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Cole Hammer, 15, qualifies for U.S. Open at Chambers Bay

REUTERS/Aidan Bradley/Handout

Thirteen amateurs booked their tickets to the U.S. Open in sectional qualifying Monday, but one is grabbing some extra attention.

Fifteen-year-old Cole Hammer of Houston shot a 64-68 in his 36-hole qualifier at Northwood Club in Dallas, beating out PGA Tour rookie Carlos Ortiz among a slew of other professionals to grab one of 58 available spots across 10 venues.

"My main goal was to see how I match up against these people. I just had to keep doing what I was doing," Hammer said following his round. "This means the world to me."

The high school sophomore entered the weekend having won four of his past five junior events. He can only hope he'll be able to carry that momentum over to University Place, Wash., for his first career major.

Hammer plans to play his college golf at the University of Texas, following in the footsteps of another man who qualified to play at Chambers Bay on Monday, Beau Hossler.

Hossler stunned the golf world as a 17-year-old at the 2012 U.S. Open, when he took sole possession of the lead during the second round. He'd go on to finish T29 in what was his second U.S. Open appearance. That tournament also featured the youngest-ever qualifier in 14-year-old Andy Zhang of China.

The 115th U.S. Open begins June 18.

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