June 15, 2011

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LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- After winning a four-hole, four-player play-off at the U.S. Open Qualifying Sectional last week, LMU Alumn Brian Locke heads to Maryland for his first major golf championship, the 111th U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda.

Locke, who graduated in 2009 and is the only golfer in West Coast Conference history to win back-to-back WCC titles, arrived in Maryland on Monday and after practice rounds Tuesday and Wednesday, he will have a long wait to finally tee-off for his first major on Thursday, June 16.

He is in group 50 for Round 1, starting the round on hole 10 at 2:41 p.m. (11:41 a.m. in Los Angeles). He is paired with Brett Patterson and Bennett Blakeman. Patterson is a 19-year old attending Middle Tennessee State and is in his first major as an amateur while Blakeman graduated from Illinois Wesleyan and is in his second U.S. Open, playing in 2010 at Pebble Beach.

He will play with the same group on Friday in Round 2, starting on the first hole at 9:01 a.m. (6:01 a.m. in Los Angeles).

"I don't think the word excited does much to describe my feelings about playing in a major," said Locke, who turned pro in 2009 and has been playing in The Gateway Pro Tour 2011. "This is a dream come true. There will be quite a few folks from Los Angeles heading out to Maryland. I am pretty pumped."

Television coverage of the U.S. Open begins on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. ET (6:30 a.m. PT) on ESPN and then switches to NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. PT). ESPN will then continue coverage at 4:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. PT). Live web stream coverage on USOpen.com begins at 7:30 a.m. ET (4:30 a.m. PT). The coverage schedule is the same on Friday.

Locke has been playing in the Arizona Series on the Gateway Tour, where he is currently ranked 15th overall. His best finish came May 4-6 at the Tonto Verde Ranch Course, posting a three-round 200 to finish tied for second. He shot rounds of 68, 64 and 68.

He best shot of the year, however, came on the par-3 16 at Oakmont Country Club in the 2011 U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying. Locke birdied the final hole of the final round and got a bogie from a fellow competitor on his final hole to set-up a four-way playoff for the fifth and final spot at the U.S. Open.

"There were four of us and we had to play the same hole. We ended up playing it four times, and the fourth time was going to be our last. It was getting pretty dark, and that was gonna be it. The last thing I wanted was to come back the next day. I wouldn't have slept, period," said Locke.

It came down to Locke and one other on the fourth time on 16, and Locke put it to within 10 feet. The other tee shot was much further. Locke would knock down the put to qualify. "I can't tell you how happy I was that the putt went down."