LOS ANGELES - Former Georgia Southern men's golfer
Ben Carr shot a 2-over 142 in his first two rounds at the U.S. Open, played at Los Angeles Country Club, to make the weekend. After an even-par 70 on Thursday, Carr shot a 72 on Saturday with four birdies to advance right on the cut line.
The Columbus, Georgia, native is playing as an amateur after earning a spot in the field thanks to his U.S. Amateur runner-up finish last summer. Carr also played in April's Masters Tournament but missed the cut.
On Thursday, Carr started on the 10th hole and had a clean first seven holes before a bogey on 17. Making the turn to the front nine at +1, Carr birdied 1, 3 and 8 with bogeys on 6 and 9 to finish even par for his opening round.
On Friday, he opened with a birdie on 1, his second in as many rounds, before running into trouble on 3 and 4 with a bogey and double bogey, respectively. Carr responded with back-to-back birdies on 7 and 8 but bogeyed 9 to finish the front half at +1. Bogeys on 11 and 14 put him below the cut line, but a birdie on the par-3 15th got him back to +2. A terrific up and down on 17 for par and then a quality two-putt on 18 sealed his ticket to the weekend.
"I played a very solid round of golf on day one and felt like I did a good job of limiting bogies and mistakes," Carr said following the round. "Today was pretty sloppy, but I was able to birdie 15 and make some really nice pars on tough holes down the stretch. I have had a great experience this week playing in the U.S. Open. I am very lucky to be competing in majors; they are very grueling tests which I love. I've always wanted to play the weekend at a major and can't wait to do so. I'm excited to keep learning each day."
According to the Georgia Southern men's golf record book, Carr becomes the fifth different Eagle to make the cut at the U.S. Open, joining Gene Sauers (1985; T-58th; Oakland Hills [Bloomfield Hills, Mich.] and 1987; T-58th; Olympic Club [San Francisco]); Jodie Mudd (1986; T-15th; Shinnecock Hills [Shinnecock Hills, N.Y.], 1987, T-17th, Olympic Club [San Francisco,], 1989, T-51st, Oak Hill [Rochester, N.Y.] and 1991, T-26th, Hazeltine National [Chaska, Minn.]), Mike Donald (1990, 2nd, Medinah [Medinah, Ill.], 1993, T-33rd, Baltusrol [Springfield, N.J.] and 1994, T-34th, Oakmont [Plum, Pa.]) and Blake Adams (2012, T-21st, Olympic Club [San Francisco]).
Carr is one four amateurs to make the cut, joining Gordon Sargent (E), Maxwell Moldovan (+2) and Aldrich Potgieter (+2).
Carr will be paired with Sebastián Muñoz and will tee off on Saturday at 1:17 p.m. (ET).
Coverage begins on NBC at 1 p.m., running through 11 p.m. Peacock will have streaming coverage from 3-8 p.m.
