VIDEO: U.S. Open Qualifier, and NHL Referee Garrett Rank
Garrett Rank will be the talk of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock (AGC video screenshot)
ATLANTA, Georgia (June 8, 2018) --
Garrett Rank has a job that keeps him in shape, dodging pucks, and making rulings as an NHL referee. And while hockey insiders (and certainly NHL players) know him, over the past few years Rank has been making a name for himself during the warmer months, as the world's top Mid-Amateur player in the AmateurGolf.com rankings.
The likable 30-year-old has played golf on television, advancing to the semi-finals of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball with partner
Patrick Christovich when that event was televised. He's won the Canadian Mid-Amateur -- with an under-par score that resembled something off the Web.com Tour. Rank also qualified for the 2017 U.S. Amateur last year at Riviera (advancing to match play before bowing out earlier than he would have liked).
But on Monday at Atlanta's Ansley Golf Club, he recorded what puts him on a very short list (assuming someone else has done it) by qualifiying for the U.S. Open. And rather than withdraw from the Dogwood, where tournament director Ed Toledano got him in the field at the last minute, Rank played, and spoke to us about what it feels like to record the biggest achievement of his golf career.
Don't bet against Garrett Rank making a strong showing at Shinnecock, where we can now have a contest for which of the 19 amateurs finishes lowest, and which of the 3 Mid-Ams goes the furthest.
ABOUT THE
U.S. Open Golf Championship
The U.S. Open is the biggest of the 15 national
championships conducted by the USGA.
Open
to amateurs and professionals. Amateurs gain
entry via USGA win or runner-up finishes while having the opportunity
to qualify alongside non-exempt professionals in an 18-hole "Local' qualifying followed
by 36-hole "Final" qualifying which is affectionately known as golf's longest day.
Highly-ranked amateurs will be exempted past the 18-hole Local Qualifying. See the
USGA website for details. And if you are exempt on any level be sure to apply by the deadline anyway.
The USGA intends to make the U.S. Open
the
most rigorous, yet fair, examination of golf
skills, testing all forms of shot-making. The
USGA prepares the course after careful
consideration of 14 different factors.
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