Local pro pleased with Open performance
Michael Tobiason Jr., of Wilmington missed the cut in his first U.S. Open but he felt he had a good week.
BETHESDA, Md. – Michael Tobiason Jr., still had a chance to pick up the two birdies he needed to make the cut when he returned Saturday morning to Congressional Country Club to play his final three holes in his second round in the U.S. Open.
But a bogey at his 17th hole, the par-4 eighth, saw that slim chance flame out, and the 27-year-old Wilmington resident completed his first U.S. Open with a 74 and a 36-hole total of 7-over-par 149, missing the cut by three.
"It was a good week," Tobiason said as he rode back up I-95 to spend Father's Day with his 5-year-old son, Aiden. "It was exciting. I feel good that I was right there. It's not like I played bad. I didn't have a double bogey all week and that was a goal.
"Considering it was my first PGA Tour event, I played pretty well. There's a lot I'll take out of that, and I have a lot to learn."
Tobiason, a teaching pro at the Eric MacCluen Golf Academy located at Applecross Country Club in Chester County, got off to a rocky start on Friday, with bogeys on 10, 11 and 12, his first three holes. But he got those shots back quickly, with birdies at 14, 16 and 17 to reach 4-over, which was the cut figure.
After a bogey at 18, he parred the next five holes but couldn't come up with that one extra birdie he needed. He bogeyed the sixth before play was called because of threatening weather, and then by darkness 11 minutes later.
On Saturday, he parred No. 7. But at the eighth, he hooked an 8-iron into the bunker, blasted out to 25 feet and missed the par putt. He finished with a par on the ninth.
"I feel my confidence is really good," he said. "It's all about proving it to yourself. I was out there with the best in the world."
Tobiason, who has played most of his competitive golf during the winter on Florida mini-tours, said he will work on playing more events the rest of the summer while he continues teaching.
Other players joining Tobiason at 7-over for two rounds were major champions Jim Furyk, David Toms and Trevor Immelman.
--Joe Juliano
10