Palmer gets last-minute reprieve, now in U.S. Open field

Colleyville resident Ryan Palmer, a three-event winner on the PGA Tour who finished as the first alternate at the Dallas sectional qualifier, received a spot in the field Monday for this week’s U.S. Open in Hartford, Wis.

The first round is set for Thursday at Erin Hills Golf Course. Palmer, 40, was one of six golfers added to the field Monday after tournament officials finalized their last of 78 automatic qualifiers for the event.

The U.S. Golf Association, which oversees the event, held back six spots in the field for golfers who had a chance to play their way into the top 60 of the World Golf Rankings through Sunday’s professional tournaments. Only one player, England’s Chris Woods, elevated himself into the top 60 to claim one of the automatic spots in the field.

That left five berths to distribute to top alternates from qualifying sites. Palmer received one of those spots after winning a three-man playoff to become the first alternate from the Dallas qualifier on June 5 at Lakewood Country Club.

It will mark the first appearance in a major championship for Palmer, a Colonial Country Club member, since he returned to the PGA Tour in January following a four-month hiatus to be with his wife, Jennifer, in her battle with breast cancer. During last month’s Dean & DeLuca Invitational in Fort Worth, Palmer said his wife is on track to have her final treatment in August because the disease appears to be in remission.

Palmer outlasted Rockwall’s Edward Loar and Alvaro Ortiz Becerra, an amateur from Mexico, in the three-man playoff in Dallas that propelled him into this week’s field at Erin Hills. Palmer shot rounds of 67-68 to finish at 7-under-par in the qualifier before prevailing in the playoff.

Palmer, a former Texas A&M golfer, will be playing in his seventh U.S. Open. His top finish is a tie for 21st in 2011 at Congressional Country Club.

Other alternates to receive spots in the field Monday included Gregory Bourdy, Tyler Light, Davis Love IV and Meen Whee Kim.

Love, son of longtime PGA Tour competitor Davis Love III, is competing in his first U.S. Open and will be making his professional debut at the event. The younger Love, 23, just completed his college career at Alabama. Best known to competitors as Dru Love, he was the first alternate at a qualifier in Ball Ground, Ga.

This story was originally published June 12, 2017 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Palmer gets last-minute reprieve, now in U.S. Open field."