Local qualifying for the US Open is difficult. For comparison, there were 58 players competing for three berths in the Oakwood Country Club qualifier in Kansas City, Missouri on Monday, and only 25 of them cracked 80.
One of them wasn’t John Eckert.
Eckert fired a 40-over 112 at the local qualifier, four shots worse than the rest of the field. The round began with a double-double-triple on the par-4 fourth hole, followed by the first of only four pars on the fifth hole. Eckert took 54 shots to reach the turn and was four strokes worse on the back nine, thanks to four eights and one par. His scorecard contained more snowmen than a winter recess in an elementary schoolyard.
What was Eckert doing at the qualifier if he appeared unfit to compete? According to the excellent Monday Q Info on Twitter, you’re paying off a fantasy football debt.
A guy lost his fantasy football league and had to ply US Open localsโฆand it didnโt go well. pic.twitter.com/A4VjaqPfr0
— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) May 10, 2022