Final qualifying for the 126th U.S. Open was held Monday, June 8, with 36 holes played at 10 sites across the United States and Canada. The USGA accepted 10,201 entries this year, one shy of the record. The championship will be played June 18 to 21 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York.
The regional site was Woodmont Country Club’s North Course in Rockville, which hosted a U.S. Open final qualifier for the 40th time. The field of 77 players competed for four spots on the par 71 layout, set up at roughly 7,310 yards, and nearly a third of the field had DC, Maryland, or Virginia ties.
Who’s in the U.S. Open
Michael Brennan, Leesburg, Va. — Already in the field. The Wake Forest product did not need to qualify. Brennan is exempt into Shinnecock through the top 60 of the Official World Golf Ranking. This will be Brennan’s second US Open, as he qualified in 2023 after a playoff in sectional qualifying at Woodmont CC.
Logan Reilly (a), Lovettsville, Va. — Qualified at Woodmont. The Loudoun Golf & Country Club member, a freshman at Auburn, posted rounds of 68 and 67 for a 7-under total of 135, tying for second. One week earlier, Reilly went 3-and-0 in match play at the NCAA Championship and holed the clinching putt in Auburn’s national title win. His second round included an eagle at the par 5 15th. The 2024 VSGA Golfer of the Year missed qualifying by two shots at the same Woodmont North Course last year. This will be his first U.S. Open, and he is the third VSGA member to make a U.S. Open field in the last four years.
Ben James, UVA — Already in the field. James earned his exemption by reaching the semifinals of the 2025 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National. A three-time All-American at Virginia and one of the top-ranked amateurs in the world, James also represented the United States in the 2025 Walker Cup. This will be his third U.S. Open appearance. He previously competed at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023 and made the cut at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2024, finishing T44.
Ben Kohles, UVA — Qualified at Woodmont. The former All-American at the University of Virginia shot 65 and 70 for 135, tying for second, less than 24 hours after winning the Korn Ferry Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am in South Carolina for his fifth career title on that tour. Kohles said goodbye to his wife and two daughters right after the Sunday trophy ceremony, drove to Charlotte, and narrowly caught a flight to Washington, not yet knowing his Monday tee time. He opened with a 65 the next morning. This will be his second U.S. Open; he tied for 56th at Pinehurst in 2024.
The four Woodmont qualifiers
Jackson Suber of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, who played college golf at Ole Miss, earned medalist honors with rounds of 65 and 67 for a 10 under 132, three clear of the field. It will be his second U.S. Open; he finished 73rd at Pinehurst in 2024. Kohles (Virginia) and Reilly (Auburn) tied for second at 135. Jake Sollon of Venetia, Pennsylvania, a former Oregon golfer now playing PGA Tour Americas, took the final spot at 137 after winning a two for one playoff on the first extra hole over Bryan Lee. Blades Brown finished at 138 and is the second alternate.
McCarthy misses in Ohio
Denny McCarthy, the Rockville-raised UVA alum, played the final qualifier at the Lakes Golf & Country Club in Westerville, Ohio. McCarthy finished at 5 under at a site where the qualifying number was 9 under and will miss the U.S. Open. His best finish in the championship is a T7 at The Country Club in 2022.
Golfers with regional ties who came up short at Woodmont
Bryan Lee (a), Fairfax, Va. — 5 under (68, 69 for 137), first alternate. A current member of the University of Virginia golf team, Lee tied Sollon at 137 and lost the two-for-one playoff on the first extra hole. He qualified at Woodmont last year and played in the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont. As first alternate, he would get into the Shinnecock field in the event of a withdrawal.
Bryan Kim (a), Brookeville, Md. — 3 under (68, 71 for 139). The Sherwood High School graduate, now a junior at Duke, grew up playing at Argyle Country Club in Silver Spring and finished two outside the playoff. Kim won the 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur, which earned him a spot in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, and is on the 2026 Ben Hogan Award watch list.
Evan Beck (a), Virginia Beach, Va. — 3 under (70, 69 for 139). The Wake Forest alum and 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, who played in last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont through that exemption, finished two outside the playoff.
Davis Lamb, Potomac, Md. — 3 under (68, 71 for 139). The Congressional Country Club product played collegiately at Notre Dame and Florida Atlantic. The 2019 Maryland Open champion, who earned a Korn Ferry Tour card for 2026 through the PGA Tour Americas Fortinet Cup standings, also finished two outside the playoff.
