Wolfes, Mierzejewski Try to Make U.S. Open Dreams Come True
6/3/2013 12:11:00 PM | Men's Golf
BALL GROUND, Ga. – Georgia Southern sophomore golfers Scott Wolfes and Matthew Mierzejewski will tee it up this morning for 36 grueling holes at Hawks Ridge Golf Club with a chance to play in the U.S. Open on the line.
The pair is playing in a Sectional Qualifying tournament, the second and final stage for U.S. Open hopefuls. Played over 36 holes in one day, sectional qualifying is a test of skill and endurance, with only a handful of available spots at each site - the number of qualifying spots is determined by the quality and quantity of the field at each location. There are 13 sectional sites - 11 in the U.S., one in England and one in Japan.
The game's most democratic major championship since 1895, the U.S. Open offers an opportunity to play on golf's biggest stage alongside golf's biggest names. The two-stage qualification process helps decide a field of 156 players from some 9,000 entrants for the 113th playing of the national championship at Merion Golf Club, in Ardmore, Pa.
The duo reached this stage by advancing through local qualifying in May. Wolfes fired a 2-under 70 to earn co-medalist honors at the Sawgrass Country Club East/West Course. Mierzejewski posted a 2-under-par 70 to tie for second at Atlanta National Golf Club.
The Southern Conference Golfer of the Year, PING all-region selection and two-time All-SoCon selection, Wolfes won two tournaments, placed first or second in five events and posted seven top-10 finishes for the Eagles this season.
Mierzejewski (right) was on the Eagle quintets that won the AutoTrader Collegiate Classic and Old Dominion/Outer Banks Intercollegiate Tournaments in consecutive weeks in October. It was the first time the Eagles won consecutive tournaments since 1982. Mierzejewski helped the Eagles with consecutive scores of 73 in the final two rounds at the AutoTrader. He posted a pair of 75s at the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate.
Mierzejewski's best round of the season was a 69 in the first round of the Warrior Wave Invitational in Hawaii in November, and he notched a 72 in the opening round of Georgia Southern's home tournament, the Schenkel Invitational. He averaged 75.75 strokes a round in four tournaments for the Eagles.
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