Palm Desert’s Reiter chasing U.S. Open spot
The last time Charlie Reiter made it through U.S. Open local qualifying at Bermuda Dunes Country Club, he eventually played his way into the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
Reiter, the former Palm Desert High School star, hopes to follow that same path this year to make the Open field at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. The first step came Thursday when Reiter fired a 5-under 67 to secure one of five berths into sectional qualifying in early June.
“I feel like it just sets up pretty well for me,” Reiter said after making it through the Bermuda Dunes qualifier for the third time. “It’s short, it’s good. The greens, well, it’s like a home course in a sense.”
Reiter’s 67 tied him for second in the 78-player field at Bermuda Dunes, a former The American Express course. Amateur Riley Lewis of Prescott, Ariz., a 22year-old who just graduated from Loyola Marymount College, was medalist in the field with a 64.
In all, five players at 68 or better move on to sectional play. One of those players was Michael Slesinski of Fremont, who plays golf out of La Quinta these days.
Three golfers, including two desert players, were in a three-way playoff for the first and second alternate spots from the field after shooting 69. Amateur Cooper Humphreys of Canada defeated Al Geiberger Jr. on the third playoff hole with a birdie to take first alternate, with Geiberger, from La Quinta, taking second alternate. Brad Whalen of
Cathedral City fell out of the playoff with a bogey on the first hole.
The 24-year-old Reiter, who is currently playing mini-tours and is a twotime winner this season on the Asher Tour with seven top-10 finishes, played his round with six birdies and one bogey, that on the short par-4 10th hole where he three-putted from long range.
That bogey dropped him to 1 under for the day, but Reiter rallied with a birdie on the 11th, then three birdies in his closing five holes at the 14th, the 16th and the par-5 18th. He also saved a par on the par-3 17th when he missed the green long put made a 10-foot parputt.
Reiter said the fact that he made the Open two years ago – he missed the 36-hole cut at The Country Club – doesn’t really change his approach to Open qualifying this year.
“Obviously, you always want to think you can do it, but it doesn’t change,” he said. “I just feel like from playing here a long time I kind of know what the scores are going to be. So I just try to shoot that and hopefully get to the next round. I figured that 5 (under) was going to be the number and 4 is no good.”
Lewis’ bogey-free round included eight birdies, though he only birdied two of the four par-5s on the course. Reiter also birdied just two of the par-5s, and he let some scoring chances get away on the 10th and 15th holes after long drives only to fail to hit his approach shots close on the par-4s.
Sectional qualifying is June 3, with golfers playing 36 holes at 10 different locations. Reiter is set to play his sectional in Northern California at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City.