Four Gators Qualify for U.S. Open
Wednesday, June 10, 2015 | Men's Golf
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of Florida golf alums Matt Every, Billy Horschel and Camilo Villegas, as well as incoming freshman Sam Horsfield, secured spots at the U.S. Open, which tees off next week.
The 2015 Arnold Palmer Invit
ational Champion, Every qualified for the tournament at Chambers Bay by being a top-60 points leader in the World Golf Rankings as of May 25. While competing for the Orange and Blue from 2002-06, Every was named a PING First-Team All-American three times, finished as runner-up at the 2004 SEC Championships and became the first golfer in school history to win the Ben Hogan Award. He was a member of Florida's 2003 SEC Championship squad.
Horschel, the 2014 Tour Championship and FedExCup winner, earned his exemption by qualifying for the season-ending 2014 Tour Championship and by being a top-60 points leader in the World Golf Rankings as of May 25. Horschel competed for the Gators from 2005-09, winning the individual title at the SEC Championship, recording a pair of top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, tying for first place at the NCAA Regionals twice and collecting first-team All-American honors three times.
Villegas, who competed for the Gators from 2000-04, earned his spot among the 15 golfers advancing from the Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Open sectional by tying for seventh place with an even-par 136 Monday. A member of the 2001 NCAA Championship team, his tenure in Gainesville included four first-team All-American awards and four All-SEC honors. He was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame this year.
Horsfield qualified as an amateur by snagging one of the four spots from the U.S. Open sectional in Jupiter, Fla. He shot a 3-under 141 to tie Florida State's Cristobal Del Solar for fourth place. The pair battled in a two-hole playoff, with both making par on the 18th hole. Horsfield then sunk a 20-foot putt for birdie on the first hole to defeat Del Solar and secure his place at the U.S. Open.
UF sophomore golfer Ryan Orr just missed qualifying from the Jupiter sectional. The lone Gator to qualify for the final day of stroke play at the NCAA Championship last week, Orr shot a 1-over 145 over the sectional's two rounds to place sixth and become the second alternate.
The U.S. Open will be played at the Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, Wash., June 18-21.
The U.S. Open field will be finalized next week. A list of players with exemptions can be found here, and the players qualifying from sectionals can be viewed here.
Follow the Gators: For complete coverage of the Gators' men's golf program, visit GatorZone.com, follow @GatorZoneGolf on Twitter and 'like' the University of Florida Men's Golf page on Facebook.