Josh Duangmanee (a), Fairfax, Va. — 2 under (69, 71 for 140). The Fairfax High School graduate and current UVA golfer finished three outside the playoff. His older brother George, also a Fairfax native and UVA alum, qualified for the 2025 U.S. Open at the Springfield, Ohio final qualifier.
Zach Bauchou, Forest, Va. — 2 under (68, 72 for 140). The former Oklahoma State golfer, who played in last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont, finished three outside the playoff.
Daniel Suter, Gaithersburg, Md. — even par (74, 68 for 142). A Milton Academy graduate, Suter played at Gettysburg College, where he was a Division III first team All-American in 2025. His second round 68 was among the lowest afternoon rounds in the field.
Trey Marrion (a), Chesapeake, Va. — even par (73, 69 for 142). Marrion is a sophomore at Illinois and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2026.
Charlie Hanson, Richmond, Va. — even par (71, 71 for 142). The Deep Run High School graduate played at Virginia Tech, where his teams won four straight Virginia state titles in high school.
Peter Knade, Easton, Md. — 2 over (75, 69 for 144). Now based in Jupiter, Florida, Knade played college golf at Maryland, where he was second-team All-Big Ten in 2019.
Chase Nevins (a), Great Falls, Va. — 3 over (71, 74 for 145). The Langley High School graduate, who helped the Saxons to six straight team state championships, is now a junior at Vanderbilt. He won the 2024 Porter Cup and advanced to match play at last year’s U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club.
Larkin Gross, Fairfax, Va. — 4 over (72, 74 for 146). The Westwood Country Club assistant professional has played in three PGA Championships and is the reigning State Open of Virginia champion, winning last summer at Independence Golf Club with a record-setting 194.
Bryce Corbett, Gainesville, Va. — 4 over (72, 74 for 146). The Battlefield High School graduate played at Radford, where he was the 2023 Big South Golfer of the Year. He won the 2024 Middle Atlantic Amateur at Columbia Country Club by nine shots.
Mark Lawrence Jr., Henrico, Va. — 6 over (74, 74 for 148). The Godwin High School graduate played at Virginia Tech and in 2020 became the first golfer in 35 years to win the State Open of Virginia and the VSGA Amateur in the same year.
Liam MacLauchlan (a), Moseley, Va. — 7 over (75, 74 for 149). A high school junior in the class of 2027 and a University of Virginia commit, MacLauchlan is the reigning VSGA Amateur champion. He advanced through the local qualifier at The Club at P.B. Dye in Ijamsville.
Rij Patel (a), Hunt Valley, Md. — 9 over (78, 73 for 151). The McDonogh School graduate played at Harvard. He earned medalist honors at his local qualifier at the Country Club of York with a 4-under 66.
Colton Rodgers (a), Great Falls, Va. — 11 over (77, 76 for 153). Rodgers is a 16-year-old sophomore at The Potomac School in McLean, a member at River Bend Club, and the reigning VSGA Junior Stroke Play champion.
Ian Hildebrand (a), Charles Town, W.Va. — 12 over (80, 74 for 154). The Loudoun Valley High School graduate played at Virginia Tech, where he was a team co-captain in 2017 and 2018.
Nick Barrett (a), Catonsville, Md. — 13 over (80, 75 for 155). The Eldersburg native and Liberty University graduate is a 32-year-old UPS driver. He birdied the 18th hole at his local qualifier at Turf Valley to advance to final qualifying for the second consecutive year and the third time in four years. Last year at Woodmont, he was disqualified after failing to sign his scorecard within the allotted time following his first 18 holes.
Charles Winegardner, Lothian, Md. — 14 over (76, 80 for 156). Winegardner played collegiately at Coastal Carolina and has been a longtime competitor in DMV golf events.
Greg Pieczynski, George Mason coach — 14 over (83, 73 for 156). The GMU men’s golf head coach played collegiately at Penn State, where he was a team captain. He spent three years as director of instruction at Manor Country Club in Rockville before taking over the Mason program in 2020 and won the 2023 Middle Atlantic PGA Championship at Baltimore Country Club, which qualified him for the PGA Professional Championship.
Oliver Clark (a), Baltimore, Md. — 16 over (80, 78 for 158). The St. Paul’s School graduate just finished his sophomore year at Franklin & Marshall, where he qualified for the NCAA Division III national championship this spring.
Landon O’Hara (a), Severn, Md. — 22 over (86, 78 for 164). O’Hara is a 16-year-old sophomore at Calvert Hall playing in his first final qualifier.
The 126th U.S. Open begins Thursday, June 18 at Shinnecock Hills.
-Alex Dickson
