Dentist who recently lost his dad qualifies for U.S. Open: 'I'm going to try not to cry'

Matt Vogt, a 34-year-old dentist from Indianapolis, qualified for the U.S.

Matt Vogt, a 34-year-old dentist from Indianapolis, qualified for the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh, not far from where he grew up. Vogt won a qualifying event at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Washington, on June 2. The magnitude of his accomplishment wasn’t lost on him.

“I told you I was going to try not to cry,” he told the Golf Channel.

“We stayed present all day. I knew I could do this. Yeah, I knew I could do it, and, you know, Oakmont, in Pittsburgh, and everything there, it means so much to me, having grown up in Pittsburgh and caddying there,” he continued, while getting emotional.

“And it took every ounce of energy in my body to not think about that all day. And I’m just so proud of staying present, staying in the moment. I feel like I’m going to wake up from a dream here in a little while, and this isn’t going to be real, but it’s real, and I’m so excited.”

Vogt, who played golf at Butler University, knows he has a tall order ahead of him, but he plans to embrace the moment.