The Seahawk

Issue date: 6/25/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Courtesy of UNCW Sports

UNCW golfer Josh Brock will tee it up with some of the greats of golf this week as he qualified for the 2009 U.S. Open Championship held in Farmingdale, N.Y. The sophomore from Wilmington will become the second Seahawk to ever play in the event, following former standout Derek Brown in 2005.

In order to qualify for the year’s second major championship, Brock endured several rounds of local qualifiers before traveling to Rockville, Md. for the final test.

Brock entered the one-day, two-round qualifier at Woodmont Country Club needing to finish in the top seven of the 71-player field. After an even-par 72 in the first round, Brock found his stride in the afternoon and posted a second round score of 65. The seven-under score of 137 put Brock in a tie for second and solidified his spot in this year’s Open.

Brock finished just one stroke shy of tying for top honors at the Woodmont qualifier. In addition, he shared second place with Australian star Michael Sim, who currently leads the Nationwide Tour in 2009 earnings.

Up next for Brock will be his toughest challenge yet. The U.S. Open traditionally plays as one of the most difficult professional tournaments of the year. That is especially true this year as the event returns to New York State Park’s Bethpage Black.

Bethpage last hosted a U.S. Open in 2002, creating conditions so difficult that Tiger Woods was quoted as saying recreational golfers with a 10-handicap would not shoot below 100 there. Woods was the only player to finish under-par that week.

U.S. Opens held at Bethpage are often affectionately dubbed “The People’s Open” as the course is one of the few public venues to ever host a major championship and is notorious for its rowdy and enthusiastic crowds.

The long-hitting Brock enters the Open with the skill-set to perform well, but in order to do that, he must keep the ball in the fairway. The rough at Bethpage has been grown out to unforgiving levels to wreak havoc on the players this week.

As if simply playing in the U.S. Open wasn’t enough, Brock was able to enhance the experience by playing practice rounds with golf superstars Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker as well as taking in advice from two-time defending British Open champion Padraig Harrington.

Despite the incredible atmosphere, Brock is staying grounded and focused on the task at hand.

“I’m here this week to win the U.S. Open,” he said in a pre-tournament interview with Golfweek. “I’m not here just to shake hands with everybody.”

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