By Bob Harig for the Cayman Compass
OAKMONT, Pa. – The final round might not have played out the way he would have wanted it to on Sunday, but Justin Hastings was leaving Oakmont Country Club with plenty of positives and a lifetime of memories.
Having competed in his first US Open, Hastings, 21, became the first person from the Cayman Islands to do so after also playing in the Masters in April.
His victory at the Latin America Amateur Championship in January came with some amazing perks, including starts in those two major championships as well as another next month at the Open Championship to be played at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
The only amateur to make the 36-hole cut, Hastings had wrapped up low amateur honours and the hardware that comes with it as long as he completed his weekend rounds. He began the day at 9 over par after three straight 73s and hoped to build on that.
While his final-round 76 was his worst of the week, there was no shame in struggling at one of the fiercest courses in the world.
“I’ve been reminded that when the lights are bright is when I play the best,” Hastings said.
“I think that’s something that I carry with me for a long time, it’s something that I know deep within me is that, when it matters, I’m the most confident in myself.
“So, on these big stages, when the cameras are on and the people are out there watching, I think that’s just where I thrive. So I’ve just been reassured of that the last couple tournaments.”
Hastings came into the US Open having gone 4-0 at the Arnold Palmer Cup to lead the International team to a victory over the United States.
He also won the Mountain West individual title in one of his last events while playing for San Diego State, where he played collegiate golf and recently graduated.
And Hastings performed well to make the cut – the likes of defending champion Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas did not – and showed plenty of moxie in overcoming the difficulty of the course.
On Sunday, he was unable to manage any birdies, making a double bogey early and four bogeys. Still, a tie for 55th in his first US Open is a respectable outcome on which to build.
“It was such a treat, just to be able to play in the US Open and then let alone have the success to be able to call yourself low amateur, it’s something I’ll hold onto for the rest of my life,” he said.
He added, “I think I’ve said it coming off the course every day, there’s been a lot of good. There’s been a lot of good. Today I played a very similar round to the ones I did the first three days and just had no luck on the putting green.
“I played to what I know I can. I played solid all week. I wish I could give you more than that. It was just a solid week overall.”
Next up is a bit of time off. Hastings has plans to go to Edmonton, Canada, for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final if it makes it that far. Then, it will be home to Grand Cayman to resume working on his game.
Turning professional
His next scheduled tournament is The Open at Royal Portrush on 17-20 July, after which he will turn pro and immediately begin play on PGA Tour Americas, a developmental circuit that has a pathway to the Korn Ferry Tour – which is one step below the PGA Tour.
Hastings can earn his way onto the Korn Ferry Tour for 2026 and he’ll also have the opportunity to go to the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament later this year. Because he finished 13th in the PGA Tour University standings (for college players), he will be exempt from the first stage of qualifying. There are three stages.
The Korn Ferry Tour exempts the top 20 players each year onto the PGA Tour.
He will also be exempt through the Latin America portion of the PGA Americas Tour in 2026.
Not that those scenarios was on his mind Sunday.
“Obviously, the easy answer is we want to get on the PGA Tour as soon as possible,” Hastings said. “My coaches like to say that good golf takes care of all that, so we’re going to focus on playing as well as we can, and when we get opportunities, the next few months, hopefully, we can take advantage of it.”
Had Hastings been a pro, he would have earned in the neighborhood of $45,000 for his finish in the tournament. The winner is to receive $4.3 million from the $21.5 million purse.
Amateurs do have their travel expenses reimbursed at the US Open.
Bob Harig is a senior golf writer for Sports Illustrated.
