Head Coach Hunter Brown Plays in U.S. Open Qualifier at Hillendale

PHOENIX, Md. -- On Monday May 15th, head golf coach Hunter Brown competed in the U.S. Open local qualifier at Hillendale Country Club.

Photo Album

Brown carded a 5 over par 76 on the day and missed advancing to the regional qualifier by three shots. The windy conditions made scoring difficult as 70 was the low score for the day; full results can be found here.

This year's U.S. Open will be held at Erin Hills in Wisconsin (http://www.usopen.com/) and qualifying for the U.S. Open takes place in two stages: local and regional qualifying.

Commenting on his round, Brown said, "I really enjoyed getting out there to compete and I played well for much of the day but my ball striking let me down during the middle part of my round and that ultimately kept me from qualifying." Head men's lacrosse coach, Brian Kelly, was Brown's caddy and the two coaches enjoyed this opportunity to compete together. "Coach Kelly did an incredible job. I'd love to have him on the bag again in the future." Brown said.

The Maryland State Golf Association (MSGA) operated the local qualifier on behalf of the United States Golf Association (USGA). Hillendale CC is scheduled to host the U.S. Open local qualifier again in 2018. 

Hillendale CC will also serve as the Gopher's home course in the fall so this was an exciting chance for Coach Brown to compete at the future home of the Gophers. Both the men's and women's teams will begin to play in September and Brown is excited about the launch of both programs, "I can't wait for the fall. Part of the reason I competed today and will continue to compete in several other events throughout the summer is that it will be a huge asset to me as I coach our players--I think it is really important for a coach to know what it feels like to play under pressure and in the tournament atmosphere. "

Caption: Brown saves par from the bunker on the par 4 16th.

MSGA writeup: http://msga.org/2017/05/16/us-open-local-qualifier-results/