California’s Indian-American golfer Manav Shah was one of nine qualifiers earning places in Dallas for next month’s US Open in Shinnecock Hills.
By Rahul Banerji
Indian-American golfer Manav Shah qualified for the US Open at Shinnecock Hills with a fourth-place finish in the final qualifying round event at Dallas last week.
The 33-year-old carded rounds of 66 and 71 at the Dallas Athletic Club to finish fourth in the 36-hole final qualifier from a field of 123 starters with nine spots available.
LIV Golf’s Peter Uihlein (67-66) topped the event with Korean star Joohyung ‘Tom’ Kim (66-68) finishing second ahead of Shah.
Others going through in Dallas were Joohyung ‘Tom’ Kim, Jimmy Stanger, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, T.K. Kim, and LIV regulars Graeme McDowell and Caleb Surrat.
Shah has been in good form on the IGPL with solid finishes and has also played on the Asian Development Tour and the Asian Tour.
With Aaron Rai winning the PGA Championship last week, and Shah now set to make his debut at the year’s third major next month, it is a good time for golfers of Indian heritage.
“To play a Major is just amazing, and I have had a great run at the AM Green IGPL, and now I get to the US Open,” said Shah, an eight-time winner across tours.
California boy
Shah grew up in Bakersfield, California, playing on local public courses before playing collegiate golf for the UCLA Bruins, graduating in 2015 with a degree in Political Science.
His most prominent title came at the 2022 Quito Open on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica.
Shah, who now plays on the IGPL tour in India, earned full playing status on the Asian Tour through Q-School and recently played in the International Series.
Former US Open champion McDowell will play in a major for the first time since 2020 after qualifying from Dallas. He also finished in a tie for second at the 2012 US Open.
PGA Tour winner Tom Kim needed final qualifying to ensure his fifth US Open appearance where he tied for eighth in 2023.
Among those missing out at the Dallas Athletic Club was Sergio Garcia, who till 2025, had played in 25 consecutive US Opens. He narrowly missed out in final qualifying a year ago, and he fell short this time as well.
Seven others earned their places at Shinnecock Hills from Walton Heath in England and there are two more qualifying rounds to go, on May 25 in Japan and across 10 venues in the US and Canada on June 8, also called ‘golf’s longest day’.
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