Ohio State sophomore Vaughn Harber looked down and out. Then the DeSales graduate from Blacklick looked up and just that quickly was in the U.S. Open.
Harber stood on the 14th tee at the Lakes Golf and Country Club June 8 needing a magical finish to have any chance of qualifying for the U.S. Open June 18-21 at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, New York.
Then he pulled a rabbit out of his hat, playing the final five holes in 5 under to work his way into a four-way playoff for three qualifying spots. Harber birdied hole 14, eagled 16, and birdied 17 and 18 to finish his 36 holes tied with three other players at 9 under. He then birdied the first playoff hole after lasering his approach shot to a few feet to punch his ticket to his first U.S. Open.
Harber, who won the 2023 state high school championship at DeSales, was one of four qualifiers among the 51 participants, joining medalist Davis Thompson, PGA Tour player J.B. Holmes and amateur Arni Sveinsson, all of whom will be making the trip to Long Island.
Harber showed real promise in his first season at Ohio State, finishing with the second-lowest scoring average (72.94) on the team and posting three top-10s in his final four events.
Former Ohio State golfer Neal Shipley qualified out of the Springfield, Ohio, site.
Sports columnist Rob Oller can be reached at roller@dispatch.com and on X.com at @rollerCD.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: DeSales grad Vaughn Harber, an OSU sophomore, qualifies to U.S. Open
Reporting by Rob Oller, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Rob Oller, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
