The U.S. Open Championship is the toughest test in golf, and a lone former Colorado high school golfer made it past the qualifiers and is ready to take on the challenge.
Shane Bertsch will hit the very first golf shot of the tournament hosted at The Olympic Club just outside San Francisco, California. The former Evergreen High School Cougar, who went on to play collegiately at New Mexico Junior College and Texas A & M, was garnered the very first tee time(Tee Time: 7:00 a.m. off Hole #9 paired with Tommy Biershenk and Martin Flores) after overcoming the daunting task of qualifying for the event at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland.
Thirteen current and former Colorado high school golfers were able to make it past the local qualifiers, but were one step and two rounds short of a chance to play with some of the best golfers in the world.
The Heritage at Westmoor in Westminister, Colorado, hosted a local qualifier and helped Gustav Lundquist, a seventeen year old that attends Regis Jesuit, Greg Johnson, a Bear Creek High School graduate and now attends Regis University in Denver, Jonathan S. Park, a freshman at CSU-Pueblo and Overland High School graduate, Ben Portie, a former University of Colorado golfer and coach as well as a Ranum High School graduate, and Luke Symons, played golf at CU and is ThunderRidge High School alumni and advanced to the sectional.
The other Colorado local qualifier took place in Fort Collins at Collindale Golf Club. Cameron Harrell, an eighteen year old who recently graduated from Air Academy High School and now attends Colorado State University, led the way followed by Derek Fribbs, a Douglas County High School alumni and a junior at the University of Colorado, Danny Hahn, a former Columbine High School Rebel, David Oraee, who went to Greeley West and now plays for the University of Colorado, Mike Kitowski, a Fort Collins High School graduate and former golfer for CSU, and Alexander Gutesha, a Cherry Creek High School alumni and golfer at the University of Kansas.
Outside the Mile High State there were several former Coloradoans that were on the cusp of making the cut for the US Open. Mark Hubbard qualified for the sectional qualifier at Ironwood Country Club in Palm Desert, California, but is a native and graduated from Colorado Academy before going to San Jose State University to play golf collegiately. Steamboat Springs High School alumni and Adams State College golfer Ryan Brees made the first cut in Powell, Ohio, at the Kinsale Golf & Fitness Club.
Colorado native, Bertsch will lead the rest of the field into 2012 U.S. Open Championship that is contested Thursday to Sunday.
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