Photo courtesy of East Coast Golf Media
Chase Kyes tees off during U.S. Open final qualifying at Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Georgia, on June 8. Kyes shot rounds of 67 and 66 to finish 11-under-par and earn a spot in the 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Photo courtesy of East Coast Golf Media.
Chase Kyes had been grinding through what is known in the golf world as the longest day of the year. He arrived at Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Georgia, before sunrise. He would not leave until well after dark.
By the time the Spain Park High School graduate birdied the 36th hole to secure one of five qualifying spots for the 2026 U.S. Open, the weight of a 14-hour day fell off his shoulders in an instant.
"It was just, I don't know how to describe it," Kyes said. "It was like all the weight was just gone."
What came next made the moment even better. When Golf Channel's Ryan Lavner informed the University of Tennessee freshman that the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club would begin the following Thursday, Kyes had to admit he did not know. The clip went viral almost immediately.
"I didn't know it was next week," Kyes told Lavner. "I'm just pumped to see it."
Kyes shot rounds of 67 and 66 to finish 11-under-par, tied for fourth among the qualifiers at Hawks Ridge. He needed a birdie on the final hole to edge out the alternates in fading light, draining a 12-foot putt to book his trip to New York.
"I kind of had that mindset all day, honestly, that I was gonna make it," Kyes said. "I just didn't know how I was gonna make it yet. I feel like that kind of freed me up on 18 when I needed to make birdie coming in."
To reach final qualifying, Kyes had first advanced through local qualifying on May 7 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Silver Lakes in Glencoe, shooting a 3-under 69 to earn one of five spots in the 36-hole final.
The path to the U.S. Open was not the only thing Kyes navigated well on Golf's Longest Day. A 50-foot birdie putt on what he believed was the 12th or 13th hole right before a rain delay shifted his mindset for good.
"I was like, dang, these putts are going in," he said. "This could be kind of cool."
After the delay, a scrambling par save from 18 feet on the first hole reinforced the feeling.
"I made that and I was like, all right, I feel pretty good about the rest of today," Kyes said.
The two-time individual state champion at Spain Park had just wrapped up his freshman season at Tennessee, where he posted a 71.58 scoring average over 12 tournaments and tied for 49th at the NCAA Championship. He was the top-ranked player in the Class of 2025 coming out of high school.
Kyes called walking up to sign his scorecard an emotional moment, texting his family group chat in the dark that they were going to New York.
He said he plans to approach the week at Shinnecock Hills the way he approaches every other week, at least until he arrives Sunday.
"I just kind of want to go enjoy it," he said. "It's gonna be a fun week."
The above photo was provided by East Coast Golf Media. Find them on Instagram at @eastcoastgolf.media.
