US Open: Hong Kong’s Alex Yang making history again as Stanford quartet tee off at LA Country Club
- Third major of the year features four of the Stanford men’s golf team – the first time so many active college teammates are known to have qualified
- Yang, already set to become the first player born in Hong Kong to play in a men’s major, says seeing familiar faces ‘is one thing that feels normal’
More than usual, Los Angeles Country Club is covered in trees.
Four current members of the Stanford men’s golf team have qualified for the US Open – believed to be a record for the major championship – and, as any fan of the Cardinal knows, the unofficial mascot of Stanford is the tree.
“Just to see the familiar faces helps us feel more comfortable,” said Alex Yang Hiu-wai of Newport Beach, who played a practice round on Tuesday with fellow Stanford qualifiers Michael Thorbjornsen, Karl Vilips and Barclay Brown, all of whom qualified at different sites.
“In such a crazy, exciting environment, that is one thing that feels normal.”
There’s nothing normal about this feat. Qualifying for the US Open is a monumental task. There were a record 10,187 entries this year, and 911 golfers advanced to the final stage – held at 13 different sites – with a mere 62 making it through.
The United States Golf Association could not find another time four active college teammates qualified for the same Open. Three Louisiana State teammates made it in 2018.
