Former Farragut star, Tennessee golfer Lance Simpson qualifies for U.S. Open

• Simpson finished 8-under par in the qualifying rounds in Dallas.
• Simpson and the Vols will compete in the NCAA Championships starting May 23.

Lance Simpson, a redshirt junior for Tennessee golf and a graduate of Farragut, qualified for the U.S. Open on May 19.

Simpson was 8-under-par 134 in the two rounds at Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas to secure a spot in the U.S Open, which will be played June 12-15 at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.

Simpson carded a 69 in round one and a 65 in the second round. The second round propelled Simpson 18 spots up the leaderboard to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place along with Cameron Tankersley, an Ole Miss junior and former standout at Dickson.

Peter Malnati of Knoxville missed the seven-person playoff for the last spot by one shot. Raymond Rebell of Maryville finished at 11 over.

It was a busy week for Simpson. He helped the Vols advance to the NCAA championship. Tennessee was third at 5-under 835, one shot behind Vanderbilt and five back of Oklahoma at the Amherst Regional on May 14 Simpson had a final-round 66 to finish sixth individually at 3-under 207 at Poplar Grove Golf Club.

The NCAA Championships begins May 23 at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s Champions Course in Carlsbad, California.

Simpson was the TSSAA Class AAA individual champion in 2018 and 2020 and helped the Admirals win the AAA state title in 2020.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.