Former Golfer Mario Carmona Qualifies for 121st U.S. Open
5/25/2021 7:24:00 PM | Men's Golf
Dallas, Texas — Former Rice golfer Mario Carmona qualified for the 121st United State Open Wednesday at the Dallas Athletic Club, tying for fourth-place at seven-under par. The top 10 of the 115 member field qualified.
Carmona becomes the first Owl to qualify for the U.S. Open since Michael Whitehead in 2011.
After winning the local qualifier on May 17 with a six-under 66 at Lakeside Country Club, Carmona opened the Final Qualifier on Monday. He started off slow in the first round, bogeying the first two holes. After two straight pars, he birdied three of the next five holes to make the turn at one-under.
Following a par on ten, Carmona bogeyed the 11th hole. He got it back on the 13th, but after a bogey on 15, he closed the round with an even par 70.
He birdied the first hole to begin the second round but gave it back with a bogey on the second. After birdies on holes five and six, play was suspended for the day.
Carmona came back this morning and immediately birdied the seventh hole, giving him three straight birdies to make the turn at three-under par. He began the back nine with a par, but for the second time in the round, birdied the next three holes. After pars on holes 14 and 15, he birdied the 16th hole before parring the final two holes to finish with a seven-under 65 to clinch a spot in the U.S. Open.
"First of all, it was just an awesome experience," said Carmona. "I was paired with Graeme McDowell, a past U.S. Open champion. So it was really cool to have him in my group. In terms of the delays, as a golfer you deal with those all of the time. I just tried to stay loose. The last two holes on Monday, I made a birdie on the fifth hole, which was a really hard hole on the Gold course. I birdied five and six, and then they blew the horn. So I had really good vibes coming into today. Today, I birdied my first hole and just kind of went from there. Things were clicking. Then I literally got to my last hole and they blew the horn again. I only had a gap wage from about 140 (yards) and I had to wait five hours to hit it. It was kind of stressful, knowing that I had a good round, looking at the leaderboard. But I came back, stuffed it in there to 20 feet, two putted and now I'm in the U.S. Open."
Carmona becomes the first Owl to qualify for the U.S. Open since Michael Whitehead in 2011.
After winning the local qualifier on May 17 with a six-under 66 at Lakeside Country Club, Carmona opened the Final Qualifier on Monday. He started off slow in the first round, bogeying the first two holes. After two straight pars, he birdied three of the next five holes to make the turn at one-under.
Following a par on ten, Carmona bogeyed the 11th hole. He got it back on the 13th, but after a bogey on 15, he closed the round with an even par 70.
He birdied the first hole to begin the second round but gave it back with a bogey on the second. After birdies on holes five and six, play was suspended for the day.
Carmona came back this morning and immediately birdied the seventh hole, giving him three straight birdies to make the turn at three-under par. He began the back nine with a par, but for the second time in the round, birdied the next three holes. After pars on holes 14 and 15, he birdied the 16th hole before parring the final two holes to finish with a seven-under 65 to clinch a spot in the U.S. Open.
"First of all, it was just an awesome experience," said Carmona. "I was paired with Graeme McDowell, a past U.S. Open champion. So it was really cool to have him in my group. In terms of the delays, as a golfer you deal with those all of the time. I just tried to stay loose. The last two holes on Monday, I made a birdie on the fifth hole, which was a really hard hole on the Gold course. I birdied five and six, and then they blew the horn. So I had really good vibes coming into today. Today, I birdied my first hole and just kind of went from there. Things were clicking. Then I literally got to my last hole and they blew the horn again. I only had a gap wage from about 140 (yards) and I had to wait five hours to hit it. It was kind of stressful, knowing that I had a good round, looking at the leaderboard. But I came back, stuffed it in there to 20 feet, two putted and now I'm in the U.S. Open."
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