LIV Golf’s Sergio Garcia misses out on U.S. Open spot, but still has chance to play

Sergio Garcia came up just short in U.S. Open qualifying, but he still has a chance to compete at Pinehurst No. 2 this year.

Sergio Garcia failed to qualify for the U.S. Open, losing a playoff that featured seven players competing for six spots at the Dallas Athletic Club on Monday.

The Spaniard bogeyed the first playoff hole, while every other competitor made a birdie or par, thus sending everyone else to Pinehurst No. 2.

But Garcia should not feel too down on himself. The United States Golf Association (USGA) lists Garcia as the first alternate for this year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. That means, should anyone withdraw or skip out on the championship, Garcia will get into the field.

Nico Echavarría of Colombia, who won the 2023 Puerto Rico Open, won the local qualifying event in Dallas with a 7-under par score over 36 holes. Eleven spots were up for grabs at the Dallas Athletic Club, as players competed on both the Blue and Golf Courses.

Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

The other 10 players to qualify from Dallas follows below:

• McClure Meissner (Dallas, Texas)
• Eugenio Lopez Chacarra (Spain)
• Takumi Kanaya (Japan)
• Francesco Molinari (Italy)
• Brandon Wu (Scarsdale, New York)
• Michael McGowan (Southern Pines, North Carolina)
• Parker Bell (a) (Tallahassee, Florida)
• S.H. Kim (South Korea)
• Sung Kang (South Korea)
• Logan McAllister (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

The USGA also facilitated two other final qualifying events on Monday, one in Japan and the other in England.

At the Hino Golf Club in the Shiga Prefecture in Japan—just east of Kyoto—34 players competed for three spots to gain entry into the U.S. Open. Ryo Ishikawa and Riki Kawamoto finished as co-medalists, shooting a 9-under par score across 36 holes to book their tickets to Pinehurst No. 2.

Five players finished at 8-under-par, leading to a five-for-one playoff among those tied for 3rd. Japan’s Taisei Shimizu prevailed over the other four players, which included LIV Golf’s Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe.

Then, at Walton Heath Golf Club in England, which hosted the AIG Women’s Open Championship last Summer, 102 players competed for nine U.S. Open spots.

Plenty of familiar names competed in this qualifier, including Alex Fitzpatrick, who starred in Netflix’s Full Swing series. But Fitzpatrick fell short in making his first U.S. Open appearance—the tournament his brother Matt won in 2022 at Brookline.

Finishing atop the leaderboard after 36 holes at 10-under-par were Grant Forrest, Richard Mansell, and Brandon Robinson Thompson.

Sam Bairstow and 47-year-old Robert Rock finished one stroke behind, also earning spots.

The complete list of qualifiers from Walton Heath follows below:

• Grant Forrest (Scotland)
• Richard Mansell (England)
• Brandon Robinson Thompson (England)
• Sam Bairstow (England)
• Robert Rock (England)
• Tom McKibbin (Northern Ireland)
• Edoardo Molinari (Italy)
• Jason Scrivener (Australia)
• Matteo Manassero (Italy)

U.S. Open final qualifying continues across 10 sites on Monday, Jun. 3, in what is dubbed as “Golf’s Longest Day.” It will fall on the Monday after the final round of the RBC Canadian Open.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.