- November 4, 2024
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For some, that dream is a two-story house inside a white, picket fence, two perfect children, a few nice cars and a bank account with a lot of money. For Craig Knight, Roman O’Rourke and Brandon Rufrano, they just want to play in the United States Open Championship, one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in the world.
“Ever since I’ve been a golf pro, I always wanted to get in the Open,” Knight said. “I always wanted to qualify for a tour event and play with the big boys.”
The three men recently competed in the Open qualifier at the Hammock Dunes Creek Course for a potential shot into the esteemed world tournament, but they all came up short.
Knight, a PGA professional and certified personal coach, has spent the last 20 years trying to master the greens and fairways. Due to his job as a coach, he doesn’t enter as many tournaments as he would like.
“I wish I could get in a lot more tournaments,” Knight said. “Instead, I spend most of my time helping others play this crazy game.”
Knight’s best tournament came in 1997 at the Volusia Quad City 54-Hole Tournament in DeLand, where he took second place. Although he’s turning 50 this year, Knight still believes he can make it one day.
O’Rourke, like Knight, has also been playing for 20 years, although he started at 6 years old. O’Rourke, who is first assistant at the Hammock Dunes Club, wished he could’ve repeated his last year’s performance on the course, which would have won the qualifier. Last July, he shot a course record 67.
“That was, by far, the biggest accomplishment I’ve had,” O’Rourke said. “I was in a groove, had some fortunate things happen, and it turned out to be a great day.”
Bogeying his last two holes at the Open qualifier, O’Rourke fell out of contention, but his desire to play in the US Open continues.
“It would be an absolute dream come true,” he said. “It would be unreal just to get there, and then to try to compete would just be an unbelievable experience.”
Unlike the others, Rufrano has only been playing golf four years. After acquiring multiple baseball scholarships during his junior year, Rufrano sought another sport to play in the offseason to take a break, and a golfer bet him that he couldn’t make the golf team. Once he made the team, he never looked back.
At 21, with just four years of experience, Rufrano has refined his game enough to call the 78 he shot a “bad day.”
“At practice, I usually shoot from 70 to 72,” Rufrano said.
Now, months away from graduating from the University of Central Florida, Rufrano plans to dedicate more of his time to the game, so he could potentially find himself in the U.S. Open.
“It would mean the world to be able to qualify for one of the biggest tournaments in the world,” he said. “Hopefully, one day, I can get my game in shape to qualify for it.”
While Knight, O’Rourke and Rufrano may be at different stages of life, they all share that common American dream.
