Last week, as the reigning Canadian Men’s Amateur Champion, Ashton McCulloch played into the RBC Canadian Open. It was his first PGA TOUR event, and while he missed the cut, he loved the time inside the ropes and competing with some of the best players in the world.
And if that stage wasn’t already a big enough one, the incoming Senior at Michigan State gets to take on even more of the best players on the planet in just a few weeks. That will happen at the United States Open Championship at Pinehurst Resort, an event he qualified for on Monday by earning the 7th and final spot available at the Canadian final qualifying site.
The 21 year-old who plays out of the Cataraqui Golf & Country Club in Kingston, ON fashioned rounds of 65-69 at the Cherry Hill Club in Ridgeway, ON to grab a spot in the next men’s major championship. He was the only amateur to do so from the field of 66 players who, for the most part, were experienced pros. The only other Canadian to also qualify was PGA TOUR winner Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C.
“I’m just excited to get back out there and compete with the best again,” he told the PGA TOUR’s Kevin Prise.
McCulloch is coming off a collegiate season where he won for the first time at the Johnnie-O Classic where he set a school record with a round of 10-under-par, 62. In 2023 he barely lost the Ontario Men’s Amateur, finishing second to Cameron Pero alongside Garrett Rank, before earning the 118th National Canadian title at the Pulpit Club in Caledon, Ontario in August.
He recently signed a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) agreement with TaylorMade Golf.
McCulloch was just the 2nd player from Kingston, Ontario to win the Canadian Men’s Amateur. Tom Harley of the Kingston Golf Club won the first playing of it in 1895.
However, McCulloch has now one-upped old Tom. Harley eventually turned professional and lived in the United States, but records show he never played in a U.S. Open.
The 124th United States Open Championship will be played at the No. 2 Course at Pinehurst Resort from June 13-16.
The list of successful qualifiers at Cherry Hill Club:
