Topsham’s Caleb Manuel, who just completed his sophomore season at the University of Connecticut, will tee off at 8:57 a.m. Thursday as the 122nd U.S. Open begins at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Manuel earned a spot in one of the PGA Tour’s four major tournaments by shooting a three-under-par 137 over 36 holes during a U.S. Open qualifying tournament over two courses in New York on June 6.
He will be one of 15 amateurs in the 156-player field.
Manuel’s playing partners will be Keith Greene — who also claimed his spot in a qualifying tournament in Florida — and Canadian pro Ben Silverman, who has one win to his credit on the tour that is now known as the Korn Ferry Tour.
Silverman has been on the PGA Tour twice but finished 136th and 181st on the money list, so he lost his card and had to return to the Korn Ferry Tour.
He played college golf at Florida Atlantic, an NCAA Division I school.
Greene played college golf at Eastern Florida State, a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association, and at NCAA Division II Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, where he was an honorable mention All-American.
The trio will tee off at 2:42 p.m. on Friday for the second round, and will begin at the 10th hole.
The field will be pared down after the second day based on scores.
The Country Club is a 7,264-yard, par-70 layout featuring 12 par-fours, four par-threes and two par-fives. There are six par-fours, two par-threes and one par-five on each nine.
Manuel was a second team All-Big East selection and an all-tournament selection this past season after being a first-teamer and the Freshman of the Year in the Big East two years ago.
He shared medalist honors with Seton Hall’s Gregor Tait at the Big East Tournament with an 11-under-par 205. But since Tait’s team had already qualified for the NCAA Regionals by winning the Big East team title, he conceded the playoff hole to Manuel, which allowed Manuel to play in the regional as an individual.
Manuel shot a two-under par 208 at the New Haven Regional, finishing three strokes back of Virginia Commonwealth’s Adrian Vagberg. Only the top individual qualified for the NCAA Championships in Arizona.
He has averaged a score of 71.58 per round, which is the best in UConn’s golf history. He averaged a team-low 70.94 this past season and had 21 rounds of par or better including 16 sub-70 rounds.
He won the Maine Amateur and Downeast Metro golf tournaments last summer and the Maine Junior Amateur title two years ago.
He won the Class A individual state championship twice and led Mt. Ararat of Topsham to two team titles.
