Former Titan Keith Greene qualifies for U.S. Open
Former Eastern Florida State College men's golfer Keith Greene will be playing in the 122nd U.S. Open June 16-19.
Greene, who was a member of the Titans golf team for two seasons in 2012 and 2013, qualified for the tournament by finishing third in the U.S. Open Final Qualifying tournament at The Club at Admiral's Cove in Jupiter.
"It has not hit me yet, I am on cloud-9. It has been a crazy 18 hours or so, very little sleep. A ton of support, I am so thankful to everyone reaching out," Greene said. "It's a huge accomplishment for not only me but my family. All of the hard work I have put in and the support they have given me throughout the years is unreal."
The DeBary, Florida resident shot a 4-under par 68 in the final round to claim the top four spot to qualify for the U.S. Open.
"It just goes back to my college days and I have always thought I had an advantage over guys when we play 36 holes. I put myself in good position to make shots and play consistently," said Greene who will be playing in his first PGA Tour event next weekend. "My game has been in a really good spot, been driving it pretty straight and the driver was going great. I was hitting greens and making two-putts all day and then all of a sudden I started hitting it to 10-15 feet, had some good looks and they just started pouring in. I had a ton of confidence."
Greene made it to the Sectional round of U.S. Open qualifying last year and that experience gave him the confidence to come back and try again this year.
"It didn't pan out the year before but I learned a lot and I took that mindset into this year. I am just so glad it paid off this year," said Greene who has continued to play golf every day. "I play with a bunch of great players every day that I look up to and they make me better. I do a lot of work challenging myself every day on the golf course."
The Florida native has never been to Boston, so the experience will be new for the golfer who has played in mini tours and PGA LatinoAmerica and PGA Tour Canada events.
"I have always been interested in the architecture of golf courses and there is a ton of history there so I am so excited to play a venue like The Country Club to play my first PGA Tour event," Greene said. "The venue is very exclusive and I get to play against guys that I watch on TV every week that I aspire to be like so it has been super surreal."
Greene tied for first in the Sectional qualifying at Shingle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, shooting a 67 to advance to the final qualifying. He will now head to Brookline, Massachusetts to play in the U.S. Open on June 16.
"I am just so happy, I am very focused on where my game is right now. I am 29 and I feel the older I get, the more mature I am getting. I feel like my body is in good shape and my mind is focused, so I am going to just try to keep doing what I am doing," Greene said.
While at EFSC, Greene tied for third at the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in 2013 and was an NGCA First Team All-American, helping the team to a fifth-place finish. He went on to Lynn University where he was also an honorable mention All-American.