6/19/26
(Southampton, NY) Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is one of the best and architecturally interesting courses not just in the United States, but in the world. The top men’s professional players have descended on Long Island for the 126th U.S. Open, and through two rounds, Wyndham Clark holds the 36-hole lead by four shots. Two players from Washington have made the cut after going head-to-head on Golf’s Longest Day.
University Place’s Andrew Putnam and Vancouver’s Spencer Tibbits are both tied for 34th at two-over par after the first two rounds of play. The pair had one of the all-time memorable duals at the Final Qualifier in Oregon, which saw Putnam advance through to the U.S. Open on the ninth playoff hole, but Tibbits was the first alternate from the site. Tibbits, through seven reserved spots for alternates created by the USGA, got into the Championship to join Putnam.
Tibbits, the former Fort Vancouver and Oregon State star, who used a pushcart for his 45 holes at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Final Qualifying, shot a two-under round of 68 in the first round with only one bogey on the 15th hole, and three birdies on the front nine, including on the tricky 7th hole, which played as the third hardest hole on Thursday. He followed that up with a four-over round of 74, and was looking to miss the cut before birdies on the 14th, 16th, and 18th holes saw him breeze past the cutline of four-over. This is his second U.S. Open appearance, his first in 2019 at Pebble Beach, but he missed the cut. Tibbits won three State Championships for Fort Vancouver. Tibbits will start the third round at 9:06 AM and will tee it up with Belgian, Adrian Dumont de Chassart.
Andrew Putnam is playing in his sixth U.S. Open, and with his made cut this week, will have made the cut in four consecutive U.S. Open appearances. Before this week, he hadn’t played in the U.S. Open since 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club, won by Wyndham Clark, but after his epic playoff win over Tibbits, he secured his spot in our National Championship. Putnam had an up-and-down day in the first round, shooting a four-over 74 with birdies on the 1st, 5th, and 12th holes but carded two double bogeys. The PGA Tour veteran recovered nicely in the second round, with three birdies and only one bogey, and pars on his final 11 holes to fire a two-under round of 68 to make the cut. Putnam has put together a really nice year on the PGA Tour, sitting 61st in the FedEx Cup standings, and will likely jump up even further to try to be one of the top 70 players to make the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Putnam missed the cut at last week’s RBC Canadian Open but did have four straight made cuts and two top 20 finishes during an impressive run in late April and May. Putnam went to Life Christian Academy, where, like Tibbits, he won three State Championships. Putnam will play with England’s John Parry tomorrow, starting at 9:28 AM.
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