* University of Wyoming press release

LARAMIE -- University of Wyoming junior golfer Jimmy Dales from Northville, Mich., was one of 75 golfers who competed in the Monday, June 5 U.S. Open Final Qualifier played in Springfield, Ohio.

The field included numerous current PGA Tour professionals.

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The 75 competitors were vying for one of five spots from the Springfield Final Qualifier into this year’s U.S. Open.  The 123rd U.S. Open Championship will be played Thursday-Sunday, June 15-18, 2023, at The Los Angeles Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif.

The cutoff for the Top 5 finishers on Monday evening was 133 (-7).  Dales finished Monday’s 36-hole event with a score of 147 (+7).  The five individuals who earned qualifying spots into this year’s U.S. Open were all current professional golfers: Samuel Stevens, who was the top qualifier at 127 (-13) played his college golf at Oklahoma State; Taylor Pendrith of Canada who played his college golf at Kent State, shot a 130 (-10); Nick Hardy, 132 (-8), played college golf at the University of Illinois; Alex Schaake, 133 (-7), played his college golf at the University of Iowa; and Dylan Wu, 133 (-7), played in college at Northwestern.  The top amateur finisher in the Springfield Final Qualifier was Maxwell Moldovan, who lost in a playoff to finish in sixth place at 133 (-7) and is the first alternate.  He completed his junior season at Ohio State in 2023 and was a PING Second Team All-American.  Vincent Whaley, who is another PGA Tour professional, finished as the second alternate at 134 (-6).

Dales was originally thought to be playing in the Final Qualifying Tournament at Lakes Golf and Country Club and Brookside Golf and C.C. in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday, June 5, but he was instead assigned to the Final Qualifying Tournament at Springfield Country Club in Springfield, Ohio.

Each competitor at the Springfield Final Qualifier played two rounds on the Springfield Country Club course that played to a par of 70.  The Springfield Final Qualifier was one of 13 U.S. Open Final Qualifying Tournaments to be played between May 16 and June 5.  The final U.S. Open field is limited to 156 players.

Dales won the local qualifier at the Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster, Colo., on Thursday, May 11 to advance to the Final Qualifying Round.  He shot a 68 (-4) on the Walnut Creek course to win by five strokes.

Dales joined his current UW teammate Jaren Calkins from Lander, Wyo., in earning spots in this year’s U.S. Open Final Qualifying Round.  Calkins won the local qualifier at the Riverton Country Club in Riverton, Wyo.,on Wednesday, May 10, earning him his spot in the U.S. Open Final Qualifying Round in Dallas, Texas, on May 23.  Calkins finished the 36-hole event at the Dallas Final Qualifying Round with a score of 146 (+5) but was unable to earn one of the eight qualifying spots out of the Dallas Qualifier into the U.S. Open.

Calkins and and Dales became the first University of Wyoming golfers to move on to the U.S. Open Final Qualifying Round since Kirby Coe-Kirkham and John Murdock did in 2021.

In the 2023 Local Qualifying rounds there were 9,693 individuals who competed for 530 spots.  Those 530 then advanced to one of the 13 Final Qualifying Tournaments.  Only 156 players will earn their way into this year’s U.S. Open.

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