Charlotte, NC – June 5, 2012 – At various sectional qualifying sites around the United States yesterday, and with a Memphis, TN still to be determined, a total of 20 eGolf Tour players successfully advanced through to the 2012 U.S. Open, to be contested at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, CA on June 14-17.

One of the most successful sites for eGolf Tour players was also one of the more difficult in Columbus, OH, where the field was flooded with PGA TOUR stars who remained in central Ohio following the conclusion of the prior week’s Memorial Tournament. Leading the way was former eGolf Tour member and 2008 Columbia Open champion Blake Adams, who posted rounds of 67-68—135 to sail through the qualifier, held at Scioto Country Club and Ohio State University Golf Club’s Scarlet Course. The start at Olympic will mark the first of Adams’ career in a major championship. The former Georgia Southern standout has been a full member of the PGA TOUR since the 2010 season, having competed on the Nationwide Tour in 2009, and the eGolf Tour prior to that.

Brian Harman, a 2012 PGA TOUR rookie, competed on the eGolf Tour full-time in 2010 and 2011, picking up his first career win at the tour’s Manor Classic in September of 2010. The former University of Georgia star posted rounds of 67-70—137 at the Columbus site on Monday to punch his ticket to his first career major championship.

Harman’s resume is littered with success on the USGA level, having captured the 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur and twice being named to the prestigious U.S. Walker Cup team, in 2005 and 2009.

Three-time eGolf Tour winner David Mathis and two-time eGolf Tour winner Steve Marino each finished T6 in Columbus with 2-under 139 totals.

Mathis, who last won on the eGolf Tour in the spring of 2007, is in the midst of his third full season on the PGA TOUR, and has played some of the most consistent golf of his career as of late. After missing 10 of 11 cuts to start the 2012 season, Mathis has bounced back admirably with five top-25 finishes in his last seven starts.

Former eGolf Tour member Edward Loar of Dallas, TX will be competing in his first major championship after rounds of 65-75—140 gave the former Oklahoma State star a T9 finish in Columbus. The long-hitting lefty is a rookie on the 2012 PGA TOUR after spending a plethora of his career playing overseas, as well as on the eGolf Tour.

Morgan Hoffman at the 2010 U.S. Open

One of the final spots in Ohio went to current eGolf Tour member Morgan Hoffmann of Saddle Brook, NJ. Hoffmann, in the midst of his first full season as a professional, carded rounds of 69-72—141 to earn a spot in a four-players-for-three-spots playoff alongside Dennis Miller, PGA TOUR member Scott Piercy, and two-time eGolf Tour winner Justin Hicks. On the first extra hole, Hoffmann rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt to clinch one of the three spots.

One of college golf’s best players over the past four years at Oklahoma State, Hoffmann will be making his second career start in the U.S. Open. In 2010, Hoffmann posted rounds of 75-75—150 to miss the cut at the national championship at Pebble Beach.

At Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, MD, three eGolf Tour players – including two-time winner Jeff Curl – successfully advanced through to the U.S. Open.

Joining Curl from the Woodmont qualifier was Michael Thompson and 2011 eGolf Tour member Darron Stiles. Stiles, a longtime PGA and Nationwide Tour member, posted rounds of 72-71—143 to finish tied for third and advance to his fourth U.S. Open. Stiles previously competed in the 2003, 2007 and 2009 U.S. Opens, posting a T48 in the event’s 2003 edition.

Curl, a former UNC Charlotte golfer and longtime eGolf Tour player, entered the sectional qualifier at Woodmont on the heels of a T6 finish at the Nationwide Tour’s Rex Hospital Open over the weekend. The Ellington, CT native bogeyed Nos. 1 and 4 (his 10th and 13th holes) in the afternoon round to fall outside the number, but birdied the par-4 eighth (his 17th) to finish with a 74 and a 1-under 143 total to grab the site’s last spot.

At Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, FL, eGolf Tour players Scott Langley and Samuel Osborne advanced successfully with totals of 5-under 139 and 3-under 141, respectively.

Langley, the 2010 NCAA Champion while at the University of Illinois, was the site’s medalist thanks in part to a second-round 66 that took him from outside the cut number into first place. Langley, who made the cut at the 2010 U.S. Open while competing as an amateur, has missed the cut in both of his starts thus far on the 2012 eGolf Tour.

Former eGolf Tour players Jason Bohn and Casey Wittenberg each qualified for the U.S. Open in Suwanee, GA at The River Club, in turn grabbing two of the available three spots offered at the suburban Atlanta site.

