Juarez Native Mario Carmona Qualifies For US Open

As a youngster, Mario Carmona, like so many others, had dreams of one day playing in a PGA Tour Major Tournament. Yesterday, that dream became reality when the native of Juarez, Mexico qualified for the 121st U.S. Open.

Carmona spent his childhood between Campestre Country Club and playing with Sun Country Junior Golf. Although he lived in Juarez, he attended Immanuel Christian School in El Paso for 6th and 7th grade. When he was 12, his family moved from Juarez to Houston and that is where his golf game took off. He starred at Memorial High School and he was named the Houston Golf Association Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013. Carmona attended Rice University and he played all four years for the Owls. As a senior, he was named to the Second Team All C-USA and he qualified for the Latin America PGA Tour in 2019.

Carmona played in 11 events that year and his best finish was tied for 24th in the Abierto de Chile. However, he did not qualify in Q School the following year and instead, he was looking for Monday qualifiers around Texas. Everything changed when the 25-year old first won the U.S. Open Local Qualifier at Lakeside Country Club and yesterday finished fourth at the Sectionals in Dallas, which gave him an automatic qualification into the tournament.

"First of all, it was just an awesome experience," Carmona told Riceowls.com. "I was paired with Graeme McDowell, a past U.S. Open champion. So it was really cool to have him in my group. Things were clicking."

The U.S. Open will be June 17th through the 20th at the Torrey Pines South Course.