Alpharetta’s Ryan Stachler, a member of the golf team at South Carolina, made a recent visit to the Pittsburgh area to play a round of golf with a friend who is a member at Oakmont, the site of the 2016 U.S. Open.
After placing second in a sectional qualifier at Ansley Golf Club’s Settindown Creek, Stachler will get to play Oakmont in competition as part of this year’s U.S. Open field.
“This is incredible,” Stachler said after shooting a 65 in the afternoon round at Settindown Creek for an 8-under 136 total. “I didn’t expect it to happen this fast. I’ve won a few times, but nothing compares to this.”
Stachler saw limited action as freshman on a senior-dominated South Carolina team that finished seventh in stroke play qualifying at the NCAA Championship before losing in the first round of match play. He is expected to move into the starting lineup as a sophomore.
Coming out of the junior ranks, Stachler was not among the state’s more heralded high school signees in 2015, although he was part of state championship teams at two high schools not far from Settindown Creek. He played for Milton as a freshman in 2012 and after being re-districted to nearby Cambridge when it opened the next year, was part of that school’s championship team last year.
Stachler’s successful qualifying effort was ignited by one improbable shot in his morning round. After a double bogey at the 15th hole, his sixth, Stachler was 3-over and not looking like a possible contender. Following birdies on 16 and 1, both par 5s, Stachler was 2-over and was in danger of losing another shot or two when his tee shot on the par-4 third sailed right toward a creek.
Fortunately for Stachler, his ball came to rest on the bank just above the creek, leaving him with a shot off an extreme downhill lie.
“I had to squat down to hit it and was just trying to make contact. If I got it on the green, I would have been happy.” From 136 yards, Stachler said he hit “the most incredible shot I’ve ever made,” and the ball went in the hole for an eagle.
“That was a four-shot swing. Two feet further to the right and I’m probably making double.”
After two more birdies, Stachler ended the round at 71, three shots out of third place, with the top three finishers qualifying for Oakmont.
Stachler began his second round with the best tournament nine holes of his life. He had six birdies, shot 30 and moved into the top three with nine holes to play. He added three more birdies on his final nine of the day, withstanding a nervous three-putt at the 18th for his second bogey of the round.
Taking medalist honors was Kentucky’s Kent Bulle, a Web.com Tour member who briefly lived in Savannah as a roommate of fellow tour pro Mark Silvers. Bulle, who played his college golf at Middle Tennessee, shot 69-64 for an 11-under 133, with his second round also including a hole-out for eagle after an errant tee shot, his coming at the 15th, his sixth hole.
Bulle shot 31 on his first round of the day and added three more birdies coming in for his 64. He earned his spot on the Web.com Tour thanks to his play last year on the LatinoAmerica Tour, highlighted by a victory in the Argentina Open.
The third qualifying spot went to mini-tour veteran Frank Adams of Lexington, N.C, a successful player on the now defunct North Carolina-based eGolf Tour. Adams shot 66-71—137 to place third. He led after 18 holes.
The first alternate is Roswell’s Bryan Fox, who lives just a few miles from Settindown Creek. Fox, a recent Georgia College golfer who is playing on the Swing Thought Tour, shot 67-73—140 and birdied the par-5 first hole to claim first alternate status in a two-man playoff.
Fox had two eagles in his morning round, starting with an eagle on the par-5 10th and holing out on the eighth, his 17th. He shot 73 in the afternoon to finish three shots behind Adams and four in back of playing partner Stachler.
The two biggest names in the field both shot 3-under 141 to tie for sixth. PGA Tour member Roberto Castro and Web.com Tour member Ollie Schniederjans, both former Georgia Tech golfers, finished four shots behind Adams for the third spot.
Castro, who played his school golf at Milton, shot 66 the day before in the final round of the Memorial to tie for 11th. He began his morning round at Settindown Creek with 10 straight pars before making double bogey on the short par-4 second hole. He finished with a 73 and a 68 in the afternoon wasn’t good enough.
Schniederjans, who is 11th on the Web.com money list and appears headed for a spot on the 2016-17 PGA Tour, shot 68 in the morning round at Settindown Creek, but shot 73 in the afternoon.
Luke Schniederjans, who will be a freshman at Georgia Tech this Fall, shot 143 along with current Georgia Tech golfer Jacob Joiner of Albany. There were six Georgia Tech golfers in the 38-player field.
Several Georgians qualified for the U.S. Open at sites outside the state.
Augusta’s Chase Parker, who played his college golf at Kentucky before turning pro, shot 71-67—138 in suburban Washington, D.C., to tie for second and survived a 3-for-2 playoff to advance.
Kyle Mueller of Watkinsville, a member of the golf team at Michigan shot 68-67—135 in Springfield, Oh., to tie for second and join two U. of Illinois golfers among the four qualifiers from that site.
Former Alpharetta resident Derek Chang, who played his last two years of college golf at Augusta State after transferring from Minnesota, shared medalist honors in Houston with scores of 69-68—137.
Former Georgia Southern golfer Aron Price, a Web.com Tour member, was medalist in Jacksonville with scores of 69-66—135. Recent UGA golfer Joey Garber tied for third at 138, but did not advance from a 5-for-2 playoff, taking the second alternate spot.
None of Georgia’s PGA Tour pros were successful in qualifying. Georgians exempt into the field are Harris English, Zach Johnson, Chris Kirk, Kevin Kisner, Patton Kizzire, Matt Kuchar, Patrick Reed and Bubba Watson.