Journey to U.S. Open begins this week

For the vast majority of the more than 9,000 entries for next month’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., it’s a very long and winding road over the next 30 days. Only the PGA Tour’s qualifying school is more of a marathon.

The journey to the national championship began this week in local qualifying from Florida to California. That first stage will ramble through Phoenix on Monday, and the following week through Tucson.

This year a record 299 players in Arizona will attempt to earn one of 20 tickets to sectional play, the last stop before Winged Foot. All you need is the $150 entry fee and a 1.4 handicap (or better) to get started.

It’s the beauty of the “Open,’’ which is, well, open to any player — amateur or pro — who has the game. Looking through the entries at Southern Dunes (144 players for 10 spots), Moon Valley Country Club (64 players for four spots) and Tucson Country Club (91 players for six spots), you recognize a few names.

At Southern Dunes, The Golf Channel’s Curt Byrum is giving it another try, along with past and present tour players like Todd Demsey, Gabriel Hjertstedt and Mike Nicolette. Also at that venue are Arizona State’s Alejandro Canizares, the Pac-10 player of the year from Spain; ASU assistant coach Mickey Yokoi; Phil Mickelson’s former teammate and best friend, Rob Mangini; Scottsdale’s Tim McKenney, a senior at Desert Mountain High School on his way to the University of Florida; and my personal favorite, a guy named Larry Huffman.

Those at Moon Valley include former U.S. Junior Amateur champ Charlie Beljan of Mesa; former Nationwide Tour standouts Sean Murphy and Danny Briggs; Scott Watkins, a club pro from Scottsdale who happens to be one of the state’s top instructors; and AGA player of the year Bryan Hoops, who is the club champ at Southern Dunes but has to play at Moon Valley because he was among the last 64 entries received.

In the mix at Tucson CC are tour players Steven Alker, Rich Barcelo, Joel Kribel and Bryce Molder. Also teeing off in the Old Pueblo will be Scottsdale’s John Douma, who currently is the leading money winner on the Grey Goose Gateway Tour, and one of his main challengers, Mesa’s Ryan Hogue.

As you see, it’s a mixed bag representing the past, present and future in the game. There always are some “Cinderella stories,’’ chiefly because with more than 9,000 entrants, something strange and unusual is bound to happen.

In Arizona, it already has, as Phoenix Country Club was listed as the host site for the Valley up until last week, when the field was divided into two groups and sent to Southern Dunes and Moon Valley. Apparently, there were problems with PCC’s greens.

“Phoenix Country Club has a long history as a host site for the U.S. Open qualifier, and it is unfortunate that this last minute change had to be made,’’ said Ed Gowan, the executive director of the Arizona Golf Association, who along with a USGA official made the call late last week.

According to my sources, it wasn’t a tough call. Apparently, some of the putting surfaces at PCC were just plain dirt.

Two weeks from now, the 20 survivors from Arizona move on to sectional play at 16 sites around the country, as well as Europe and Japan.

Outside of the Masters, which kicks off the major championship season, the Open is something to cherish on many fronts, especially at the grass-roots level. And while the finish remains a month away, this is one grueling golf race that is lots of fun to follow.