Ben Silverman has punched his ticket for the 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills next week.
The Thornhill, Ont. native earned his spot for the third men’s major of the season on Monday, taking co-medalist honours at the Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. final qualifying site with rounds of 67 and 70 during “Golf’s Longest Day”.
With 48 spots available across 10 sites across North America, the 38-year-old Silverman was one of four golfers to qualify at BallenIsles Country Club alongside fellow co-medallist Giuseppe Puebla, Ryder Cowan, and Florida State phenom Miles Russell.
This is now the second time Silverman has qualified for the U.S. Open after he teed it up at Brookline in 2022, where he would miss out on the weekend by two strokes.
Silverman has made 119 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, including two wins at the 2017 Price Cutter Championship and the 2023 Bahamas Great Abaco Classic.
The 16-year pro just missed out on a PGA Tour card this past December after falling in a two-for-one playoff at the final round of Q-School, the same event that earned Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.) and A.J. Ewart (Coquitlam, B.C.) membership for the 2026 season.
Silverman will join Nick Taylor (Abbotsford, B.C.), Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.), and Sudarshan Yellamaraju (Mississauga, Ont.) in making up the Canadian contingent at the 126th U.S Open.
Svensson attempted to qualify himself at the Canadian site from Toronto’s Lambton Golf & Country Club, but lost to Max McGreevey in an eight-for-three playoff.
The 32-year-old was still in the running to take the first alternate spot from the Canadian site before a bizarre mistake led to him conceding the spot.
The 2022 RSM Classic winner picked up his ball marker instead of putting for par after McGreevey took the sixth and final spot, and was subsequently eliminated from the playoff, which had still yet to determine the first alternate for next week’s major.
Svensson’s apparent mistake handed Englishman Matt Wallace the top alternate spot, likely ensuring him a tee time at Shinnecock based on the site’s strength of field.
