Adam Long goes from cut line to U.S. Open berth at 3M Open

Adam Long barely snuck past the 36-hole cut at the 3M Open, but by the end of the week he left Minnesota with a U.S. Open berth.

Long made the cut on the number at TPC Twin Cities and started the third round tied for 51st place. He moved up the standings with a third-round 63, then followed with a 7-under 64. A weekend tally of 16 birdies against just one bogey left him alone in second place, two shots behind winner Michael Thompson. With two U.S. Open berths available to the highest finishers not otherwise exempt, both Thompson and Long booked tickets to Winged Foot in September by finishing 1-2.

“Showing up here Saturday morning, I’m in 50th place and wanted to just do the best I could to shoot a low number, and I did,” Long said. “I was able to kind of keep it going today, but not a whole lot changed.”

This will mark Long’s second career U.S. Open appearance after missing the cut at Congressional in 2011. Thompson was a runner-up at the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic and will make his fourth career appearance.

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Long earned his maiden Tour victory at last year’s American Express, and Sunday’s result is his second runner-up of the season after a T-2 finish at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in November. It’s a welcome result given his weekend plans were in doubt until a par on the last hole of his second round.

“I didn’t think I was going to have a chance to win certainly, but I know my game’s been pretty good lately,” Long said. “I’ve been playing some good golf, better than I’ve been able to show for it, but I was pretty thankful to have the opportunity, proud that I was able to finish it off on Friday to at least survive and I wanted to just kind of show up and give it everything I’ve got.”