Read full article featured in Hometown News, written by Chris Bonanno.
VERO BEACH — Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club will host a U.S. Open golf qualifying event on May 13, according to usopen.com.
“We’re all very excited about it,” said David Champagne, director of golf at the Club. “Membership is looking forward to it. There’s a kind of a buzz around here. It’s obviously a prestigious event and helps puts Orchid on the map and we’re proud to partner with the USGA (United States Golf Association) and be part of the whole road leading into the U.S. Open. It’s an exciting time for us.”
The club has previously hosted qualifiers in May 18, 2009 and May 15, 2017 along with “some other prestigious events” as well.
The U.S. Open tournament will be held on June 13-16 in Pinehurst, NC, according to usopen.com.
The qualifier in Vero Beach is one of 109 that will take place in the U.S. and Canada between April 22 and May 20. Players who advance from the local qualifiers will advance to final qualifiers at one of 10 U.S. sites or one in Canada (in addition to those in England and Japan) with one of the U.S. qualifiers being held on May 20 and the nine other U.S. qualifiers being held on June 3.
Florida is hosting 13 qualifiers, the second most of any state, with California hosting 14 qualifiers, according to the website.
“We anticipate a full field of 84 players and from there it’ll be probably the top four to five people will advance to the next round,” Champagne said.
The event comes on the heels of a renovation at the Club last year, Champagne added.
“We basically were closed last summer,” Champagne said. “We closed May 15 and reopened Nov. 6. We underwent a major renovation where we re-did all the tees and greens, and we did some on-course enhancements as well. The changes came out very positively. Our membership is very excited about the changes. The golf course is in great shape. It is a challenging golf course. It’s got water on 17 out of 18 holes. The greens, being freshly renovated, are a little bit firmer than we’re accustomed to, which will obviously settle out in the years to come. We know this golf course is going to give players a fair but challenging test and I think it will be a good venue for it.”
Those interested in more information about the Club should visit orchidislandfl.com/golf/.
