Former Eastern Florida State men’s golfer Keith Greene qualifies for 122nd U.S. Open

Former Eastern Florida State College men’s golfer Keith Greene will be playing in the 122nd U.S. Open that runs from 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 earned one of just 49 entries available at nine 36-hole qualifiers across North America.

And those 49 came from an original entry list of more than 9,000 hopefuls looking to tee it up in America’s oldest major championship.

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The former Deltona High golfer, 29, shot 4-under 138 with rounds of 70-68 to finish solo third behind co-medalists Sean Jacklin and Ryan Gerard.

Brazilian amateur Fred Biondi was a shot back in fourth. Veteran PGA Tour star Rickie Fowler was among five golfers who were another shot back and below the cutoff — though Fowler earned first-alternate status.

“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.”

During this year's qualifying, Greene’s first round included two birdies and a bogey, while the second 18 included four birdies and a lone bogey, on his final hole, the par-4 ninth.

“The first round was just a lot of fairways and greens,” he said. “I didn’t hit anything close — a lot of 30-foot 2-putts for par. Just trying to feel it out. I figured if I got a good feel for it and kept myself in it, I was gonna have a chance at some point.

“I knew it would eventually come down to the putter, and it did in the second round.”

Greene gave much of the credit to newfound caddy Chase Berry, a fellow golfer who jumped on Greene’s bag at a regional qualifier at Shingle Creek in Orlando.

“I got some good reads from Chase on the greens,” Greene said. “He’s been so solid for me, and can read a green. Calm, cool and collected, he’s been a helluva fit.”

Greene has been a regular on the Florida minor-league circuits, and most recently had been competing on the West Florida Tour. In previous years, he’s competed some on the PGA Tour’s Canadian and Latin America Tours.

"I'd been seeing signs that my game was there," he said of recent efforts.

Now he’s off to Boston for the June 16-19 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, an historic venue hosting its fourth-ever U.S. Open — its first was the 1913 championship won by Francis Ouimet and immortalized in the book and movie both titled “The Greatest Game Ever Played.”

“I’ve never played much in the Northeast,” Greene said. “It’s gonna be pretty new to me. I’m sure it’s gonna be a surreal week, but I’m gonna try to soak it all in.”

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.

Ken Willis of the Daytona Beach News-Journal contributed to this report.

Michael Parsons is the Manager of Athletic Communications at Eastern Florida State College

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Keith Greene, who played college golf at EFSC, qualified for U.S. Open