On Monday, on the hottest day so far of 2025, Haefner played great golf at Springfield Country Club. But he didn’t realize how great until hole No. 36.
Haefner ignored the leaderboard while most others tracked it on their phones. When his second shot on the par-4 No. 18 landed on the opposite side of the green from the hole and on the fringe, he asked his playing partners where he stood.
He was shocked to hear that at 6-under par he led by one shot. So he took his time, surveying every angle of the longer than long putt.
“The greens out here were pretty crazy, and I took my time on that one,” Haefner said. “I didn’t follow USGA pace of play rules.”
Haefner surmised the downhill putt would break 10 feet right to left. He got the ball rolling, which never takes muscle on the SCC greens, and as it got close it was clear it might go in. And when it did for an unthinkable birdie, the crowd on the terrace of the clubhouse roared. Haefner raised his putter to the sky, danced to the hole, retrieved the ball and hugged his caddy.
“I just can’t believe it went in,” he said. “I kind of blacked out for a moment. That’s maybe the best putt of my career.”
Haefner’s putt gave him medalist honors by two shots at 7-under par with rounds of 68 and 65 on the par-70 course. The other U.S. Open qualifiers are George Duangmanee (5-under), who made his first PGA Tour start this season, Maxwell Moldovan (5-under), another young pro who played at Ohio State, and Zac Blair (4-under and playoff winner), a 34-year-old PGA Tour regular since 2015.
“This is my first everything,” Haefner said. He will play in not only his first U.S. Open next week at historic Oakmont near Pittsburgh, but he will play in his first pro event of any significance.
“It means the world,” he said. “I don’t have status, missed Korn Ferry (Tour) status by a little bit in December. I’m just trying to prove to myself that I belong on this stage.”
This won’t be Haefner’s first time playing Oakmont. He competed there in 2021 when good friend James Piot won the U.S. Amateur. Haefner will lean on the same mental approach he used Monday, when after an opening 68, he talked with his caddy about lessons learned from a book called “Stillness Is The Key.”
“We just tried to stay present the whole day, focus on the swing feels that I had, and trying to stay within rhythm, stay within myself,” he said. “I know I’m a good ball striker. I knew if I could position myself around this golf course, that I could make it.”
The other longshot, though not as long as Haefner, was former PGA Tour pro John Peterson. He was in the mix all day, finished at 4-under par, and was the last player knocked from the playoff when Blair birdied the fourth playoff hole to secure the final spot. Peterson is the first alternate, and it’s not unusual for alternates to end up in the field.
Peterson, a season after winning the NCAA championship at LSU in 2011, qualified for the U.S. Open at Springfield Country Club in 2012. He tied for fourth at Olympic Club in San Francisco. He played in the next U.S. Open, but by 2019 he retired. Then he unretired, retired again, has worked other jobs, and now owns a garage door business in Fort Worth, Texas. He’s played 20 rounds of golf before Monday in the past year.
“I’m so happy with how I played,” he said. “To hang with guys, to beat guys that play every day still, while I’m running a garage door business and running four kids around, I’m extremely pleased. I can still do it. I just don’t do it for a living anymore.”
Peterson plans to play in an amateur event next week near Oakmont unless he gets the call to fill in at the U.S. Open. He will gladly take another shot at one of golf’s greatest prizes.
“I love to compete whether it’s business, whether it’s golf, whether it’s being a good dad, and this is my best outlet to do that,” he said. “I can’t beat Scottie Sheffler. I know that.”
Haefner, though, is young and wants to keep grinding. He left Springfield for a three-hour drive to Henryville, Indiana, across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky, to play more golf. He begins four days and 72 holes of qualifying school Tuesday for the Americas Tour that begins its season the first weekend in July.
“I would love to play all summer up in Canada, and so this week’s going to be very important,” Haefner said. “Hopefully I continue the good play in the next four days. But I’m going to be at Oakmont next week. I can’t wait.”
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