Alternates have a shot at Open this year

COLUMBUS, OHIO » Alternates from U.S. Open sectional qualifiers were never more important as they were this year.

The USGA held back six spots from the 10 sectional qualifiers to make sure it could accommodate anyone who got into the top 60 in the world ranking after this week. It was a safe move because the U.S. Open field is capped at 156 players.

But there won’t be a lot of movement this year.

Chris Wood is at No. 60 in the world, and he would stay there provided Scott Piercy doesn’t finish among the top 20 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. So that’s one spot, maybe. But with Soren Kjeldsen withdrawing from the St. Jude Classic, only one other person has a mathematical chance to get into the top 60 in the world, and he would have to win the St. Jude Classic. That applies to only about five players, such as Ian Poulter and Hudson Swafford.

So at least four spots will be going to alternates, and that doesn’t even include Phil Mickelson, who plans to withdraw because of his daughter’s high school graduation.

It’s difficult to miss U.S. Open qualifying by one spot, but the playoffs to determine first alternates were critical this year.

Among the first alternates was Davis Love IV, who goes primarily by Dru and is the son of the two-time Ryder Cup captain. He played in the Georgia sectional, which awarded the fewest spots (2) of any U.S. qualifier and could be high on the alternate list.

In Columbus, Michael Putnam was the only player who didn’t advance in the 4-for-3 playoff Tuesday morning, but he was first alternate. The first alternate in the Texas sectional was Ryan Palmer. Along with the 10 U.S. sectional qualifiers, there was one in Japan and one in England. Those sites also have an alternate.

The mystery is which alternate gets chosen first.

The USGA does not disclose the priority list, though it keeps in touch with players to allow them time to get to Wisconsin. The U.S. Open starts June 15 at Erin Hills. The priority is based on a formula that includes how many spots each section was allocated, and the strength of field determined by the world ranking (pro and amateur).

Sweet love

The putter of Daniel Summerhays is known as “Sweet Love.” The broom didn’t have a nickname.

Both are loosely connected to the two years that Summerhays spent on a Mormon mission to Chile when he was 19 and attending BYU.

“I did not touch a club for two years in that span,” Summerhays said at the Memorial, where he lost a 54-hole lead and tied for 10th. “I remember the very first house that I lived in the first seven months that I was there. It wasn’t a wood hut, but it was a two-bedroom house made completely of wood.”

So one morning in the spring, Summerhays took out the broom, removed the head and added duct tape to be able to at least make the motion of a swing. That was the extent of his “golf” while on his mission.

“It took me about six months to get back to where I was before I left in college,” he said. As for the putter? Summerhays always has been a good putter, but this one round was particularly strong. He said it was his first competitive event after returning from Chile, and after opening with a score in the mid-70s, he couldn’t miss on his way to a 65.

“I was making everything,” he said. “And not just short (putts). I was making 20-, 25-footers.”

That’s when he said to his coach at BYU, “Coach, the putter is making sweet love to me.” And the nickname stuck. He still refers to his putter that way, even though he has switched out plenty of putters over the years.