• Both Cowboys Win Medalist Honors at Local Qualifiers to Advance

Current University of Wyoming golfers Jaren Calkins and Jimmy Dales both advanced to the 2023 U.S. Open Final Qualifying Round when they each won medalist honors at their respective U.S. Open Local Qualifiers this past week.  Calkins won the local qualifier at the Riverton Country Club in Riverton, Wyo.,on Wednesday, May 10.  Dales won the local qualifier at the Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster, Colo., on Thursday, May 11.

Calkins fired a 63 (-9) to win by three strokes over Keanu Akina, a current member of the BYU men’s golf team who shot a 66 (-6) to earn the other qualifying spot.  The Riverton U.S. Open Qualifier was allotted two qualifying spots.

Dales shot a 68 (-4) at the Walnut Creek Qualifier in the Denver suburb of Westminster, Colo., to win by five strokes over Matthew Spaulding of Spring, Texas, and John Sand of Hoquiam, Wash., who both shot 73 (+1).  Spaulding is a current member of the University of Denver golf team.  Sand completed his college golf career, also at the University of Denver, in the 2021-22 season.  Five qualifying spots were allotted from the Walnut Creek Local Qualifier.

Calkins and Dales become the first Wyoming Cowboy golfers to move on to the U.S. Open Final Qualifying Round since Kirby Coe-Kirkham and John Murdock in 2021.  Both Coe-Kirkham and Murdock played their Final Qualifying Round at the Dallas Athletic Club in Dallas, Texas.  Neither moved on to the 2021 U.S. Open.

“I’m very happy for both Jaren (Calkins) and Jimmy (Dales),” said Joe Jensen, University of Wyoming Director of Golf.  “This is great for them to both win their qualifiers convincingly and move on to the final round of qualifying.  They will both get an opportunity to represent us in the National Golf Invitational next week before they return to U.S. Open qualifying.  They’re both playing well right now coming off good performances at the Mountain West Conference Championship followed by their success in these local qualifiers.” 

In the Local Qualifying round there were 9,693 individuals competing for 530 spots.  Those 530 then advance to one of 13 Final Qualifying tournaments that will be played between May 16 and June 5.  Calkins will be playing in the Final Qualifying Tournament at Northwood Club and Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas, Texas, on Monday, May 22.  Dales will play in the Final Qualifying Tournament at Lakes Golf and Country Club/Brookside Golf and C.C. in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday, June 5. 

Both will play for Wyoming in the GOLFWEEK National Golf Invitational (NGI), May 18-21 in Maricopa, Ariz.  In the case of Calkins, he will complete play in the NGI on Sunday, May 21 and fly to Dallas that night in order to play in the U.S. Open Final Qualifying event on Monday, May 22.

The 123rd U.S. Open Championship will be played Thursday-Sunday, June 15-18, 2023 at The Los Angeles Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif.  The final U.S. Open field is limited to 156 players.