Sinnott looks for major glory

Todd Sinnott of Australia is hopeful of making his presence felt when he makes his debut at the 122nd US Open Championship, which begins tomorrow at The Country Club in Massachusetts.

The 30-year-old Sinnott, who secured one of the three berths on offer at the Caledonian Golf Club in Chiba prefecture last month, is thrilled not just about making his first Major start, but also in America for the first time.

"It's my first major. I'm excited. My brother (Scott) is caddying for me this year. This is our first tournament in America, so both of us are very excited!" said Sinnott.

"The goal is obviously to play as good as I possibly can. If that means I finished 20th, then it's 20th. If I win, I win. 

"It's all about staying patient and playing as good as possible."

Sinnott will certainly be pumped up to make this Major appearance count as he needed to battle through the three-way playoff where he edged Hiroshi Iwata and Taisei Shimizu to the coveted third and final ticket to The Country Club.

The trio had finished the 36-hole regulation play on six-under 138, tying for third behind Tomoyasu Sugiyama (135) and Daijiro Izumida (136).

Sinnott was so determined to qualify for the US Open that he opted to skip the Golf Partner Pro-Am Tournament to be fit enough for the energy-sapping 36-hole contest. 

Sinnott recalled: "It was a tough playoff. I just kept fighting on. I didn't hole many putts, but I holed two good ones for par in the playoffs. I knew it was going to be long, so I chose not to play in the Golf Partner Pro-Am Tournament so that I could spend the whole week resting and getting ready."

The Australian is not the only debutant, as Sugiyama, Izumida and Keita Nakajima, who form a strong seven-man JGTO representation at The Country Club, too, will savour their first US Open appearance.

The 21-year-old Nakajima earned his entry by virtue of being the recipient of the 2021 McCormack Medal for being the world's number one ranked men's amateur golfer at the end of last year.

Five-time JGTO winner Rikuya Hoshino and reigning JGTO Order of Merit champion Chan Kim both made the cut for this year's edition through their respective Sectional Qualifying sites in Texas and Ohio.

Making his third appearance, Hoshino will be out to improve on his career-best tied-26th outing at Torrey Pines last year.

Having failed to make a single cut in his all four appearances (2017, 2019-2021) to date, who is the most experienced among them, will be determined to get things right at the fifth time of asking.

Shaun Norris of South Africa made it to the US Open for the second time by topping the 2020/21 Sunshine Tour Final Order of Merit.

Norris will be fired up to make amends for his disappointing debut in 2020 at Winged Foot, where he blew up a glorious opportunity to advance to the weekend.

After a fine opening 69, he followed it up with a disastrous 79.

TEE TIMES (GMT-4)

1st tee

8.46am: Richard Mansell, TOMOYASU SUGIYAMA, Roger Sloan

12.52 pm: Sam Horsfield, Cameron Tringale, SHAUN NORRIS

1.58pm: Danny Lee, KEITA NAKAJIMA (a), Nick Taylor

2.20 pm: Richard Bland, RIKUYA HOSHINO, Ryan Fox

2.31 pm:Jonas Blixt, Bo Hoag, TODD SINNOTT 

10th tee

8.24 am: Marcel Schneider, CHAN KIM, Joseph Bramlett

2.31pm: DAIJIRO IZUMIDA, Adrien Dumont de Chassart (a), Sebastian Soderberg