University of Washington senior Cheng-Tsung Pan of Bellevue shot a five-under 67 Monday at The Home Course in DuPont to win a U.S. Open local qualifier and advance to sectionals June 8.
Six other golfers from the 120-player field qualified for the one-day, 36-hole sectional stage at Tumble Creek Club in Cle Elum. Players that advance from the second and final qualifier earn entry to the U.S. Open June 18-21 at Chambers Bay.
Pan made five birdies in a bogey-free round to win by two strokes over professional Cameron Peck of College Station, TX., who shot a three-under 69. Should Pan advance in sectionals, it will be his third U.S. Open. He qualified in 2011 and 2013.
Briefly ranked the No. 1 amateur in the world last season, Pan set a UW record with seven career wins before he qualified last week for PGA Tour Canada. Despite his amateur ranking granting him an exemption for sectionals, he was forced to first advance through local qualifying because he will turn professional if he qualifies for the U.S. Open.
Pan has history at Tumble Creek. In a 2013 sectional qualifier there, he finished in the top two to advance to the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club (Ardmore, PA).
Other sectional qualifiers included Ahren Young (-2), a sophomore at Seattle University, Spencer Tibbits of Vancouver, WA. (-1) and Spencer Weiss of Sammamish (-1). James Lepp of Abbotsford, B.C. and Kyle Cornett of Mill Creek finished one-two in a seven-man playoff after shooting 72 to earn the final spots. Cornett is a sophomore at Seattle U and Lepp, the 2005 NCAA individual champion at UW, is a professional that won PNGA Player of the Year in 2003 and 2005. Weiss is a freshman at UW.
Local qualifying for the U.S. Open runs from May 4-21 at 111 sites across the U.S.
