Just 24 hours after one of the most difficult golf tournaments on the PGA Tour, some players were faced with the longest day in golf. Partaking in 36 holes of for U.S. Open qualifying, many of the professionals who played at Muirfield Village made the short trip to the Columbus, Ohio, site where six players punched their tickets into the third major championship of the season at Oakmont Country Club.
Five bids were secured through the initial 36 holes, but the final spot was granted through a five-man playoff that featured Cameron Young, Rickie Fowler, Max Homa, Eric Cole and Chase Johnson as each finished in a tie at 5 under. It was Young who ultimately prevailed with a birdie on the first playoff hole, locking up his spot at the U.S. Open.
Young’s start in Pittsburgh will mark his sixth U.S. Open and his fifth in a row. He will be joined by Erik van Rooyen, who won the site at 13 under, as Bud Cauley, Lanto Griffin, Justin Lower and Harrison Ott also qualified.
As for those who were sent home without a tee time for Oakmont, Homa may have experienced the most gut-wrenching close call. Carrying his own bag, he arrived at his final hole in regulation — the par-5 9th at Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club — at 5 under for the qualifier before finding the green in two. A birdie would have been enough to get him into the field at the U.S. Open, but instead, the six-time PGA Tour winner needed three putts to get in. Homa missed from roughly 20 feet for his birdie in the playoff to fall on the wrong side of the coin. This will mark the first time since 2019 that the California native will not participate in the U.S. Open.
It has been a particularly brutal stretch of golf from Homa ever since finishing T3 at the 2024 Masters, but he has shown signs of late. Homa finished T12 at the Masters to secure his place in that tournament next year before heading into the weekend at the PGA Championship in contention. A member of the penultimate grouping in the third round at Quail Hollow, he fell flat and out of the mix before settling for a T60 finish. A similar sequence occurred last week at the Memorial where he opened with a 4-under 68, but he backed it up with a 79 on Friday.
Fowler found more success across the four days at Muirfield Village where he collected a T7 finish and a spot in the field for The Open Championship, but work was still needed if he wanted to play the U.S. Open. The former Players champion had his chances in regulation, but after sending birdie bids wayward on Nos. 16-17, he arrived at the last in need of a circle on his scorecard.
Fowler produced a three thanks to a stellar approach shot, but it was that part of the game that upended his chances in the playoff. The right hander sent his second long of the 10th green, putting himself in a spot of bother; he was unable to get up-and-down to save par, ending his chances.
The 36-year-old had played in the last two U.S. Opens, including 2023, where he held at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds en route to finishing T5. Before that, Fowler had missed the U.S. Open the prior two years. His omission from this year’s championship marks his second major missed in 2025 as Fowler also failed to earn an invitation to the Masters.