The Longest Day, The Women's Gauntlet, and Chasing Your Own Major

The Monday following the Memorial Tournament is usually a quiet one on the sports calendar. The pros are packing up their lockers in Ohio, fans are recovering from a weekend of watching drama unfold on TV, and the golf world takes a collective breath. But if you look a little closer at the tournament schedule, that Monday isn’t quiet at all. In fact, it’s the most electric, high-stakes day of the entire year.

The Golf Channel calls it "The Longest Day in Golf." It’s a grueling, dramatic, 36-hole marathon where elite tour professionals and local dreamers collide in a final, frantic sprint for a spot in the U.S. Open field. It represents everything that makes this particular championship the most fascinating, beautifully democratic event in all of sports—and it gives me goosebumps every single time I follow the live scoreboards.

The Beautifully Brutal Reality of an "Open"

The core promise of the USGA is simple: if you are good enough, you can play. The tournament sets aside roughly half of its 156-player field for players who earn their way in through a brutal, multi-tiered qualifying process.

We actually have a front-row seat to how real this pipeline is through our Alliance Golf sister property, The Golf Club at Oxford Greens. Back on May 9, 2022, they hosted an official U.S. Open Local Qualifying round. Heavy, sweeping winds turned their beautiful layout into an absolute battle of attrition. That exact day, a UConn sophomore named Caleb Manuel successfully navigated the elements at Oxford Greens, punching his ticket to the next round and riding that exact momentum straight into the official major field at the 122nd U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline.

Getty Images: Nelly Korda wins at Riviera

The Women’s Twist: No Warm-Up Lap

Seeing the men battle through Local and Final qualifying is incredible, but with the U.S. Women’s Open taking place last week at the legendary Riviera Country Club, I want to pull back the curtain on how the women get there. Because honestly? It might be even more brutal.

While the men get an 18-hole local "warm-up" stage in May before the big 36-hole Final day in June, the U.S. Women’s Open qualifying process is a one-stage, all-or-nothing shootout.

To even submit an application, an amateur has to hold an official Handicap Index of 2.4 or lower. If you clear that elite bar, you are thrown straight into the fire: 36 holes in a single day. I’ll let you in on a little secret: I actually attempted this exact qualifying gauntlet a couple of springs ago. Let me tell you, it is the ultimate test of mental and physical stamina. You tee off at 6:30 AM in the morning dew, grind through 18 holes of intense, high-stakes stroke play, swallow a quick lunch while reviewing your yardage book, and immediately head right back out to the first tee for another 18 holes.

By the time you're standing on your 34th hole of the day, your legs are burning, your hands are tired, and the mental fatigue is real. And the margin for error? Non-existent.

Unlike a typical four-day tour event where you can recover from a bad start, a single double-bogey in a 36-hole sprint can instantly erase your dream. At most qualifying sites, there are only 1 to 3 golden tickets available for the entire field. You have to be flawless, relentless, and deeply focused for 10 hours straight.

I didn't pack my bags for the major that year, but standing on that final green, completely exhausted, I gained a whole new level of respect for what it means to grind.

Shifting Focus: What is Your U.S. Open?

The reality is that 99% of us will never tee it up in a USGA qualifier. Most of us aren't trying to survive a 36-hole cutline against touring professionals.

But that got me thinking: What is your U.S. Open? Just because we aren't chasing a spot in a major championship doesn't mean we aren't playing for our own monumental, history-making victories right here at Tunxis. In my book, a "Major Championship" victory doesn't require a trophy presentation on national television. It just requires beating your own personal bests.

Here is what counts as a Grand Slam victory in our world right now:

• Conquering the Road Hole: Going through a full round on the Green or White course and surviving our most intimidating, water-guarded, or narrow holes without carding a "big number."
  

• The "One-Ball" Open: Playing a full 18 holes and finishing the day with the exact same golf ball you started with. No woods searched, no water hazards cleared out.
  

• Breaking the Barrier: Finally breaching that scoring milestone you’ve been chasing all summer—whether that's breaking 100, breaking 90, or firing a career-best round.
  

Whether your ultimate test is surviving 36 holes against the best players in the country, or simply stepping up to the first tee at Tunxis with a brand new swing thought, the spirit of the game is exactly the same. We are all out here grinding for our own version of glory.

Over to You!

I want to know: What does a "Major Victory" look like in your golf world right now? Are you trying to break a specific scoring barrier, conquer a tough hole on our course, or just get through a weekend round with the same golf ball? Let’s celebrate our milestones together in the comments below!

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