Illinois Golf: Thomas Detry, Dylan Meyer lead Illini into 121st US Open

We are just over a week from the start of the 121st US Open, and the Illinois golf team is going to be represented by two young guns trying to make a name.

Just this past September, the US Open was held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Illinois had some good representation in that tournament, as Thomas Pieters would finish +10 and in a tie for 23rd place. He wasn’t the only former Illini wielding the big stick, though.

Thomas Detry also participated in the US Open late in 2020. He too made the cut with a four-day total of +17, which was good enough for a tie for 49th place. Well, Detry is back at it again in 2021, as he has now qualified for the 2021 US Open.

Detry qualified for the US Open via the European US open Qualifying standings. The top 10 in points from the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett, Made in HimmerLand presented by FREJA and the Porsche European Open earned a spot in the US Open. Detry finished No. 9 in the points standings.

But Detry isn’t the only former Illinois golfer to tee it up next week. The Illini will also have Dylan Meyer representing the Orange and Blue.

Meyer qualified for the US Open via the United States qualifying circuit. This is an extremely hard way to get into the prestigious tournament, as there are thousands of players across the world vying for a limited number of spots.

The first stop in the qualifying circuit for Meyer was in the local qualifier at the Illini Country Club in Springfield, Illinois. Four players advanced out of that qualifier with Meyer taking home the best score of -3. This enabled him to advance on to the final qualifying.

Meyer would then head to Springfield, Ohio to play the tough Springfield Country Club in his final qualifying tournament. A lot of tough competition was in this qualifier as PGA stalwarts Bo Hoag, Brian Stuard, Troy Merritt and Beau Hossler all competed for just seven spots in the US Open.

After day one of the event, Meyer was in a tie for 9th place. He needed to shoot a great second round if he wanted to get into the US Open. A second-round 67 did just that, as Meyer had a two-day total of -4 to secure his spot at Torrey Pines next week.

So, while you are watching some of the best golfers in the world struggle through one of the toughest golf courses in the country, just keep an eye out for Meyer and Detry. Don’t be surprised to see both of their names up on the leaderboard sometime throughout the weekend as well.