2025 U.S. Open Local Qualifying: York

Hartman, Li share medalist honors at 67

YORK, Pa. — Jack Hartman, a Bucknell University freshman, and Jason Li, a former touring professional and Carnegie Mellon University standout, carded respective 3-under-par 67s to share medalist honors in U.S. Open Local Qualifying administered by GAP at Country Club of York (par 70, 6,731 yards) Thursday.

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Country Club of Harrisburg’s Garrett Engle and Alex Blickle, the 2021 Pennsylvania Open Champion, also advanced at 1-under-par 69. 

The 125^th U.S. Open will take place June 12-15 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa.

Hartman and Li arrived at the medalist platform in separate vehicles.

A hole-out for eagle on No. 11 (par 4, 427 yards) launched Hartman up the leaderboard. He hit a wedge from 108 yards.

We got up there and couldn’t see the ball,” Hartman, 19, of Bethesda, Md., said. “We thought there was no way it was over the green. We checked the cup and it was in there. It’s pretty cool to hole out.”

Back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 (par 5, 525 yards) and 15 (par 4, 489 yards) added to the frenzy. Hartman, a lefty who works the ball right-to-left with driver in hand, canned a 30-footer on No. 14. His 8-iron from 175 yards stopped 10 feet from the No. 15 flagstick. Only a bogey on the par 3, 185-yard 17^th hole prevented Hartman from outright honors.

“I lost in a playoff for the last spot [in U.S. Open Local Qualifying at Hillendale Country Club] last year. I went to [U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying site] Woodmont as a first alternate and didn’t make it,” he said. “This is pretty sweet.”

Hartman is a finance major at Bucknell. He played on the men’s golf team and was named First Team All-Patriot League. Hartman will take final exams next week before a summer of competitive golf begins.

“It was a good first year of college,” Hartman, who qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2022, said.

Jack Hartman, 19, of Bethesda, Md. “It’s a tough academic school, but that’s what you sign up for going there.”

Li, 26, of Pittsburgh, Pa., returned to his alma mater in the fall of 2024 to pursue a master’s degree in business analytics. He is set to graduate in less than two weeks. A career in business intelligence for the Pittsburgh Penguins awaits.

“I’m super excited. It helps that I have a job. I’m freed up and can dedicate time for golf, which helped today for sure,” Li said.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Carnegie Mellon in 2021, Li turned professional. Minitours and Monday qualifiers. The lifestyle ran its course.

“It was just hard. The difference between the guys on TV and someone like me is small, but you have to potentially win a long time. You could pursue it for a whole lifetime and get nowhere with it, but still be really good,” Li said. “I looked in the mirror, talked to my parents and thought about it. I’ve always had a passion for analytics and data, so I figured now more than ever was a good time to switch back.”

Li stopped playing professional golf in 2024. He expects to regain his amateur status in the coming weeks.

“Looking back, it’s something I won’t forget doing. I’m super thankful I gave it a go. It allowed me to get better at golf,” Li said. “It’s a lot off my shoulders. I can launch my career. Having that stability is super nice.”

Starting birdie-birdie is super nice, too.

On No. 1 (par 4, 429 yards), Li, reassured by caddie Gillis Wang, slammed a pitching wedge 131 yards to six feet. His 5-iron from 218 yards on No. 2 (par 5, 526 yards) gave Li a promising eagle look from 11 feet. He walked off with 4. Li converted a four-footer for birdie on No. 5 (par 4, 393 yards) after hitting a 9-iron from 150 yards.

Li, who registered 14 greens in regulation, scripted a modest back nine to share medalist honors. He drained a 30-footer for birdie on No. 11, site of the Hartman eagle. A flailed 5-iron on the next hole (par 3, 204 yards) spearheaded a bogey.

This will mark Li’s fifth appearance in U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying. He plans to join June 2 at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.

Blickle, too, will make his fifth appearance in U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying. Clearing that hurdle is the obvious goal.

“I will probably play more golf in the next month than I have in the last six months. That’s step one,” Blickle, 32, of Arlington, Va., said. “Step two is a lot of what I did today: drive the ball really well and make a lot of putts. I will definitely focus a lot on short game in the coming weeks. There are a lot of similarities between Woodmont and this golf course, so I think that helps me. It’s about how well you drive the ball and turning bogey holes into birdie holes.”

Two days ago, Engle graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he majored in public law. The next life step will take place following the Sunnehanna Amateur June 11-14.

“I’m going to end my amateur career there and turn pro. Hopefully I can take advantage of some opportunities, see if I can get some sponsor exemptions finalized,” Engle, 21, of Harrisburg, Pa., said.

Engle will head to Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, N.J. on June 2. He previously advanced to U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying in 2019.

GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The organization’s 345 Member Clubs and 110,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.