Qualified Success for These Four

Like many golfers looking to make a name for themselves, Bill Lunde circled the days June 12-15 on his calendar several months ago, but in the back of his mind he figured it might be wishful thinking.

Lunde knew the U.S. Open would be played then at Olympia Fields Country Club near Chicago and it was his one chance to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best golfers in the world.

After his play Monday in sectional qualifying, he will.

Lunde, a 27-year-old, five-year veteran of the mini-tour circuit from Las Vegas, shot rounds of 67 and 68 for a seven-under 135 at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, leading a group of four who survived the 36-hole qualifier and will tee it up next week in the second professional major of the year. Seventy-eight players were vying for the four spots.

Also advancing to Olympia Fields are Anthony Arvidson, a 24-year-old Pepsi Tour player from Arizona; Warren Schutte, 31, the 1992 U.S. Amateur Public Links and 1991 NCAA individual champion, and Rick Reinsberg, 31, a former pro who regained his amateur status and became a stockbroker a few years ago.

The names are not as familiar as many of those they will compete against at Olympia Fields, nor are they as familiar as some of those they defeated to get there. Four-time PGA Tour winner Duffy Waldorf and tour veteran David Berganio were among those who didn’t make the cut at El Caballero.

But such players as Lunde, Arvidson, Schutte and Reinsberg are what the U.S. Open is all about.

Lunde has played the Hooters and Gateway tours for five years. He has tried qualifying for the U.S. Open five times. Last year, he lost a playoff for the final berth.

“This is a big step for me,” he said. “It’s a brutal tournament to get through, but I do it because I play golf and this is the direction I want to go in. As long as I keep getting better, I’m going to keep trying.”

Anyone with a handicap index of 1.4 or lower can compete in U.S. Open qualifying -- among the most liberal standards for any professional tournament. Players must make it through 18-hole local qualifying and then through 36-hole sectional qualifying to get to the Open. The courses are set up to USGA standards with thick rough and fast greens, players must walk all 36 holes and there are few spots in the Open to be had.

For Reinsberg, getting through was somewhat of a shock. An amateur, he didn’t expect much when he applied to try to qualify and Monday, he was among the last to leave El Caballero.

As the sun set, he stood staring at the scoreboard, grinning and shaking his head.

“I just can’t believe this,” he said. “I got the application and I just said, ‘Yeah I’ll try for the Open. I’ll just sign up and see.”

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Stewart Cink bogeyed his first of 36 holes at Westerfield, Ohio, then went on to record 22 birdies, set two course records and breezed to medalist honors at a sectional qualifier at Olympia Fields, Ill. Cink had rounds of 62-61, finishing nine strokes ahead of anyone else.

Mark Calcavecchia, Bob Tway and Jesper Parnevik were among other PGA Tour pros who earned a trip to the U.S. Open. Tom Lehman was among those who did not qualify.

In other qualifiers Monday:

* Chad Campbell had 72-67 at Kirtland, Ohio, and beat 15 other players for one spot.

* Trip Kuehne, the runner-up to Tiger Woods in the 1994 U.S. Amateur, broke the course record at Stonebridge Ranch with a 10-under 62 and coasted home to earn one of two spots at McKinney, Texas.

* Bryce Molder, a four-time All-American at Georgia Tech, qualified for the first time as a professional with an eight-under 134 to get one of four spots at North Shore Country Club in Glenview, Ill.

* One of the two spots at Columbine Country Club in Littleton, Colo., went to 16-year-old Tom Glissmeyer, who had a three-under 141.

Associated Press contributed to this report.