Midway through the opening round of the U.S. Open, during the most difficult conditions of the day at Shinnecock Hill, 21-year-old Ryder Cowan suddenly was chasing history.
The rising senior at Oklahoma looked at the scoreboard and saw his name at the top at 3-under par. An amateur had not led after any round at the U.S. Open in 50 years.
“Through nine, I looked up and I was 3-under par,” Cowan said following his round of in which he finished with a 2-under 68. “I definitely looked at that leaderboard, and I saw it up there.”
Cowan played his back 9 in 1-over, closing with a 68, the lowest first-round score among the 20 amateurs. Still, it was good enough for a tie for fifth, four shots behind leader Wyndham Clark.
He followed that with a 72, his even par through 36 holes good enough to make the cut in his first PGA Tour event.
So who is Cowan and what is his connection to Palm Beach County that allowed him to play in his first PGA Tour event at the U.S. Open.
Ryder Cowan easily makes cut at U.S. Open, first PGA Tour event
Although Cowan was not as sharp in round 2 — he hit 11-of-14 fairways after going a perfect 14-of-14 in the opening round and finishing third in strokes gained: off the tee — he ended on a high note with a birdie on the par-4 No. 18 after sticking his approach 9-feet from the hole. He was able to recover after a rough stretch of four bogeys in seven holes starting at No. 8. Cowan was T12 when his round ended and the cutline was 3-over.
Cowan qualified for U.S. Open in Palm Beach Gardens
Cowan emerged from the final qualifying at BallenIsles in Palm Beach Gardens, posting 6-under 138 for the two rounds and then surviving a 3-for-2 playoff for one of the four spots. He joined two other amateurs, Royal Palm Beach’s Giuseppe Puebla and Jacksonville Beach’s Miles Russell; along with Canadian Ben Silverman, an FAU graduate who lives in Juno Beach, as the qualifiers out of BallenIsles.
Cowan a two-time American from Oklahoma
Cowan is from Edmond, Oklahoma, and graduated from Oklahoma Christian School. He is a two-time American, finishing T28 at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship which was held in Carlsbad, Calif., in early June. Cowan was a finalist this season for Haskins Award, which is considered the Heisman Trophy of college golf.
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Who is Ryder Cowan? Meet the amateur who made the cut at the U.S. Open
Reporting by Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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By Tom D'Angelo, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
