George Markham, a former Colorado School of Mines golfer, has advanced to the U.S. Open's final qualifying round.

The Phoenix-based golfer, who graduated from Mines in 2019, will play in the June 5 final qualifier at the Tacoma Country & Golf Club. If successful, he'll advance to the 123rd U.S. Open on June 15-18 at The Los Angeles Country Club.

He's one of more than 500 golfers competing for the 156 coveted spots.

On May 15, Markham shot a 1-over 71 to tie for second place at the Phoenix Country Club's U.S. Open local qualifying round. He was one of three golfers to advance out of Phoenix.

Markham recently shared how he sees the final qualifiers as a good chance to test his game, adding how he wants to have a strong start in Tacoma.

He described how much of a mental grind the game can be, because the competitors are out on the course all day. So, he said, the U.S. Open qualifiers is about "making a conscious effort to be mentally strong, because a lot of guys are going to give up and knock themselves out of the tournament."

During his time at Mines, Markham helped lead the Orediggers to three RMAC championships and three NCAA Super Regionals appearances between 2017-2019.

Among his individual accolades and accomplishments, he qualified for the NCAA championships in 2018, was the 2019 RMAC Golfer of the Year, and received All-American honors in 2018 and 2019.

Outside of Mines competition, he won the Arizona Golf Association Championship as an amateur in March 2019.

Overall, Markham was excited to have a shot at making the U.S. Open, saying of the local qualifying rounds, "I've always thought it was one of the coolest things of the year — just how anyone can get through."

For more information, visit 2022.usopen.com/qualifying/final.html.