The Canadian contingent at the U.S. Open has grown by one.
Ben Silverman, a native of Thornhill, Ont., qualified for the major championship on Monday, punching his ticket to the tournament for the second time in his career.
The 38-year-old qualified by tying for first at the qualifying event in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., shooting a 7 under and claiming one of the location's four U.S. Open spots. American Giuseppe Puebla levelled Silverman at the top of the leaderboard through two rounds.
Silverman qualified for the U.S. Open in 2022, but didn't make the cut. He has two Korn Ferry Tour victories to his name, winning the Price Cutter Charity Championship in 2017 and The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic in 2023.
Monday marked "The Longest Day in Golf," where 43 spots at the U.S. Open were up for grabs across 10 locations.
The top-ranked junior golfer, Miles Russell, joined Silverman among the qualifiers from Palm Beach Gardens after advancing in a 3-for-2 playoff. Tiger Woods' son, Charlie, served as Russell's caddie for the tournament.
“It kept it so light,” Russell said. “It's the first time I've had a buddy on the bag. I really like it, not talking much golf, just having a good time.”
Russell smiled when asked if he would have Woods at Shinnecock Hills, saying only, “We'll see what he's doing. To be determined.”
Both Russell and Woods are verbally committed to Florida State University.
Canadians Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.) and Braxton Kuntz (Winnipeg) didn't qualify for the U.S. Open, but are alternates after their performances in their respective events.
Svensson was on the outside looking in of a playoff at the Lambton Golf and Country Club in Toronto, and Kuntz emerged as the second alternate at the event in Westerville, Ohio.
Here's how all the qualifiers looked (a-amateur):
Ohio-Springfield
QUALIFIERS: Neal Shipley, Zac Blair, Dylan Wu, Billy Horschel, Nick Hardy.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Brandt Snedeker, Tony Finau, Cam Davis.
DIVOTS: Shipley, who finished his college career at nearby Ohio State, has missed the cut in nine of his 12 starts in his rookie year on the PGA Tour. ... Snedeker was the first alternate.
Florida
QUALIFIERS: a-Giuseppe Puebla, Ben Silverman, a-Ryder Cowan, a-Miles Russell.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Matt Kuchar, Matthieu Pavon, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Luke Clanton, Luke Poulter.
NOTEWORTHY: Three of the four qualifiers are amateurs. ... Kuchar hasn't played in any major since the 2024 U.S. Open.
Canada
QUALIFIERS: Emiliano Grillo, Alejandro Tosti, Marcelo Rozo, William Mouw, John Parry, Max McGreevy.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Max Homa, Matt Wallace, Garrick Higgo, Seamus Power.
NOTEWORTHY: The final three spots were determined by an eight-man playoff. ... Homa missed out in a playoff for the second straight year in U.S. Open qualifying.
Maryland
QUALIFIERS: Jackson Suber, Ben Kohles, a-Logan Reilly, Jake Sollon.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Blades Brown, Michael Thorbjornsen, Karl Vilips.
NOTEWORTHY: Sollon earned the final spot in a playoff over Bryan Lee. He was scheduled to leave for Bogota, Colombia, for a PGA Tour Americas event. ... Kohles was coming off a victory Sunday on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Ohio-Columbus
QUALIFIERS: Davis Thompson, J.B. Holmes, a-Vaughn Harber, a-Arni Sveinsson.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Lucas Glover, Jhonattan Vegas, Bud Cauley, Austin Eckroat, Denny McCarthy, Erik van Rooyen.
NOTEWORTHY: Sam Udovich bogeyed his last two holes and was the odd man out in a 4-for-3 playoff. He will be the first alternate. ... What used to be the main qualifier for PGA Tour players only had a 51-man field.
North Carolina
QUALIFIERS: a-Jackson Ormond, Carl Yuan, Jackson Van Paris, Brandon Wu, Cole Hammer.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Aaron Wise, Ryo Ishikawa, Bill Haas, Troy Merritt.
NOTEWORTHY: Ormond, an 18-year-old who will play at Florida next year, birdied five of his last seven holes for a 63 to go from outside the number to be the medalist. ... Haas, the son of Jay Haas, had his son caddying for him.
New York
QUALIFIERS: Kevin Roy, Max Greyserman, Ben James, James Nicholas.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Matt Jones.
NOTEWORTHY: James makes his pro debut this week in the Canadian Open. He finished atop the PGA Tour University ranking. ... Roy makes his U.S. Open debut in his native New York.
Georgia
QUALIFIERS: Chris Kirk, Jake Peacock, Keith Mitchell, Robbie Higgins, a-Chase Keys.
NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Jason Dufner, Patton Kizzire.
NOTEWORTHY: Keys birdied the last hole in near darkness to avoid a 3-for-1 playoff for the final spot. ... Potgieter can still get in the U.S. Open if he wins the Canadian Open this week, which would give him two PGA Tour victories since the last U.S. Open.
— with files from the Associated Press
