Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PINEHURST, N.C. — Zac Blair carded a 1-over-par 71 to finish tied for 36th Thursday after the first day of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club in North Carolina.
Blair hit birdie on hole No. 3, but took bogey on the eighth and 12th holes to finish at 1-over on the day.
The 23-year-old former BYU golfer qualified by winning the Creswell, Oregon, sectional qualifier, where he shot 7-under 137. Since winning West Coast Conference co-Player of the Year in 2012-13, Blair has made six of seven starts on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica which include three top-10 finishes in the last four starts.
Blair is the second in his family to qualify for the U.S. Open, after his father, James, made 22 PGA Tour starts between 1981 and 2002.
"It's awesome," Zac Blair said. "It's been one of my goals the last few years and I haven't quite been able to get there. So to get there is pretty sweet."
Martin Kaymer leads the field, shooting 5-under 65 on the first day. Kevin Na, Graeme McDowell, Brendon De Jonge and Fran Quinn are tied for second at 68.
Contributing: Greg Wrubell, Rod Zundel