In qualifier, low scores are gone with the wind

Don Berry was 3 over par through five holes. Jordan Ensrud was 3 over through seven. Kane Hanson drove the ball out of bounds for a triple-bogey 7 on the 15th hole.

And those were the happy guys in a frustrated field of 35 that braved high winds at Monday's U.S. Open local qualifier at The Links at Northfork in Ramsey. Berry and Ensrud each shot 1-over 73, while Hanson shot 74 and then beat Erik Toftner with a birdie on the second playoff hole to capture the final qualifying spot.

"It was brutal out there ... and then some," said Hanson, a 26-year-old mini-tour player who won the 2003 State Amateur and last year's State Open. "The wind was blowing so hard, the course played at least six strokes harder. You even had to account for the wind on your putts."

To participate in a U.S. Open qualifier requires a 1.4 handicap index or lower, or professional status. Yet Monday's field was littered with 14 scores in the 80s, two 91s and, yes, an even 100.

"These things seem to be getting harder and harder," said Berry, a 46-year-old club pro at Edinburgh USA, a survivor of at least 12 local qualifiers and a participant in the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. "It's the time of year, I guess. The wind is always brutal and the weather is still kind of cold."

Monday's event was one of 111 local qualifiers leading to the 108th U.S. Open June 12-15 at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Of the 14 that were held before Monday, a score of 73 would have fallen short in 11 of them.

The Links at Northfork, located in Ramsey, played at 6,989 yards Monday. The 428-yard, par-4 second hole and the 432-yard, par-4, 18th were the most difficult because they played into the wind.

How difficult? Well, Dan Johnson of Elk River was in line for the playoff until notching a 9 on the 18th hole and finishing with a 79.

"And the second hole," Hanson said, "I had 160 [yards] to the flag in my playoff. But I hit 6-iron because I played it at 190."

Meanwhile, the par-5 ninth and 10th holes played downwind and were birdied by all three qualifiers.

"The wind on those was unbelievable," said Ensrud, a 21-year-old former Anoka High School standout now playing at Michigan State. "Put it this way: No. 10 is 490 yards and I had 85 left to the green."

Hanson parred the final three holes after his triple bogey. And even though he still wasn't happy about the 15th hole, he knew he was in good shape walking off the 18th green.

"I knew it would be almost impossible for anybody to break par out here today," Hanson said. "I figured anything close to par would be just fine."

All three qualifiers will participate in the sectional round June 2 at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill. The next step would be the U.S. Open.

"I can't even describe how much it would mean to me to play in the U.S. Open," Hanson said. "It's one of those things I probably wouldn't think is possible until I'm actually standing there."