Tommy Kuhl thought he had cruised through to U.S. Open final qualifying easily. He’d just shot 9-under 62, a course record at Illini Country Club in Springfield, Illinois, and two shots better than the next best score in Monday’s 18-hole U.S. Open local qualifier, a 64 recorded by Kuhl’s Illinois teammate Jackson Buchanan.
Kuhl stuck around to watch another teammate, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, compete in a playoff for the final spot. That’s when Kuhl and Buchanan were discussing their rounds, and Buchanan made a comment about putting on the course’s aerated greens that caused Kuhl’s heart to sink.