Thirty-four players — 21 professionals and 13 amateurs — will play 36 holes at Springfield Country Club on June 6 for a berth in the U.S. Open Championship June 16-19 at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

They include Brian Davis of London, England, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, and Chris Smith of Peru, Ind., who has one PGA Tour victory. Davis qualified for the Open on Springfield’s Donald Ross-designed course last year.

Also in the field are: Cincinnati natives Jesse Hutchins, who played at Wright State University, and Rob Chappell, a University of Dayton graduate who was the Atlantic 10 Conference individual champion three years ago.

The number of U.S. Open spots available in Springfield will be announced by the United States Golf Association this week.

It’s not easy to qualify for the Open. There were 8,300 entrants this year. Those not exempt from qualifying by virtue of previous accomplishments participated in local qualifiers at 111 sites world-wide.

Approximately 750 players — some of whom were exempt only from the local qualifying stage — will participate in sectional competitions. Springfield Country Club is one of 13 sectional sites, and club general manager Craig Taylor said his members are excited about hosting.

One of those playing at Springfield next week is 19-year-old Seung Yul Noh of South Korea, who qualified at Springfield last year and tied for 40th in the Open.

The players range in age from Smith, who is 42, to Joo-Young Lee, a 16-year-old sophomore at Hilliard Davidson High School.

Spectators are welcome to walk the course for the competition, and there is no charge for admission or parking. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.

Two of the Springfield participants — Chappell and Chad Wilson of Mason — were among the 12 who advanced from the local qualifier at Maketewah Country Club in Cincinnati on May 16.

Playing on a wet course in windy conditions and 47-degree temperature, only nine of 157 golfers posted scores of par or better. Although they are required to have handicap indexes of 1.4 or lower, fewer than half the entrants (71) broke 80.

The best scores turned in by Dayton-area players were Jeff Scohy’s 74 and Alec Tahy’s 75.

Chip shots

• After 10 years at Sugar Valley Country Club, the University of Dayton is moving its annual Tony Ernst Memorial Golf Tournament to the Golf Club at Yankee Trace this summer.

In an effort to attract a larger field, the entry fee has been reduced to $100 per player and $400 per team. The outing is dedicated to Ernst, a former UD quarterback from Bellbrook who died unexpectedly in 1999 at the age of 26. It will be held June 24. It raises funds for the football coaching intern positions.

• The quote of the week belongs to Brent Sipe, head pro at Moraine Country Club: “It’s rained so much (in the month of May) that I had to re-grip my umbrella.”

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