Thorbjornsen with whirlwind visit

Not a bad little swing through his “hometown” area – and, yes, we’re taking geographical liberties when it comes to Michael Thorbjornsen. He wasn’t born in Wellesley, Mass., but he’ll forever circle that as his hometown. And The Country Club in Brookline and TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., aren’t his clubs, but he’ll long remember the competitions he played there in the Summer of 2022.

Michael Thorbjornsen: Summer ride continues in Switzerland. Photo courtesy Stanford

Thorbjornsen, who just finished his sophomore year at Stanford, got solid media attention when he competed in the U.S. Open at TCC. While he missed the cut, he more than made up for that with a sparkling performance at last week’s Travelers Championship. It was his first true PGA Tour appearance and Thorbjornsen shot 68-65-66-66, put himself in position to win, and settled for fourth.

No, there was no prize money, not for the 20-year-old amateur, but goodness, what a ride.

As proof of the doors that open up for you in this world of global golf, Thorbjornsen could have accepted a berth into this week’s John Deere Classic for a second straight PGA Tour appearance; instead, he will be in Switzerland playing for Team USA in the annual Palmer Cup against European golfers who play their collegiate golf in the U.S.

Thorbjornsen had given thought to going straight from the Travelers to a Tuesday qualifier to try and get into the Open Championship, but he opted to rest and properly prepare for the Palmer Cup.

Many for a few – the story of qualifying

It’s hot, and it is summer, and that means it is time to try and qualify if you’re a competitive golfer of any age.

For the veteran women, the quest to get into a unique trip to Alaska led through The Acoaxet Club in Westport, Mass. That’s where Marie Theresa Torti of Canada shot 74 and shared medalist honors with Tracy Welch of Winchester. Three other Massachusetts golfers qualified with 77s – Christine Gagnon of North Oxford, Pamela Kuong of Wellesley Hills, and Danielle Lee of Concord. The national championship will be held July 30-Aug. 4 in Anchorage, Alaska.

As for the U.S. Girls’ Junior qualifier at Oak Hill CC in Fitchburg, a local standout – Morgan Smith of Westford, Mass. – joined two golfers long-distance addresses to earn the three spots that were available. Consuela Guo of New Zealand and Smith shared medalist honors with 2-under 70s, while Emily Luo of Danville, Calif., was third with 73.

Also at Oak Hill, another long-distance competitor, Justin Hasting of the Cayman Islands, earned a share of medalist honors in the U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier. Hasting matched the 3-under 67 scores also posted by two Massachusetts golfers – Weston Jones of Sudbury and Aidan LeBlanc of Beverly. John Broderick of Wellesley shot 68 and Patrick Ginnity of Fitchburg had 69 to secure the last berth.

PGA TOUR Canada: You better go lower than low

While his twin brother, Pierceson, won last week’s Korn Ferry Tour stop in Maine, Parker Coody has traveled a little bit further north to embark upon his pro golf career. Parker shot 66-69-67-70, pretty serious scoring, but out on the PGA Tour Canada, his 12-under total was only good for a T-15 up in Edmonton.

Parker Coody will be in the field this week in the Prince Edward Island tournament, but he’s not the only familiar name trying to advance his career through that circuit. Joe Highsmith, who helped Pepperdine win the national championship in 2021, finished at 19-under and lost in a three-way playoff at the tournament in Edmonton. Ex-long drive champion Jamie Sadlowski has finished T-13 and T-50 in the first two starts on the PGA Tour Canada.

It's clearly not easy out there, as one can see from scanning some of the notable scores that fell short. Nick Cantlay, brother of Patrick, shot 69-71 – and missed the cut in Edmonton. Onetime standout at Southern Methodist, Noah Goodwin, is 0-for-2 in cuts, though he has yet to shoot higher than 72. Taylor Funk – son of Fred – has played six competitive rounds and hasn’t shot higher than 71, though he’s gone MC and T-52.

Hopkinton, Mass., native Jamie Hervol has shot 66-72 in Victoria, B.C., and 70-72 in Edmonton and neither effort got him above the cutline. Crazy.