A third U.S. Open appearance would have been charming for John Ellis – especially this year, with “our national championship” returning to the Olympic Club in San Francisco, about 50 miles from Ellis’ home in San Jose.
“It would have been perfect,” the 32-year-old Live Oak High graduate said. “I’ve been there. It’s a course I like.”
Making the cut for the June 14-17 Open would have been a storybook result for Ellis and the many Bay Area natives who sweated out Monday’s 36-hole sectional qualifying at Lake Merced and TPC Harding Park.
Alas, the perfect ending required an almost equally flawless afternoon from the seven players who advanced. Ellis, who had been so skillful five weeks ago during his medalist finish at 7-under-par 65 in a local qualifier at Serrano Country Club in El Dorado Hills, was not one of them.
Ellis shot back-to-back even rounds of 72 and tied for 42nd at 144.
“I could have done better,” he said Tuesday from Victoria, British Columbia, the site of a Canadian Tour event he will play in this week. “I was disappointed to have an Open I wanted to be in be so close to home.”
It would have been Ellis’ fifth PGA tournament, counting the 2008 and 2011 U.S. opens and the past two Frys.com opens at CordeValle in San Martin. Although disappointed, he kept his performance in perspective. Monday’s qualifying is widely regarded as “the longest day” of the golf year; and the U.S. Open, the toughest major
“Qualifying’s hard to do for any guy,” Ellis said. “It’s a tough day, a tough deal. I just didn’t have enough quality shots.”
Ellis was a half dozen strokes behind the final qualifiers, Matthew Bettencourt of Duncan, S.C., and amateur Alberto Sanchez of Nogales, Ariz., who tied for sixth at 6-under. James Hahn of San Bruno was medalist at 8-under.
Ellis started the day on the 10th hole of the 6,845-yard Lake Merced course in Daly City. He birdied the par-4 16th but bogeyed the 12th and 18th, falling to 1-over at the turn. Ellis bogeyed the second and fifth as well but finished strong with an 16-foot putt for eagle on the par-5, 503-yard No. 6 and a birdie on the ninth.
“That gave me life,” he said. “I carried that over for some good play into the second round.”
Ellis resumed play at 12:48 p.m. at the 7,062-yard Harding Park course in San Francisco – located within plain sight of Olympic. He birdied the par-5 fourth, ninth and 10th holes to climb to minus-2 for the round but cooled off across the final eight holes.
“I just didn’t hole enough putts to give myself a chance,” Ellis said. “I needed more.”
The rest of the qualifiers from Monday included amateur Beau Hossler (137) of Mission Viejo, Alex Cejka (137) of Las Vegas, Scott Smith (137) of Fallon, Nev., and Michael Allen (137) of Scottsdale, Ariz.
Amateur Martin Trainer (139) of Palo Alto was the first alternate, and Michael Baird (139) of Castle Rock, Colo., the second.
Ellis flew in to Bay Area on Saturday after playing in a National Professional Golf Tour event in Scottsdale. He has been “staying sharp and getting ready for Q-School,” which begins in October.
