Just 36 holes stand between Jonathan Elkins and a potential trip to one of golf’s premier events.
The 16-year old South Deerfield resident will take part in the field at the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier at New Jersey’s Canoe Brook Country Club on June 5. If Elkins can traverse the grueling 36-hole day and earn one of the to-be-determind number of qualifying spots, he will punch his ticket to the 117th playing of the U.S. Open. One of golf’s four majors, this year’s U.S. Open will take place from June 15-18 at Wisconsin’s Erin Hills.
“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about (playing in the U.S. Open). I’ve definitely thought about it a lot,” said Elkins earlier this week while walking to golf practice at Taft School in Watertown, Conn. “I’ll be practicing a lot and at the range and all that beforehand but I’m sure I’ll still be very nervous when the sectional rolls around. It’s going to be awesome though, just taking part and getting a shot to qualify.”
Elkins, a freshman at Taft School who graduated from Eaglebrook School last spring, advanced to the sectional qualifier after earning a top 3 spot at the local qualifier held at Crumpin-Fox Club on May 16. A member at CFC for the past five years, Elkins was able to play to his strengths in the 59-person field. He shot a 2-under round of 70, qualifying him in the third and final spot behind winner Matthew Naumec of Wilbraham (68) and Liam Ainsworth of Dade City, Fla. (69). With the top 3 advancing to the sectional round, Elkins, playing in his first-ever local qualifier for the Open, finished a comfortable three strokes clear of a pack of golfers tied for fourth place at 73.
“Honestly, I’ve been hitting the ball so well all spring, so I was really looking forward to it,” he explained of the event. “I really hadn’t had a bad day on the golf course leading up to it so I was confident.”
Despite what he called a bad warm-up prior to his 18-hole round, Elkins hit good tee shots early to settle the nerves. He hit the turn at 2-over par, but torched the back nine for a 4-under 32 to shoot 70.
“There was nothing to be mad about at (the turn) so I just refocused and grinded from there,” he recalled. “It wasn’t really my putting on the back (nine) as much as my iron play. I hit eight greens (in regulation) on the back, all inside 15-feet. Most of my birdies were inside eight feet.”
The familiarity with Crumpin-Fox certainly gave Elkins an advantage. He said he knew exactly where he wanted to land each shot on just about every hole.
“There’s a huge comfort zone with playing there,” he offered. “I know every putt, which way they break. I end up the same place almost every time I play that course. Having played there so many times, it was a huge factor.”
Still, when Elkins finished his round, he wasn’t sure if the 70 would be good enough to advance to the sectional round. Naumec and Ainsworth both finished around the same time, and he sat in third place with several golfers still out on the course. After their scores were posted, Elkins immediately told his dad, Steve, who was on his bag as caddy, that he might need to warm-up in case of a playoff.
“It was a pretty long time just waiting to see if it would be good enough,” Elkins recalled. “It was probably an hour and a half before I knew for sure that I was advancing. But I didn’t feel any pressure because I thought 70 was easily good enough. I was just sitting, having a burger and texting with some friends when all of a sudden, they let me know that I was moving on.”
The past 10 days have been a whirlwind for Elkins. Friends and family reached out in a big way to congratulate the 16-year old, and he’s tried to focus on the final few days of school. Taft finishes on June 2, and he’ll likely drive straight down to New Jersey and play the two courses — North and South — that he’ll tackle for the sectional qualifier. He’s never played there before, meaning it’ll be a crash-course before embarking on the tournament on June 5.
“The main goal is to move on,” he began. “But really, if it doesn’t go well, to make it this far is really awesome. I know I’m one of the youngest to qualify out there. A lot of people have reached out and the support has been amazing. I left my phone in the car (during local qualifying) and got back and it was filled with text messages.”
Canoe Brook Country Club is one of just 11 sectional qualifying tournaments. Nine will be held in the U.S. with one in England and one in Japan. At last year’s sectional in New Jersey, six golfers earned spots in the U.S. Open in a field of just under 100 players. To earn the right to play on golf’s biggest stage with the likes of Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, Elkins will likely have to shoot well under par. To earn a top 6 spot in 2016, the barometer was 6-under for 36 holes.
Regardless of how Elkins fares in New Jersey, his summer is shaping up to be a busy one. He’ll play in several tournaments, though he’s double-booked himself just about every week depending on how the sectional tourney goes.
“It really all depends on the U.S. Open qualifier. If I qualify, things obviously change quite a bit for the rest of my summer,” he said with a laugh. “It’s really busy looking ahead but I’m just excited to go out there and see what I can do.”
And despite being one of, if not the youngest player in the field on June 5, Elkins said he’ll just stick to the game plan that has led him to within 36 holes of golf’s biggest stage.
“I guess what really is the key to my game is I hit it really straight,” he explained. “I can get up and down in tough spots and my putting from inside 15 feet has been really spot-on. As long as I play my game and don’t push things, I think I’ll do okay.”