U.S. Open and only third ever major for the 47-year-old native from Akron. The 1998 OSU graduate was 3-under-par after the first round (34-33—67). Bogies on holes seven and eight, however, dropped him to 2-under-par to start the back nine of the 36-hole event.

Armour then scored birdies on holes 10, 12, 13 and 14 before giving one back on 15. He closed with birdie-birdie-par to grab the last qualifying spot, beating out notables Jimmy Walker (-6) a six-time PGA winner, and club pro, turned folk-hero Michael Block (-5), who tied for 15^th at last month’s PGA Championship.

Also competing in regional qualifiers were OSU’s Max Moldovan, who was eliminated after eight playoff holes at the par-70 Springfield Country Club. Moldovan shot 65-68—133 (-7) to finish in a three-way-tie for fourth place with Alex Schaake and Dylan Wu.

Wu’s birdie on the first playoff hole, No. 10, made it a two-golfer race for the final spot. Schaake and Moldovan matched each other’s scores over the next six holes, including birdies on the par-3 13, before Schaake dropped a birdie putt on 17 to advance.

Moldovan, who qualified but missed the cut in last year’s U.S. Open, set the Buckeye’s single-season scoring record for the third year in a row, averaging 70.64 per round. He is a U.S. Open first alternate should someone from his regional drop out of this year’s event.

Former Buckeye and two-time qualifier (2021, 2022) Bo Hoag withdrew from the Springfield regional.

Stewart Cink hugs his wife and caddie, Lisa, after the first round of the Memorial golf tournament, Thursday, June 1, 2023, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Stewart Cink, 50, tied for third place at the Columbus regional, a two-round event at Brookside Golf & Country Club and The Lakes Golf & Country Club, to compete in his 87^th career major. He finished tied for 60th at The Memorial Tournament this past weekend.

Mount Vernon’s TT Crouch shot a 69 (Brookside)-75 (Lakes)—144 to miss qualifying by eight strokes.