Erick Justesen has had his back to the wall since he returned
home to Silicon Valley in hopes of qualifying for the Frys.com
Open.
He passed the first test by tying for 18th in the Sept. 29
pre-qualifier at San Juan Oaks. He then tied for second in Monday’s
actual qualifier at Bayonet Course, surviving a three-man playoff
to decide the four at-large invites to the Frys.com Open.
”
It’s the first Monday qualifier I’ve done this year, so I’ve had
time to get a lot more comfortable with my game,
”
he said.
That has carried over beautifully this week at CordeValle Golf
Club, where Justesen, 26, is tied for ninth after two rounds at the
Frys.com Open
SAN MARTIN
Erick Justesen has had his back to the wall since he returned home to Silicon Valley in hopes of qualifying for the Frys.com Open.
He passed the first test by tying for 18th in the Sept. 29 pre-qualifier at San Juan Oaks. He then tied for second in Monday’s actual qualifier at Bayonet Course, surviving a three-man playoff to decide the four at-large invites to the Frys.com Open.
“It’s the first Monday qualifier I’ve done this year, so I’ve had time to get a lot more comfortable with my game,” he said.
That has carried over beautifully this week at CordeValle Golf Club, where Justesen, 26, is tied for 10th after two rounds at the Frys.com Open.
The Live Oak High graduate fired a 4-under-par 67 on Friday with five birdies, including a 10-foot putt on the par-5 15th.
“I just kept the ball in play,” he said. “My putter’s been good; my iron’s been good. So I just made sure I didn’t get in any trouble off the tee and kind of took it from there.”
Like many of his peers, he has thrived this week by simply managing the course.
“That’s all it comes down to, honestly,” he said. “Got to play to the strengths of your game.”
Justesen’s only blemish was a bogey on the par-4 second, where he sliced his tee shot into a bunker. He put his driver away for good after that.
“One of my strengths is length,” Justesen said. “I need to mature a little bit and realize if I’m hitting 330 (yards) right, I’m going to have a better time hitting 280 (yards) straight.”
Justesen all but guaranteed he will have his first PGA Tour cut when the second round resumes at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.
He nearly ended the second round with back-to-back birdies, settling for par putts holed to scattered chants of “E-J” from the crowd.
Justesen has had plenty of supporters with him this week, including his father, Rick, whom he had not seen in eight months. Justesen has been away playing on several lower-tier tours.
Those days could soon be behind him.
“It’s exciting right now,” Justesen said. “I finally feel like I’m figuring out something with the putter that was stuck with me for a month and a half.
“I’m getting a little bit more confident in my game and just playing to my caliber.”
