June 13, 2003

Olympia Fields, Ill. –

Full U.S. Open Results and Live Scoring

Kentucky sophomore John Holmes fired a 1-under par 69 in the second round of the U.S. Open Golf Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club near Chicago on Friday, leaving him at five-over par for the tournament. However, the cutoff to qualify for the third round was three-over par leaving the Campbellsville, Ky., native two strokes short.

“I didn’t make the cut, but I had a great time,” Holmes said. “The experience of playing in a PGA Tour major is awesome. A lot of golfers go their whole lives and don’t get a chance to play in the U.S. Open and I got to do it while I’m still in college. I could not have asked for anything better.”

Holmes began the championship’s first round by birdying the first hole on Thursday leaving him in the lead for a brief moment. However, erratic play settled in and he went to the clubhouse with a 6-over par 76 after the first day.

On Friday he started off in great shape again, parring the first hole and birdying the second. On the fourth hole of the day he wound up with a three-put bogey, but bounced right back to birdie the next hole and get back to one under. That is the way the rest of the day would go for him. In all Holmes had five birdies and four bogeys.

“I played a lot better today,” Holmes said. “I just could not keep consistent and that kept me from getting to where I wanted to be, playing on the weekend.”

UK Men’s Golf Coach Brian Craig made the short trip up to Chicago to watch his star player in action.

“I am so proud of what John has accomplished,” Craig said. “His qualifying for the U.S. Open is just a testament as to how good of a player he is going to be.

“It is a great experience for him to be able to play in a PGA Tour event and it is great exposure for our program.”

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