CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ryan Armour has been golfing professionally for more than two decades. At the age of 47, he's accomplished one of his greatest feats yet.
"It's funny. I have a lot of people coming up to me this week like, 'I can't believe this is your first one. You've been out here forever!'" says Armour.
The Silver Lake native turned pro in 1999 and joined the PGA Tour in 2007.
"I've always been good, just not quite good enough, but you keep going. I'm gonna play until they tell me I'm not allowed to play anymore," says Armour.
Just shy of 25 years into his career, Armour qualified for the U.S. Open for the first time.
"I've tried many times to get through. It's just kind of the way my career has been," says Armour.
Armour shot a 7-under 66-67-133 at Lambton Golf & Country Club in Toronto to earn the third and final qualifying spot. The irony isn't lost on him that it took leaving the United States to advance.
"All the times I've done it in Columbus, and I never got through. Going to school at Ohio State and never got through there. Then, I go to Toronto area and get through for less spots. There's no rhyme or reason. It's golf," says Armour, laughing.
This will be his 4th major. Armour played in the Open Championship in 2018 and the PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019.
"You gotta really pace yourself Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday so you're rested and ready to go Thursday because they're gonna test every aspect of your game," says Armour.
When Armour tees up on Thursday at the Los Angeles Country Club, he'll have the support his family. Everyone is in tow for the business trip to Beverly Hills.
"The first thing my wife said is, 'We're coming to the 90210!" says Armour.
The 123rd U.S. Open runs June 15 through 18.
Carly Mascitti is a sports anchor at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Twitter @carlymascitti.
Watch live and local news any time:
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
