Cox Classic: Hurley falls short in qualifier

A golfer with the initials J.H. made it through open qualifying Monday for the Cox Classic. But it’s not John Hurley.

It’s Justin Herron, an assistant pro at Ironwood. He shot 67 Monday at Yankee Hill to take one of the seven available spots at stake in the Lincoln course’s qualifier.

Herron will be playing at Champions Run for the sixth time and for the third time in four years. In 2007, a second-round 66 left him one stroke from making the 36-hole cut for the first time in seven Nationwide Tour events.

Hurley, meanwhile, failed to qualify in Monday’s other seven-spot qualifier, at Tiburon Golf Club. The Texas A&M golfer from O’Neill, Neb., now heads to Ironwood to play in the Nebraska Amateur, a 72-hole tournament that begins today.

Hurley, with a final-hole bogey, shot a 3-under-par 69. That left him three strokes off the 66 it took to get into a playoff for the final four spots at Tiburon.

After the second of two lengthy rain delays, Hurley returned to his 18th hole sitting at 4-under par and facing a 200-yard second shot to the par-5. He missed the green to the right and then hit a pitch shot that landed first past the pin and rolled into a bunker, leading to a bogey.

As it turned out, Hurley would have needed an eagle to get into the playoff.

“I didn’t play very well, but I was able to score pretty good,’’ Hurley said. “It wasn’t that hard a pitch shot (on 18), but that was a stupid mistake.

“So ... State Amateur.’’

The qualifying leaders were Jeremy Alcorn of Brownwood, Texas, a former Baylor standout, who shot a 6-under 64 at Yankee Hill, and Chris Thompson of Lawrence, Kan., who torched Tiburon’s original 18 for a 9-under 63.

Thompson just two years ago shot 60 in the Cox Classic first round, the lowest score since Jason Gore’s 59 in 2005, and tied for eighth. He hasn’t played a Nationwide event this year. On the Adams Golf Pro Tour Series, he won an event earlier this month for a $15,000 payday.

Monday’s hard-luck local golfer was Raul Cortes de la Riva, a former York College player who’s returned to that Interstate 80 city to work for head pro Bill Thomas at York Country Club.

De la Riva posted 66 as an early finisher, waited for four holes and the second rain delay and then fell into the 5-for-4 playoff when Thompson’s score was posted. De la Riva was the only one of the five to miss the green on the playoff hole, a par 4, and missed an 8-footer for par.

At Yankee Hill, par 70

Qualifiers: Jeremy Alcorn, Brownwood, Texas, 64. Kevin Chappell, Menlo Park, Calif., 65. Kelgo Painter, Winter Garden, Fla., 67; Michael Lavery, Mission Viejo, Calif., 67; Thomas Kearney, San Antonio, 67; William Horschel, Cleveland, 67; Justin Herron, Omaha (Ironwood), 67.

Failed to qualify (other Midlanders): AJ Elgert, Lincoln, 68; Ryan Quinn, Lincoln, 69; Nate Barbee, Dakota Dunes, S.D., 70; Mike Coatman, Lincoln, 72; Ben Tewes, Lincoln, 74; Brandon Urban, Seward, 75; Shane Wallace-Browne, Mullen, 75; Derek Nicholson, Beatrice, 75; Adam Tannehill, Fremont, 75; William Jacobsen, Omaha, 82; Rob Hamlin, Omaha, 84; Michael Brown, Omaha, 90.

At Tiburon, par 72

Qualifiers: Chris Thompson, Lawrence, Kan., 63; Brent Delahoussaye, Greenville, S.C., 65; Dong Yi, Phoenix, 65; Jeff Burns, San Antonio, 66; Ryan Blaum, Coral Gables, Fla., 66; Roberto Castro, Alpharetta, Ga., 66; Zack Miller, San Rafael, Calif., 66 .

Failed to qualify (other Midlanders): Raul Cortes de la Riva, York, Neb., 66; Ryan Vermeer, Lawrence, Kan. (Millard South), 67; Judd Cornell, Omaha, 67; John Hurley, O’Neill, 69; Mark Pillen, Columbus, 70; John Robbins, Omaha, 70; Wade Pettitt, Carroll, Iowa, 71; John Sutko, Omaha, 71; Tad Leistico, Omaha, 71; Ted DiGiacomo, Papillion, 75; Alex Carper, Wahoo, 76; Kevin Stanek, Bellevue, 76; Jason Peterson, Omaha, 78; Alex Carritt, Wahoo, 79; Ryan Fregeau, Omaha, 81; Mark Bivens, Omaha, 81.

Contact the writer:

444-1041, stu.pospisil@owh.com

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