JUPITER, Fla. – Final Qualifying for the 124th U.S. Open is set to go through The Bear’s Club on Monday, June 3. Amongst a field peppered with PGA Tour players and accomplished amateur golfers, lies two familiar names within the realm of the FSGA: Brendan Valdes and Sohan Patel.
Brendan Valdes competed in the 2023 U.S. Open Championship after advancing through both qualifiers to punch his ticket into the field. Moreover, the 21 year old posted eight top-10 finishes during his sophomore year at Auburn University. He also competed in the U.S. Amateur Championship last year at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado. The Orlando native advanced to match play and competed in the Round of 32. In addition to his success in college and at USGA events, Valdes started his journey in golf on the Florida Junior Tour. Some highlights of his Florida Junior Tour career are when he captured the FJT Tour Championship in 2018 as well as being named the FJT Points Champion.
Valdes found himself in Final Qualifying for the U.S. Open championship last year in which he claimed his spot in the field at Pine Tree Golf Club. When asked about what he learned through golf’s longest day of golf, Valdes stated, “That you should never give up. When I doubled the 14th hole, I knew I had to keep going.”
Sohan Patel is the youngest player in the field at the Bear’s Club at only 15 years old. Patel advanced to final qualifying through Wellington National Golf Club after posting a two-under-par, 70. In addition, Patel qualified for the 2023 U.S. Amateur and competed as the youngest player in the field at age 14. Patel also found success at his high school state championship this past December, finishing tied for sixth place as a freshman.
When he is not competing in National tournaments, you can find Patel playing against Florida’s best juniors on the Florida
Junior Tour. This year, Patel captured a tied-for-fifth finish at the FJT Florida State University Major. In addition, the Weston native captured a top-10 finish at the FJT Pam McCloskey Brosnihan Open last year. He also fired back-to-back rounds of 68 to capture a runner-up finish at the FJT Fairwinds Open.
Final Qualifying has earned the label of the longest day in golf for a reason. There are many holes to be played that lie ahead of the field on Monday, and as always anything can happen. Don’t miss out on the action, you never know when you may find a familiar face punching their ticket into a Major Championship.
