June 6, 2017: Tour veteran Daniel Chopra of Sweden is set to make his third appearance in the year’s second Major after he claimed a three-shot victory at the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying held at the Canoe Brook Country Club in New Jersey on Monday.
After carding a four-under-par 66 at the par-70 South course in the morning, Chopra fired eight birdies against a bogey to sign for a seven-under-par 65 at the par-72 North course, topping the leaderboard with a winning total of 11-under-par 131.
Chopra, a former two-time PGA Tour winner and a one-time winner on the Asian Tour, will lead four other players, who all finished inside top-five at the Canoe Brook Country Club, to the 117th U.S. Open which will be held at the Erin Hills from June 15 to 18.
“I felt really good about my game coming in here, and I felt like it would be a good opportunity if I played well and kept my head on my shoulders. If I played solid golf, I would have a great change,” said Chopra, who is born to a Swedish mother and Indian father.
The 43-year-old Swede enjoyed a tied-24th place finish when he made his debut appearance in the U.S. Open in 2004. He finished tied-36th in his second appearance in 2008.
“My goal was to get it to 10 under in the afternoon. After I birdied the 10th hole, I told myself to get one more, an insurance birdie in case something happens. I made that one and then one more, so it was a bit cruisy coming in. It was nice playing the last few holes pretty safe,” added Chopra.
China’s Li Haotong and Wade Ormsby of Australia had earlier earned their spots in the U.S. Open after finishing second and tied-12th respectively at the Sectional Qualifying held at the Walton Heath Golf Club last week. Asian Tour member Shugo Imahira of Japan also secured his first start in the U.S. Open through the qualifier held on home soil two weeks ago.
Asian Tour International Ambassador and Honorary Member Ernie Els, Japan’s Yuta Ikeda and young Korean talent Jeunghun Wang will also feature in the U.S. Open next week.
Asian Tour Release
