Players With Oregon State Ties Dominate U.S. Open Local Qualifying

AURORA, ORE. - James Allenby, a rookie on the Canadian Tour from Langley, British Columbia bested 36 other professional golfers and 53 amateurs, taking medalist honors with a 4-under par 33-34--67 at the U.S. Open Local qualifer held today on the 6,931-yard, par 71 layout at Langdon Farms Golf Club in Aurora, Ore. He will lead a contingent of six players who will advance to Sectional qualifying and an opportunity to compete for one of the top prizes in golf, a U.S. Open Championship.

Joining Allenby are professionals Zack Shriver of Marysville, Wash., Chad Fribley of Tualatin, Ore., and Vincent Johnson of Portland, Ore. as well as amateurs Diego Velasquez of Bogota, Columbia and Richard Lee of Bellevue, Wash.

David Lebeck of Beaverton, Ore., who played in the 1999 U.S. Open when it was held at Pinehurst took the 1st alternate position with an even par round.

Nine players tied at 1-over par of which six entered a playoff to determine the 2nd alternate position. That final position was won by Oregon State freshman, Morton Madsen of Silkeborg, Denmark who birdied the fourth playoff hole.

This year, the United States Golf Association accepted a record 9,086 entries for the 2009 U.S. Open, to be played June 18-21 at Bethpage State Park's Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., including those from the 63 golfers who are currently fully exempt into the field. To be eligible, a player must have a USGA Handicap Index® no higher than 1.4, or be a professional.

Local qualifying, played over 18 holes at 112 sites, runs from May 6-25. Sectional qualifying, played over 36 holes, will be conducted at two international sites (Japan and England) on May 25 and 13 sites in the United States. A total of 175 applicants chose an international site (42 Japan, 133 England). It is the fifth consecutive year that the USGA has offered these two international sectional qualifiers. The U.S. Open Sectionals for the Northwest region will be held at Tumble Creek Golf Club in Roslyn, Wash. on June 8.

Allenby is a rookie on the Canadian tour, was a member of the Oregon State Golf Team where he was a First Team All Pac-10 and earned Honorable Mention All-American in his senior season. He earned his first professional victory in 2009 on the Vancouver Golf Tour, but missed the cut at his first Canadian Tour event.

Shriver also plays on the Canadian Tour. In 2008, he made 8 of 13 cuts with his best finish a T-21 at the TELUS Edmonton Open. In his only appearance on the Canadian Tour this year, the Corona Mazatlan Classic/Mexican PGA Championship he missed the cut.

Velasquez is a junior on the Oregon State Men's Golf Team. He recorded his first individual collegiate victory at the Giustina Memorial Classic where he finished 8-under par (298) and had the second lowest scoring average on the team through the fall season with 72.47 strokes per round. As an amateur, ranked as high as #2 in the country in his native Colombia

Johnson, who also played for Oregon State, was named the first recipient of the Charlie Sifford Exemption for the PGA Tour's Northern Trust Open in February. Although he missed the cut at the Northern Trust Open by three-strokes, he gained confidence in his ability to play golf at the highest level. He also took the 2007 PGA Minority Collegiate Championship, winning that event by 12-strokes.

Fribley played primarily on the Dakotas Tour in 2008 where he had 8 top 10 finishes. He has also played events on the NGA Tour Carolinas Series where he had two top five finishes and NGA Hooters Tour. He took medlaist honors alst year at the Oregon Classic qualifier but missed the cut in the Nationwide Tour event. His best finish in 2008 was the title at the Gallatin Valley Open

Lee is a junior on the Pac-10 Champion Washington Husky Golf Team. He won the Washington Amateur in 2008 and is a two time winner of the Seattle Amateur. With a 3rd place finish, Lee recently helped lead his team to a 10-stroke victory over Georgia Tech at the NCAA Regional Championship played last week in Alvaton, Ky.

ABOUT THE OGA
The Oregon Golf Association (OGA) is a 501(c)(6) non-profit membership organization and serves as a regional representative of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and works closely with a number of allied associations within the golf industry for the betterment of the game.

Founded in 1924, the (OGA) was established in order to conduct the Oregon Amateur golf championship. Since its founding 85 years ago, the OGA has evolved to now provide a multitude of benefits and services to approximately 50,000 individual men, women, senior, and junior members at over 270 member golf clubs and 190 golf courses throughout the Oregon and SW Washington. The OGA also works tirelessly to promote, foster, and grow the game of golf in its region through its support of golf related charities and "good for the game" programs.

The organization is governed by a 15-person volunteer Executive Committee and managed by a full-time staff of nine. When a golfer joins an OGA Member Club, a portion of the dues paid to the club is remitted to the OGA to belong to the Association.

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Players With Oregon State Ties Dominate U.S. Open Local Qualifying

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