ST. LOUIS – Jay Don Blake’s one-day stop in St. Louis paid off with a spot in next week’s U.S. Open Championship.
Blake earned medalist honors Monday at U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying at Old Warson Country Club on the strength of a second-round 68, which gave him a two-round score of 139 that was three shots clear of the rest of the field’.
The 54-year-old Blake, who may be the oldest player in next week’s championship, did his work in the second round’s first eight holes. He birdied the first three, then added birdies on five and eight to finish with a 30 on the front nine. It was more than enough to overcome a couple of bogeys on the back nine.
Blake arrived in St. Louis at 11:15 p.m. Sunday night after finishing second in a Champions Tour event in Des Moines, Iowa, and was on the first tee just over nine hours later.
“I hit a couple of bad tee balls on the front nine in the first round and it started to get away from me,” Blake said. “Then I started right off [on the second 18]. I was hitting some good drives and some good shots.”
