Derek Barron

Baseball was Barron's main focus growing up. He played all his life and thought it would be his future, much like his dad, who played pro ball for 18 years. He got a late introduction into golf at the age of 17 at Emerald Ridge High School. His late start kept him off college recruiters? radars. Instead of going to college, Barron helped run his grandfather's hydraulics company and later became a construction foreman, managing a crew of 15. Then his golf obsession took over. Now, 15 years later, he is playing in his first U.S. Open. He turned pro six years ago and, at 26, started working as a golf professional and instructor at Tacoma Firs Golf Center in Washington. On the eve of the qualifier at his home course, he finished T-18th at a Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada event in British Columbia. He won the 2014 Oregon Open and 2015 Northwest Open.