Jaden Soong missed the final qualifying cut for the U.S. Open on Monday.
However, it’s unlikely the tournament will never see him again.
The seventh grader from Burbank, Calif., skipped school to compete at Hillcrest Country Club, shooting at 7-over and coming in 58th out of 89 competitors, 16 strokes out of the top five needed to proceed to the tournament at the Los Angeles Country Club beginning June 15.
If Soong had qualified, he would have become the youngest golfer ever to play at a U.S. Open, surpassing Andy Zhang who was 14 when he played in the 2012 tournament at Olympic in San Francisco.
However, after a 12-foot playoff putt to secure a spot in Monday’s 36-hole final round, Soong made history as the youngest player ever to advance to the final stage of qualifying for the U.S. Open.
While a small 5-foot-2 and 115 pounds, Soong is mighty with the ability to launch the ball up to 280 yards.
“I love golf more than any other thing I can imagine,” Soong recently told the Los Angeles Times.
Soong teed off at 11:55 a.m. ET, and would have played a half-hour away from his home if he had qualified for the year’s third major tournament.
“Thank you to all that have supported and helped me get this opportunity. Dream big and you never know what can happen,” Soong wrote on Instagram after making it through local qualifying last month.