I have never met Harold Varner III, but I know we have something in common: we both had Garren Poirier as our wedding photographer. And I assume that Varner, like myself, will be checking the scoring on Monday (US time) to see if Poirier is going to make it through Final Qualifying for the 2024 US Open and earn a spot at Pinehurst No.2.
In the days leading up to the 36-hole qualifier at Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, New Jersey, Poirier is balancing the realities of working for a living with the dream of playing in a major. It’s difficult and often not ideal, but the amount of time he has to spend thinking about things other than golf might actually help him navigate as he attempts to make it through “Golf’s Longest Day”.
Poirier, 43, played college golf at Temple University, and put his clubs away after graduating in 2002. He was burned out and wanted to travel. He eventually settled in Killington, Vermont, but after a few seasons away, he began to start to play again. Poirier plays at the course I grew up playing, Rutland Country Club, and runs his own photography business.
Everyone in Vermont golf knows who he is. He played in the 2011 US Amateur at Erin Hills, shooting 74-71 and missing a playoff for matchplay by three. (Scrolling through the results, I couldn’t help but notice he tied with Brooks Koepka.) He played in a handful of other USGA events as well, before in 2020 he set a record when he won the Vermont Amateur, which included a 64 in the second round.
So when Poirier shot 66 at TPC River Highlands to win medallist honours in his US Open Local qualifier, everyone in Vermont golf knew about it.
The hope, of course, is to slide back into that same mindset on the day of final qualifying, cruise to back-to-back 66s, and punch a ticket to the US Open. A task wildly easier said than done.
“There’s such a difference between qualifying and getting to final stage, and you’re like, Holy s–t, I’m here now. I’m nervous. I want to perform,” Poirier says. “Where instead you were at the qualifier, you were just like, Who cares? Let’s just go out and fire a good number. And if we don’t, then nobody cares. And in general, nobody cares anyway. So it’s one of those things of just disassociating it for what it is, I think. But it’s tough when you get there, the hubbub, the Golf Channel’s there, and there’s people that you’ve seen on TV. It’s like automatically your brain goes to, Oh man, this is kind of different than normal.”
What would you shoot at the US Open? New USGA tool settles a common debate
So the question becomes: how do amateurs like Poirier handle all that? Part of the key might be leaning into the fact that they are, in fact, amateurs.
“Of course I’ll be nervous,” says Poirier, who has played in Final Qualifying at Canoe Brook once before, shooting 73-75 in 2012. “But for me, I’m an amateur. I have two weddings the two days before that.”
His schedule leading up Monday’s Final Qualifying is a little crazy: on Saturday, he photographed a wedding in New Hampshire. On Sunday he photographed a wedding in southern Maine. A friend of his who is caddieing for him intended to meet him in Maine and they were scheduled to drive to Canoe Brook together on Sunday night. With his caddie driving, maybe Poirier will be able to sleep a little before they arrive about 3am. The first tee-time on Monday is 7am (9pm tonight, AEST).
“I’m going to be coming in there super hot,” he joked.
This scheduling situation is something that happens when golf isn’t what pays the bills. “I can’t turn away business because a golf tournament might happen,” Poirier explains.
He’d hoped to stop at a practice range in between the two weddings as drove to Maine, but he wasn’t relying on that as an important last-minute tune-up.
“My game is what it is, and whichever Garren shows up on that Monday morning is the Garren that shows up,” Poirier says. “There’s nothing I can control by hitting balls. I don’t practise a whole lot anyway. I’d rather play. Playing is important, it makes me feel more comfortable in general.”
He’s been playing in local invitationals to keep competitively fresh. Instead of playing a practice round, he’ll preview the course on Google Maps. “I’ll take a look to map out where the misses are,” he says.
An amateur’s preparation before a US Open qualifier is much different than the curated schedule of a pro. But maybe, after the chaos and the thoughts about everything but golf leading up to it, Poirier will be able to find that sweet spot where the pressure doesn’t exist and the swing feels right.
“For me, it’s just like, Let’s just go out and swing away. I mean, who really cares what happens? You’re not trying to impress anybody. I’m 43 years old. Of course, the golf course is tough. You’re going to have to hit good shots. But I think it’s more of just like, I’m going to be so busy up to that point. Once I get there, it’s just going to be like, Let’s just rock and roll.”
Whatever happens, you know I – and probably HVIII and all of Poirier’s other golf-obsessed clients – will be cheering.
