June 4, 2013
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Andy Seeley
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Former Knight golfer and UCF Hall of Famer Cliff Kresge has qualified for the U.S. Open. Kresge tied for fifth at the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying tournament at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md. Monday.
Kresge was one of 122 players vying for eight qualifying spots in Rockville. He was 6-under in the two rounds of qualifying, with one round each on the Woodmont North and South courses. He will now be part of the field at the U.S. Open, which will take place June 10-16 at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.
Kresge played two seasons at UCF (1988-89 and 1989-90). His season average of 72.12 remains one of the lowest in school history. During Kresge's UCF career, the Knights made their first two NCAA Regional appearances and their first appearance in the NCAA Championship. He was a second-team All-America performer as a senior.
After UCF, Kresge moved on to the Nationwide Tour and, ultimately, to the PGA Tour. He was inducted into the UCF Hall of Fame in 2011.
Four other Knights took part in U.S. Open Sectional qualifying Monday and played well. Current Knights Ricardo Gouveia and Greg Eason and former Knights Brad Schneider and Connor Arendell all took part in qualifiers. Eason, Gouveia and Schneider played at the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., while Arendell also played in Rockville.
Gouveia finished tied for fourth, after going 6-under for the two rounds of play. Unfortunately, there were only three spots available in the tournament, which had 56 entrants. Eason was 4-under and finished tied for 12th. Schneider finished +4 for the tournament, but was in contention after the first round, shooting a 4-under 68. Arendell was 2-over for the tournament at the Woodmont Country Club.