By Dalton Balthaser
SEEKONK, MASS. – Billy Walthouse and Ben Spitz spent a total of four hours sitting together eating and drinking following their rounds patiently, waiting for an answer.
Throughout that time, they learned a lot about each other. Including that they were both University of Rhode Island graduates (Spitz 2007, Walthouse 2017).
But when the four hours ended, they had received the answer to the question they were looking for. It was in the form of a spot in U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying.
Walthouse and Spitz, aided by strong short games and mental fortitude, survived yet another cold and blustery day to share medalist honors with rounds of 71 in U.S. Open Local Qualifying administered by the Rhode Island Golf Association at Ledgemont Country Club (par 71, 6,801 yards) Tuesday.
Amateur Chris Francoeur of Amesbury, Mass. as well as professionals Jimmy Hervol (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Peter French (Franklin, Mass.) claimed the last three spots after surviving a 4-for-3 playoff.
The 121st U.S. Open will take place June 17-20 at Torrey Pines Golf Course (South) in San Diego, Calif.
Walthouse, a professional who has full status on the PGA Tour Canada schedule for 2021, and Spitz, an amateur from Milton, Mass., each carded two birdies and two bogeys on their cards to get to that magic number.
“It’s reassuring to know that on days where I am not playing well, I can still post a good score,” said Walthouse, 25, of Longmeadow, Mass. “That gives me confidence in my game. It was a grind it out type of day and I was proud to do that.”
“Today was my second competitive round of the year,” said Spitz, 37. “I have been hitting a lot of balls and since I have been working from home, it has been easier to practice. That confidence that I have gotten from practicing helped carry me today.”
Walthouse has some good mojo when he steps on the Ledgemont grounds. In the same qualifier in 2019, he shot 70 and advanced to sectionals. It will be his third attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open.
Key par saves on Nos. 12 (par 3, 186 yards) and 15 (par 3, 187 yards) kept his round together on a day where those who had their game together fell apart by the end.
“Ledgemont is position-oriented,” said Walthouse. “You aren’t just bashing driver out there. I have been working hard on gearing up my short game. My short game saved me today. I was able to scramble well, which kept me in it.”
Spitz is a USGA veteran having played in a total of four tournament propers. The 2006 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club, 2008 U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst Golf Resort, the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur at John’s Island Club and the 2016 U.S. Four-Ball at Winged Foot Golf Club.
But this is his first time advancing to Sectional Qualifying. He said with the U.S. Open being at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. in 2022, he tried to qualify this year as a test to prepare him to be at his best for next year.
It has been a total of 22 years since Spitz traversed around the Ledgemont layout, but a practice round a week ago was all he needed to rekindle the feelings needed to play well.
“I have changed more than Ledgemont has over the last 22 years,” said Spitz. “I came out here a week ago and just walked the course to get a feel for everything again. That helped and it was good enough for me to know what to do.”
Spitz and Walthouse plan to attend Sectional Qualifying at Century Country Club and Old Oaks Country Club in Purchase, N.Y. on June 7. Where they will look to secure their spot at Torrey Pines.
“It’s a 36-hole qualifier so you have to play steady and focus on one shot at a time,” said Spitz. “You can only control so much. The mindset I will try to have is to keep plugging along and add my score up at the end. Then I will see if it was good enough.”
“Sectional qualifying is a long day of golf,” said Walthouse.” “Putting myself in that position again is something I am excited about. I continue to improve my game each year and I am excited to go back and see where I am at. When it is 36 holes, you don’t want to make too many mistakes. There’s a lot of holes to play.”