Brice Garnett

Brice Garnett, a two-time winner on the eGolf Tour in 2011, blistered the field in Springfield, OH with rounds of 66-65—131 to grab medalist honors by a shot over 2011 NCAA Champion John Peterson. Garnett, currently a member of the Nationwide Tour, carded 10 birdies against just one bogey over the 36-hole qualifier to reach his 9-under total. The venture to Olympic will mark Garnett’s first career start in a U.S. Open.

In 2011, Garnett – then a rookie on the eGolf Tour – burst onto the scene with back-to-back wins at the tour’s River Hills Classic and Southern Open. Between the two wins, Garnett carded T15 and T30 finishes in two starts on the Nationwide Tour. In October of last year, Garnett successfully Monday qualified for the Nationwide Tour’s Children’s Hospital Classic, and parlayed his opportunity into a runner-up finish with rounds of 65-68-66-67—266. That finish alone, and the $54,000 payday that accompanied it, secured Garnett’s status on the 2012 Nationwide Tour.

In Daly City, CA, just minutes from the Olympic Club, former eGolf Tour member and current PGA TOUR player Matt Bettencourt carded rounds of 69-69—138 to finish T6, in turn grabbing one of the seven available spots at host Lake Merced Golf Club. Bettencourt, winner of the PGA TOUR’s Reno-Tahoe Open in 2010, double-bogeyed the 10th hole of his morning round on Monday to fall to 2-over par, but fought back with five birdies over his last seven holes to finish at 3-under 69 at co-host TPC Harding Park. In the afternoon round, Bettencourt used an eagle at the par-5 ninth at Lake Merced, as well as a birdie at the par-5 18th, to post 3-under 69 again. Bettencourt previously competed in the 2009 and 2010 U.S. Opens, making the cut in both, and posting a career-best T10 finish in 2009.

The Germantown Country Club site outside of Memphis, TN was postponed until Tuesday due to heavy rains that saturated the course on Sunday night and Monday morning. When play finally kicked off, it was three-time eGolf Tour winner and longtime member Tommy Biershenk of Boiling Springs, SC who secured medalist honors and his first major championship start with rounds of 67-66—133. The current PGA TOUR member and longtime Nationwide Tour player took low medal honors by one shot over five players.

Biershenk’s best year on the eGolf Tour was without doubt 2010, when he finished second to fellow PGA TOUR member Jason Kokrak on the season-ending money list with earnings of $104,365, and picked up his third win at the Bolle Classic. Biershenk earned his Nationwide Tour card at Q-School that fall, and later earned his PGA TOUR card at the 2011 edition of Q-School.

Also earning a spot in Germantown was five-time eGolf Tour winner Roberto Castro of Alpharetta, GA. Castro, who played the eGolf Tour full time from 2007 through 2010, pared the fourth hole of a three-for-one playoff to eliminate fellow eGolf Tour player Kyle Thompson from earning the final spot (amateur Bobby Wyatt had already been eliminated).

Castro, a former Georgia Tech star, posted bogey-free rounds of 69-67—136 to play his way into the sudden death playoff. The current PGA TOUR member, who last won on the eGolf Tour at the 2010 Savannah Quarters Classic, will be making his first career start in a major championship at Olympic.

Below is a list of each eGolf Tour player who advanced to the U.S. Open on Monday and Tuesday:

Scioto Country Club/OSU Scarlet Course
Columbus, OH

Blake Adams           67-68—135

Brian Harman          67-70—137

David Mathis           71-68—139

Steve Marino           69-70—139

Jesse Mueller           67-73—140

Edward Loar           65-75—140

Steve LeBrun           71-69—140

Martin Flores            69-71—140

Morgan Hoffmann     69-72—141

Woodmont Country Club
Rockville, MD

Michael Thompson    74-68—142

Darron Stiles            72-71—143

Jeff Curl                    69-74—143

Black Diamond Ranch (Quarry Course)
Lecanto, FL

Scott Langley           73-66—139

Samuel Osborne      71-70—141

The River Club
Suwanee, GA

Jason Bohn               65-70—135

Casey Wittenberg     68-68—136

Springfield Country Club
Springfield, OH

Brice Garnett           66-65—131

Lake Merced Golf Club/TPC at Harding Park
Daly City, CA

Matt Bettencourt      69-69—138

Germantown Country Club
Memphis, TN

Tommy Biershenk     67-66—133

Roberto Castro         69-67—136