U.S. Open: This Year It's Good To Be (An) Alternate

In the aftermath of another successful U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying that produced the usual array of stories, many have been asking where the first alternate comes from. Surely Phil Mickelson's likely WD is fueling some of this intrigue, but as Doug Ferguson writes in his AP notes column, this year is a particularly good one for alternates given a few factors.

But where that first alternate comes from, remains a mystery.

Ferguson explains here why it's good to be an alternate with the USGA holding back six spots from the qualifier for possible last minute OWGR top 60 status players to move into the field.

Chris Wood is at No. 60 in the world, and he would stay there provided Scott Piercy doesn't finish among the top 20 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. So that's one spot, maybe. But with Soren Kjeldsen withdrawing from the St. Jude Classic, only one other person has a mathematical chance to get into the top 60 in the world, and he would have to win the St. Jude Classic. That applies to only about five players, such as Ian Poulter and Hudson Swafford.

So at least four spots will be going to alternates, and that doesn't even include Phil Mickelson, who plans to withdraw because of his daughter's high school graduation.

But as for which venues produced alternates first, Ferguson writes that is a secret. Though he does say this:

The priority is based on a formula that includes how many spots each section was allocated, and the strength of field determined by the world ranking (pro and amateur).